Dow Jones Newswires: Fortescue starts search for new CEO as it pivots to low-carbon energy

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Iron-ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. said it will look for a new chief executive as it seeks to expand into low-carbon energy.

Fortescue
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the world’s fourth largest miner of the steelmaking material, on Friday said it has appointed executive search firm Egon Zehnder to find a successor to CEO Elizabeth Gaines, who will shift into a nonexecutive director role at the company.

Fortescue is undergoing a “major transition from a pure play iron-ore and future-facing metals exploration group, to a vertically integrated green energy and resources group,” the company said.

Gaines has been CEO of Fortescue since early 2018 and has been a member of its board since 2013.

Fortescue, which relies on the sale of iron ore for its profits, has been building a portfolio of clean energy projects centered on green hydrogen.

The company on Thursday announced a cooperation agreement with Indonesia’s North Kalimantan provincial government to study potential renewable energy and green hydrogen projects.

Earlier this week, it agreed with AGL Energy Ltd. to look at ways to repurpose infrastructure at two Australian coal-fired power stations to generate green hydrogen, while separately signing memoranda of understanding with three indigenous communities in Canada aimed at developing energy projects there.