Newmont Corporation has announced who will join the Newmont Executive Leadership Team as Executive Vice President, to then move to the role of COO after a 12-month notice period.
Natascha Viljoen will fill the position, with Newmont President and CEO, Tom Palmer, saying she is a seasoned industry leader, bringing with her more than 30 years of experience across a diverse range of commodities
“Natascha has shown outstanding leadership transforming technical processing capabilities at Anglo American,” Mr Palmer said.
“Natascha will further strengthen our leadership capabilities as we continue to build a resilient and profitable future for the company – safely delivering on our commitments and continuing to differentiate Newmont as the recognized leader for sustainable and responsible gold mining.”
Ms Viljoen has served as the CEO of Anglo American’s platinum business in South Africa since 2020, the world’s largest primary producer of platinum.
At Anglo American, Ms Viljoen is responsible for managing a team of more than 25,000 employees and six owned and joint venture mining operations with an integrated value chain and down-stream processing across two countries.
Prior to her CEO appointment, Ms Viljoen held a series of operating and technical positions within the organisation, including as Group Head of Processing.
Prior to joining Anglo American, Ms Viljoen spent six years at Lonmin, where she served on the executive committee as Executive Vice President of Processing, with responsibility across several wider corporate functions, including sustainability.
Ms Viljoen is a metallurgical engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from North West University in South Africa and an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Upon completion of the notice period and a planful transition, Rob Atkinson, Executive Vice President and current COO, will transition into a new role reporting directly to Tom Palmer, focusing on driving strategic initiatives to strengthen Newmont’s responsible gold leadership position.
“Rob’s leadership has been critical to the success of Newmont since mid-2019. Rob has driven significant value across Newmont, including safely and successfully navigating through a global pandemic, improving our safety performance with a focus on fatality risk management and successfully integrating key assets, such as Peñasquito, to deliver significant shareholder value,” Mr Palmer said.
“We are fortunate to retain Rob and his leadership, extensive experience and expertise as we navigate a volatile environment and the next set of challenges for our industry.”
