Weir Group announces first woman to hold chair role, succeeding Charles Berry who steps down in 2022

Glasgow-based global mining engineer Weir Group has announced its next chair – the first woman to hold the post in the firm’s history – with Charles Berry set to retire from the role next year.

The board has unveiled the appointment of Barbara Jeremiah as chair-designate with immediate effect, saying she was the unanimous choice for the role, and she will succeed Mr Berry as chair at the conclusion of the company’s annual general meeting currently scheduled for April 2022.

The businesswoman has been Weir’s senior independent director since 2020, having joined the board in 2017. Her previous experience includes more than 30 years with Alcoa Inc, the global aluminium-producer, where she was executive vice-president, corporate development, and chairman’s counsel.

She also previously served as the chairwoman of Boart Longyear and as a non-executive director of Aggreko, Premier Oil, and Russel Metals.

'It is a privilege to be appointed chair-designate of Weir as we celebrate our 150th anniversary,' says Ms Jeremiah. Picture: contributed.

When Mr Berry steps down he will have completed his full nine-year term with the board. He said: "It is an incredible privilege to serve as chairman of Weir, a business where my father spent much of his career, and a group for which I have had a life-long affection.

"Since joining the board in 2013, and becoming chairman in 2014, Weir has successfully completed one of the biggest transformations in its history and is now ideally placed to prosper in the decades ahead, with a clear strategy and first-class leadership team.”

He also praised Ms Jeremiah as an “excellent” choice for chair, “and personally, having served on the Hampton-Alexander Review, it is also great to be handing the baton on to the first woman to chair Weir in the group’s 150-year history”.

Mr Berry will retire as chairman next year, having completed his full nine-year term with the board. Picture: contributed.

Ms Jeremiah commented: "It is a privilege to be appointed chair-designate of Weir as we celebrate our 150th anniversary. I am honoured to succeed Charles who in all respects has been an exemplary leader of our board. I look forward with great enthusiasm to continue working with [chief executive] Jon Stanton, the Weir team and the board to chart our path forward as a global leader in mining technology, creating value for all of our stakeholders."

Weir Group in July said it had reinstated its shareholder dividend thanks to a solid performance over the first half of the year.

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