AAL Anglo American Plc

By Alex MacDonald 

LONDON-- Anglo American PLC has shuffled its management team, announcing Thursday the departure of its iron-ore chief and a renewed focus on sales and marketing, as its share price plunged to new lows along with the prices of the commodities it mines and sells.

Paulo Castellari, the head of its Brazilian iron-ore unit, has decided to step down at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, the company said. He was responsible for bringing Anglo's delayed and costly $8.8 billion Minas Rios iron-ore project into production last year, just as prices for the steelmaking ingredient spiraled toward historic lows.

Anglo American also appointed Peter Whitcutt as its first dedicated chief of marketing, having served as head of strategy, business development and marketing since 2013.

Chief Executive Mark Cutifani said about two years ago he wanted Anglo American to think about marketing its own product in similar ways to its rival, Glencore PLC, where both its mining and trading divisions are among the largest in the world. Anglo American said it doesn't plan to sell other miners' products, though, unlike Glencore.

"The full potential of our marketing business is clear and is ever more important," said Mr. Cutifani in a news release.

The management shuffle comes at a time when Anglo American is trying to turn around its fortunes following years during which it underperformed its peers, such as BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto PLC. The British mining giant's share price has been pummeled, falling more than 60% so far this year; on Thursday it hit 447.2 pence, its lowest since the shares were listed in London in 1999.

The share-price decline makes Anglo American the worst performer of the world's top five miners over the past five years, outstripping Glencore, whose shares fell below a pound on Thursday for the first time in just over a month. Anglo is the world's fifth-largest miner by market value.

Mining companies globally have been hit by a slump in commodity prices as an economic slowdown in China--the world's largest consumer of many raw materials--exacerbates a supply glut caused by years of over-investment in mine expansions.

The price of iron ore, Anglo American's most important earnings driver, has dropped by a third this year to $47.80 a metric ton, according to The Steel Index, compared with a record high of $191.90 a ton in 2011. Coal, platinum and copper prices have all hit multiyear lows recently.

The commodities price rout prompted some analysts to speculate that Anglo American may need to pare its coveted dividend to preserve cash. Anglo American declined to comment on this issue.

Mr. Cutifani, hired in 2013 to execute a turnaround strategy, has been driving operating efficiency at its mines, slashing costs and selling unwanted assets in an effort to boost earnings.

The management changes suggest how Anglo American now views its marketing arm as a strategic asset, joining iron ore, coal, platinum, diamonds and base metals as a "sixth pillar of the company," said Macquarie Group mining analyst Alon Olsha.

With Mr. Whitcutt leading the marketing arm, Bruce Cleaver has been appointed head of strategy and business development, having served as executive head of strategy and corporate affairs at Anglo's De Beers diamond unit, its largest profit generator in the first half of the year. Meanwhile Gareth Mostyn, currently chief financial officer of De Beers, was appointed head of strategy and corporate affairs for De Beers.

The appointments are effective from Jan. 1, with Mr. Mostyn continuing to fulfill his year-end reporting commitments as CFO. A new CFO at De Beers will be hired in due course, the company said.

Macquarie Group's Mr. Olsha said the management changes aren't particularly material in boosting the company's performance in the near term "but it does refresh the senior management structure."

Anglo American didn't say whether it plans to replace Mr. Castellari, the departing head of its massive Minas Rio project in Brazil. In the news release, Mr. Cutifani credited him for bringing the project into operation within the company's revised budget and timeline.

"We will now take the opportunity to review our business structures in Brazil to best serve our operational footprint, [and] will update in due course," said Anglo spokesman James Wyatt-Tilby.

Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2015 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT)

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