* Gold Fields appoints Chris Griffith as new CEO

* Nick Holland steps down at end March

* Former Amplats boss plans to drive value creation

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Gold Fields has appointed former Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) boss Chris Griffith as chief executive, the South African miner said on Thursday.

The former Amplats and Kumba Iron Ore CEO joins Gold Fields at a time when surging gold prices have boosted Gold Fields earnings.

Griffith plans to drive operational and financial value creation when he joins the company, he said during a conference.

"My focus will continue to be on value as it has been at the previous companies I have run and I will continue to do that," said Griffith.

A surge in the gold price and a weaker rand have given the South African gold industry, which has produced a third of the bullion mined in history, a lifeline after the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gold Fields shares closed up 5.07% at 144.43 rand, outpacing its gold peers, which rose 1.92%.

Gold Fields Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus said Griffith was the right person to take the business forward.

"He has deep-rooted operational mining experience and an impressive track record of delivering safe operational performance and leading effective change," said Carolus.

Gold Fields said that Griffith, who stepped down at Amplats in February last year, will join Gold Fields in April.

Griffith said the company's international footprint was among the reasons that the job appealed to him.

Gold Fields has mines in Australia, Peru, South Africa, Chile and West Africa.

Gold Fields' current CEO, Nick Holland, announced his retirement in August and agreed to retire six months earlier than originally planned to facilitate the leadership transition.

Carolus paid tribute to Holland, who joined Gold Fields as chief financial officer at its formation in 1998 and led the company as CEO for 13 years.

"Nick has defined Gold Fields as it is today: a global, highly profitable and sustainable company, which is widely considered a leader in its field," said Carolus. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jane Merriman and Steve Orlofsky)