Willy Strothotte, who is the Chairman of Xstrata since 1994 will retire on May 4, at the conclusion of Xstrata's Annual General Meeting on May 4. Mr. Strothotte will be replaced by the Chairman of Vodafone, Sir John Bond. Vodafone is the world’s second-largest mobile phone operator by market capitalization.

Sir John Bond will join Xstrata as a consultant with immediate effect. He will take the leadership of Xstrata from July 2011. The new Chairman of Vodafone would be Gerard Kleisterlee, who is the Chief Executive of Philips.

The Chief Executive of Xstrata, Mick Davis was delighted that the company’s net profit were higher than the expectations and due to the rising demand of copper and coal. The company has planned to increase the total production of the company by 50% from 2009 to 2014.

The news of the plans of Glencore a commodities trader to merge with Xstrata is also popular in the media. Willy Strothotte is the Chairman of Glencore and the company has reported high profits.

Mr. Strothotte said that it was a privilege to serve as the chairman of Xstrata since its set up in 2002. The Company was also seen in the London listing in 2002.