Simon Murray has been named chairman of Glencore.
Top commodities trader Glencore has named Simon Murray, South Pole adventurer and former Vodafone board member, as its non-executive chairman.
Glencore, the world’s largest diversified commodities trader, earlier unveiled plans for an initial public offering that will value it at around US$60-billion but did not name an independent chairman, something it needs before it can complete the planned listing in London and Hong Kong.
The delay unsettled some potential investors.
Murray was managing director of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s Hutchison Whampoa and serves on boards including Richemont and Essar Energy. He holds the record for the oldest man to walk unsupported to the South Pole, which he completed in 2004 aged 63.
Murray told Reuters on Monday that he was in the running for the role.
Profile - Simon Murray
He was the oldest man to reach the South Pole unsupported, at the age of 63, and he is a former French Foreign Legionnaire.
Thrill seeking runs in the family, with his wife, Jennifer Murray, being the first woman to fly around the world in a helicopter - twice. She completed the first-ever rotary flight round the world via the north and south poles.
The 71-year-old has a long and distinguished business career. He is currently chairman of General Enterprise Management Services International Limited (GEMS), a private equity fund management group he established in 1998 to invest in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Murray was also managing director of the Hong Kong based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and served on the boards of a number of Hong Kong public companies including South China Morning Post; Cross Harbour Tunnel Company; Hong Kong Aircraft & Engineering Corporation; and Hong Kong Electric. He was also Chairman of the Sheraton and Hilton Hotels.
He is currently on the board of a number of Asian companies, as well as Richemont, the luxury goods group that owns Cartier, and London-listed Indian power group Essar Energy.
Previously, Mr Murray has held board position and advisory roles at Vodafone, Tommy Hilfiger, Vivendi Universal and General Electric.
Mr Murray, who lives and works in Hong Kong after 45 years in Asia, was educated at Bedford School. He also attended Stanford Business School in the US.
His career started at Jardine Matheson, with ultimate responsibility for the company’s engineering and trading operations.
Mr and Mrs Murray have three children together.