Rio Tinto’s board has proposed massive hikes to its chief executive’s remuneration package, as miners scramble to compete for top talent with surging pay at defence, aerospace and energy transition firms.
According to four people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters, Simon Trott’s target remuneration package could surge by 56 per cent to a whopping £9.8 million ($A18.57m).
An investor presentation shows the world’s second-biggest listed miner’s peer benchmarking group — the list of companies it compares itself to when calculating executive compensation ranges — has been expanded to include energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil, GE Aerospace and others.
Former West Australian treasurer Ben Wyatt, who chairs Rio Tinto’s remuneration committee, said the miner was consulting investors ahead of a policy update.
He said Trott’s fixed pay would remain unchanged but incentives tied to multi-year business outcomes and shareholder returns would be adjusted.
“This is designed to drive business performance in the interests of shareholders, support the delivery of Rio Tinto’s long-term strategy, and attract and retain strong leadership in a competitive global market,” Wyatt said in a statement.
Appointed in July 2025, Trott delivered a 43 per cent jump in first-half underlying earnings this year while pursuing restructuring and asset sales.
Reflecting a compensation overhaul weighted to performance, Trott’s maximum remuneration is proposed to jump 63 per cent to £18.3m ($A34.6m), the documents show.
Under the plan, his short-term incentives will rise to a maximum of 300 per cent of base salary, from 200 per cent, while long-term targets will jump from 500 per cent to 900 per cent.
If approved by shareholders at next year’s annual general meeting, Trott’s new package will apply to the next three years of his compensation and place him just under the median of the 19 companies the miner considers peers.
According to data from proxy advisory services firm Glass Lewis, ExxonMobil boss Darren Woods, who earned $US33m ($A47m) in 2025, tops the list.
Canada’s Agnico Eagle Mines and US miner Freeport-McMoRan were the highest-ranked mining companies in the peer group.
If given the green light, Trott’s pay increase will put him among the top tier of Australian chief executives and ahead of rival miner BHP’s Brandon Craig.
Craig’s remuneration is expected to be around $US10m ($A14m) and is capped at just below $US13m ($A18m).
Some Rio Tinto investors told Reuters they were concerned the proposal could fuel salary inflation among top Australian mining executives and, amid a cost-of-living crisis, reflect poorly on the company.
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