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Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) announced today that it would name Western Coal's (TSX: WTN) (TSX: WTN.WT) (AIM: WTN) Chief Executive Officer Keith Calder, 49, chief executive officer of Walter Energy, effective upon the closing of the acquisition of Western Coal by Walter Energy, which is expected to be completed April 1, 2011.
Calder would succeed Walter Energy Interim CEO Joe Leonard. Leonard will continue as interim CEO through the closing and will continue to serve as a member of the Walter Energy Board of Directors. "Keith Calder has done an outstanding job in a very short period of time delivering tremendous value to shareholders of Western Coal. Our expectation is that he will continue this track record in his new role as chief executive officer of Walter Energy," said Walter Energy Chairman Michael T. Tokarz. "Keith joins us with extensive experience in global mining operations at a transformational time for Walter Energy. Upon closing of the transaction, Walter Energy will be the leading, publicly traded, "pure play" metallurgical coal producer in the world. We are uniquely positioned for growth and to leverage our experience and our prospects to continue delivering exceptional value to our shareholders." Calder said, "I am thrilled with this opportunity. Our combined company, with Western Coal's growth prospects and Walter Energy's premium coking coal and excellent track record of financial performance, has a very bright future ahead of it. I look forward to working with Mike, Joe and the rest of the Walter Energy Board and the combined staff in completing this important transaction." Prior to joining Western Coal, Calder served as Managing Director of Rio Tinto's Copper Projects where he had overall responsibility for the execution of a global portfolio of open-pit and underground base metals and diamond projects with more than $20 billion in capital expenditures. He managed a globally diverse team of more than 400 professionals and 2,000 staff and contractors as part of the strategic plan for the Copper and Diamonds Group within Rio Tinto. He joined Rio Tinto by way of the Minera Group, as the operations director for its mines in Bolivia and Argentina. Upon joining Rio Tinto, he progressed through its ranks with a series of responsibilities as operations director in Portugal (Neves Corvo), project engineer in Spain (Las Cruces), project director in South Africa (Palabora), managing director in Australia (North Parkes) and then led a task force on strategic mine planning in London. Calder holds a degree in Mining Engineering from Michigan Technical University. New Board Members Nominated Walter Energy also said that Western Coal has nominated Calder, David R. Beatty, O.B.E. and Graham Mascall to serve on the Walter Energy Board of Directors, effective upon the closing of the acquisition of Western Coal by Walter Energy. Beatty joined Western Coal's Board of Directors as non-executive Chairman in 2010. He is the Professor of Strategic Management for the Rotman School of Management and the Conway Director for the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics & Board Effectiveness at the University of Toronto. He was the former Managing Director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, is Honorary Consul to Canada for the Government of Papua New Guinea, and in 1993 was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). In addition to his role with Western Coal, Beatty is Chairman of Inmet Mining Corporation and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal and FirstService Corporation. He is a graduate in economics from the University of Toronto, Trinity College, (1965) and was a Nuffield Scholar at the University of Cambridge, Queens' College, where he obtained a M.A. (1967). Mascall joined the Board of Western Coal Corp. in 2010. He is currently CEO of Ncondezi Coal Company Ltd, which has coal assets in Mozambique, director of Gemfields Resources plc and London Mining plc. From 2003 until April 2010, he was a Director of Caledon Resources plc which owns coal mining operations in Australia and from 2006 to 2009 he was the CEO of Lubel Coal (UK) Ltd, a privately held coal development company active in the Ukraine. Mascall also held senior executive positions with Billiton plc and Outokumpu Metals and Resources International Limited and with investment banks such as Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Barclays Bank. He earned a Master of Engineering, Mineral Economics (1972) from McGill University, Montreal, Canada and a Mining Engineer degree (1969) from the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, UK |
