Jan du Plessis

Chairman

Age 55

Appointment and election: Director of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited since 1 September 2008.  Jan was elected by shareholders at the 2009 annual general meetings.

Skills and experience: Director of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited since 1 September 2008 and became chairman following the 2009 annual general meetings.  Upon his appointment as chairman of Rio Tinto, Jan resigned as a member of the Group's Audit committee and was appointed chairman of the Nominations committee.  

External appointments (current and recent):
Chairman of the Board of British American Tobacco plc from 2004 until October 2009
Non-executive director of Marks & Spencer Group PLC from November 2008
Non-executive director and chairman of the Audit Committee of Lloyds TSB Group plc from 2005 and 2008 respectively until April 2009