Simon Thompson (born 16 June 1959) is a British investment banker and business executive. He is the current chairman of the Rio Tinto and was the former chairman of: Tarmac Group and Tullow Oil. He serves as the chairman of 3i.
Early life
Simon Thompson was born on 16 June 1959 in Bramhall.[1] He was educated at the Manchester Grammar School.[1] He graduated from University College, Oxford, where he earned a bachelor's degree in geology in 1985.[1][2]
Career
Thompson worked for Lloyds Bank from 1981 to 1985, N M Rothschild & Sons from 1985 to 1994, and S. G. Warburg & Co. from 1994 to 1995.[1] He joined Minorco, a mining company, in 1995, first as its head of finance until 1997, and as the head of its Brazilian subsidiary until 1999,[2] when it merged with Anglo American plc.[1] He subsequently worked for Anglo American, serving as the chief executive officer of its Anglo Base Metals Division from 2001 to 2007.[2]
Thompson was the chairman of the Tarmac Group from 2005 to 2007.[1][3] He was the chairman of Tullow Oil from 2012 to 2015,[1][3] when he succeeded Adrian Montague as the chairman of 3i in 2015.[4]
Thompson served on the boards of directors of the Newmont from 2008 to 2014.[5] He also served on the board of Amec Foster Wheeler from 2009 to 2015, and Sandvik from 2014 2015.[4][5] He serves as the chairman of Rio Tinto.[4][5]
In 2020, under Thompson's chairmanship, Rio Tinto destroyed a 46,000-year-old significant Aboriginal site at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia.[6]
Personal life
Thompson married Fiona Graham-Bryce in 1986.[1] He is a member of the Athenæum Club and the Alpine Club,[1] and he is the author of two books about climbing and hiking.
