Rio Tinto has proposed raising the target pay package of chief executive Simon Trott by 56 per cent next year, a sign of pressure on the mining industry to secure top talent. The Anglo-Australian miner has pitched shareholders on a series of executive pay upgrades, including raising long-term incentives to nine times salary from the current five times.
That would lift Trott's target pay package for next year to almost £10mn from £6.3mn, according to two people with knowledge of the proposals. Maximum potential pay would exceed £18mn for high performance. One person said the company had watered down its initial plan by staggering the long-term bonus increases over three years, and that the board had taken shareholder feedback on board.
The board said Rio needed to attract executives from outside the mining industry and had broadened its peer group to include oil and gas and other non-mining companies. It noted that Trott's proposed target pay was higher than mining peers but below the median of a basket that included BP, Shell, Caterpillar and Rolls-Royce. Ben Wyatt, chair of Rio's remuneration committee, said fixed pay would remain unchanged while variable incentives would be tied to multiyear business performance and shareholder returns.
Further talks with shareholders will take place before the final proposal goes to a vote at next year's annual meeting. One shareholder said that if accepted, Rio's move could prompt other miners, including BHP, to follow with pay rises. Trott became chief executive in August 2025 after replacing the ousted Jakob Stausholm, and has pledged to improve operating performance, cut costs and free up capital through asset sales.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing