By Stuart Condie


SYDNEY--Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. founder Andrew Forrest will retake control of the mining group's iron-ore business when Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines steps down in August.

The Australian miner on Wednesday said that Mr. Forrest will become executive chairman in August and oversee the iron-ore business for what it called an interim period. Mr. Forrest, who founded Fortescue in 2003, is currently chairman.

Fortescue also announced a raft of appointments to its Fortescue Future Industries unit, where activities include investing in low-emission energy technologies. Mark Hutchinson, a former president and CEO of General Electric Europe, will join FFI in July and become its chief executive by the end of 2022.

The move is part of a reshuffle that means the CEOs of both Fortescue's mining operations and FFI will report to the Fortescue Metals board.

Current FFI CEO Julie Shuttleworth will move into an unspecified executive role, while Ms. Gaines's shift to a ambassadorial role had already been announced. Fortescue has not announced a permanent successor to Ms. Gaines.

Andrew Vesey, a former chief executive of Australian power generator and retailer AGL Energy Ltd., will join FFI to lead its energy transition projects. Mr. Vesey left AGL, Australia's largest carbon emitter, in 2018 following the company's decision to close one of its coal-fired power stations.

"We are doing the hard work to genuinely decarbonize Fortescue, avoiding the temptation we see all around us to greenwash," Mr. Forrest said.


Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-17-22 1909ET