The new CEO of major international contract mining and drilling company, Perenti, says she is taking over at an exciting time for the business and “in a pivotal moment for the mining industry”.
Vanessa Torres, former South32 chief operating officer and senior executive at BHP and Vale, has been appointed to succeed Mark Norwell as Perenti CEO and managing director on June 1 this year.
“I look forward to working collaboratively with the board and management team to continue the development and delivery of the Perenti strategy to create enduring value and certainty for our clients, people, communities and shareholders,” Torres said.
A chemical engineer with more than 25 years’ experience in mining leadership roles, Torres was COO, chief technology officer and chief technical officer at mid-tier miner, South32. She spent 11 years at BHP and worked in South and North America with Vale.
“While I am an engineer by profession my biggest passion is working with talented and diverse people to deliver safety, performance and growth,” she said.
Perenti says it was keen to find a leader who could build on the foundations and significant growth delivered under Norwell, who oversaw four‑fold revenue growth from 2018 and “achieved material improvements across all key financial metrics”.
“I would first like to acknowledge Mark’s significant contribution to Perenti,” said Perenti chair, Diane Smith-Gander.
“The board believes Vanessa is the right successor for Mark and is confident her leadership will build on Perenti’s strong foundations, drive our strategy forward and support the company’s next phase of growth.”
