Glencore Plc’ share price down, names Patrice Merrin as the first female on the company’s board of directors

Glencore Plc made an official statement today, announcing that it appointed Ms. Partice Merrin, who previously occupied the position of Canadian mining executive, as an independent non-executive director.

The Chairman of the company – Mr. Tony Hayward commented the appointment in the statement, which was cited by Bloomberg: “Patrice’s in-depth experience of operating across the resource sector will strengthen the board’s ability to work with the opportunities and challenges presented by the global extractive industry.”

As reported by the Financial Times, Mr. Hayward also added: “Her record of non-executive director appointments, activist involvement and industry advisory board service is also an excellent complementary skill set to our board.”

The appointment is to take effect immediately. This step puts an end to the status of Glencore Plc as the only company in FTSE 100 that did not include a woman in its board. Antofagasta Plc was the second to last, but made a step in this direction in March by appointing Ms. Vivianne Blanlot at the position of an independent non-executive director.

Ms. Partice Merrin has an extensive experience in the mining industry having worked at the Canada-based miner Sherritt for a decade until 2004 at the position of a Chief Operating Officer. After departing from Sherritt, she became the Chief Executive Officer of the Canada-based thermal coal manufacturer Luscar. Currently, Ms. Merrin has been occupying the position of a non-executive director at the US-listed Stillwater Mining.

The company has been recently facing an increased political and investors pressure to include a woman in its board of directors. As a result, Mr. Tony Hayward, who is the Chairman of Glencore Plc, said in last month that the company plans to appoint a female director by the end of the year, describing the step as an “important priority” for Glencore.

As reported by the Financial Times, in May, the business secretary of the U.K. – Vince Cable said that the “spotlight” was “now firmly on” Glencore, especially considering the fact that the British government has set a target, demanding at least 25% female board membership for the companies listed in the FTSE 100 by 2015.

Glencore Plc was losing 0.34% to trade at 323.05 pence per share by 11:53 GMT, marking a one year change of 17.05%.