Mining giant, Anglo American-Teck Resources has announced that South African Duncan Wanblad is their new CEO.
Anglo American and Teck Resources Limited reached an agreement to combine the two companies in a merger of equals to form the Anglo Teck group, a global critical minerals champion and top five global copper producer, headquartered in Canada and expected to offer investors more than 70% exposure to copper.
The merged entity will be headquartered in Canada, in Teck’s hometown of Vancouver. This will move Anglo further away from South Africa and its adopted home of London.
In a statement released on Tuesday, 25 August the companies revealed that Wanblad will be CEO of the merged entity, putting the South African at the helm of the mining giant.
This will only come into effect following the completion of the merger, which is set for between September 2026 and March 2027. The companies said the future executive leadership team brings together a highly experienced and complementary set of leaders from both companies.
Teck CEO Jonathan Price will become deputy CEO of the merged entity and its chief strategy officer, while Anglo chair Nolitha Fakude will retain her position in South Africa.
Kumba Iron Ore CEO Mpumi Zikalala will retain her position and, with other operational heads, report to COO Ruben Fernandes.
“As the incoming CEO of Anglo Teck, I have utmost confidence in the highly capable executive and regional leadership teams that I have set out today. I look forward to working with the team over the coming years, from our headquarters in Canada, as we establish Anglo Teck and deliver the significant value from this formidable combination,” Wanblad said.
Who is Duncan Wanblad?
Born in Randfontein, Gauteng, mining formed the bedrock of Wanblad’s understanding of the economy. However, he never dreamed of working in the sector.
Wanblad initially desired to become a car mechanic but he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a career in mining by studying engineering at the University of Witwatersrand. Wanblad graduated from Wits with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering.
Wanblad began his career at Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company in 1990 before joining Anglo American, where he rapidly rose through the ranks. The advantage of working at a giant like Anglo was the exposure it gave Wanblad to different minerals and parts of the business early in his career.
Wanblad initially worked at Anglo’s platinum business in the early 2000s, where he became interim CEO in 2007 before heading up its copper operations from London. This gave him early insight into a metal of the future, with copper demand ramping up steadily as China’s economy boomed and investments in data centres took off.
Wanblad has been an ‘Anglo for lifer’, with his success in the platinum business and in starting the copper operations, which made him CEO of its Base Metals division in 2013.
Simultaneously, he served as the head of Anglo’s strategy and business development team, which put him on the boards of De Beers and Kumba. Since 2022, Wanblad has been Anglo’s CEO and has led its transformation into a “miner for the future” focused primarily on copper.
To reinvent Anglo and stave off BHP’s takeover bid, Wanblad has overseen the unbundling of Amplats into Valterra, the sale of its steelmaking coal business, and is close to selling De Beers.
