Tony Hayward to be Glencore chairman

GLENCORE bosses tightened their grip on the newly enlarged miner and trader yesterday, as shareholders voted out all former Xstrata directors, including the already outgoing chairman, replacing him with former BP boss Tony Hayward.

The move propels Hayward – attacked for his role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill – back into the corporate limelight at one of London’s largest companies.

Already a director, Hayward will take the chairman’s role until a replacement is found and will run the nominations committee, key as Glencore rebuilds its board. He is not, though, in the running to take the job permanently.

Investors and analysts had expected the group to put its stamp on the combined miner and trader following the mining industry’s largest takeover, but former Xstrata chairman John Bond’s ousting with immediate effect was unexpected, as he was already due to leave.