34 Eduardo de Salles Bartolomeo, Vale
Under the new head, Eduardo de Salles Bartolomeo, Vale managed to resume part of its operations at Brumadinho, halted after the tragic dam collapse in January 2019. The new chief aims to reduce freight costs in the final quarter of the year
Chief executive's term in office could hardly have come at a more testing time for the miner
EDUARDO de Salles Bartolomeo was appointed chief executive of Vale in April this year, replacing Fabio Schvartsman, who had stepped down in the wake of the fatal dam disaster that killed 250 people in January.
Mr Bartolomeo's term could hardly have come at a more testing time for the miner, as he had the challenging task of leading through one of the darkest chapters in the history of mining.
Around seven months into his role, he has made significant progress towards stabilising the business and advancing the objective of full reparation of Brumadinho.
The collapsed Brumadinho dam was one of 19 upstream tailings dams owned by Vale in the iron-ore rich state of Minas Gerais, built according to a method that has been banned in Peru and Chile for safety reasons. Tailings dams hold the waste material from mining operations.
The Bela Horizonte barrier, used for holding waste water and mud from the Fiejao iron ore mine, collapsed, following which Vale had to suspend operations at some mines, leading to the halt of 40m tonnes of iron ore being extracted.
Later, Vale was forced to close another mine, with a total impact of 30m tonnes of production. The reduction in iron ore production caused capesize rates to slide to almost four-year lows in the first half of 2019.
Under the new head, Vale managed to resume part of its operations halted after the tragedy.
The new chief aims to reduce freight costs in the final quarter of the year by incorporating new vessels to the long-term chartered fleet and lowering Vale's exposure to the spot market.
Mr Bartolomeo has extensive experience in integrated operations in bulk commodities, with work in coal, fertilisers and base metals.
He worked with Vale for 10 years, focused mainly on the company’s physical operations, having served as executive director for logistics and, more recently, as head of base metals in Canada, before taking up the role of chief executive of Brazil’s largest miner.
This is Mr Bartolomeo's first appearance in the Top 100. Vale appeared in the Top 100 in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
