Second Xstrata chief quits

Xstrata chief financial officer Trevor Reid has resigned just two weeks after the FTSE 100 miner finally won shareholder approval for its £56 billion mega-merger with Glencore.

Reid, who has been chief executive Mick Davis’s right-hand man at Xstrata for past 10 years, is thought to be resigning largely in response to a decision by shareholders to overwhelmingly reject a £140 million package of retention bonuses as part of the merger, which would have put him in line for a multi-million pound payout.

Reid, 51, will stay in his job until the deal clears the remaining regulatory hurdles, which is expected in the first few months of next year.

He will work as a consultant for up to six months after the Glencore Xstrata merger is formed, but will not take up the role of chief financial officer. “The next phase of Xstrata’s evolution is now well under way and following shareholder approval for the merger with Glencore, I have decided to step down on completion of the transaction,” Reid said.

Davis will also leave Xstrata after the merger, meaning the two architects of the company will not be involved in the running of the new group. In the space of a decade the pair transformed Xstrata from a $500m ferrochrome and zinc business to a diversified mining group with a market value of about $50bn. The company’s shares fell by 4.29p to 1,029.21p.