Whatever the reasons, Cynthia Carroll’s resignation would inevitably be the subject of much speculation and also controversy.  And that there would be intense speculation about who her successor is to be goes without saying.   The reason, quite simply is that Anglo American is an important company.

In fact, her resignation provides an opportunity to talk about Anglo American and in particular its role in South Africa – something which as a result of our changing historical perspective is lost sight of.
Anglo American plc is now a British multi-national mining company headquartered in London.  It is the world’s largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, and a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal.  It has footprints in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South Africa.  Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange but it has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Its listing on the London Stock Exchange, and its description therefore as primarily a British multi-national, is relatively speaking a very recent development.  It happened in May 1999 when the Anglo American Corporation merged with Minorca to form Anglo American plc.  But from its establishment in 1917, it was a South African company playing both a unique and admirable role in the South African economy and more broadly the South African society.  And what made that possible is a string of individual leaders acting within a very well-defined but broad business culture.  (Incidentally, that is also why Carroll’s appointment was to a certain extent exceptional:  not only is she the first woman but she is the first non-South African to head-up Anglo American.)

The seeds of that culture were sown and nurtured from the birth of the company in 1917.  It was in that year that Sir Ernst Oppenheimer, as he became known, along with the American Bank JP Morgan, founded the Anglo American Corporation (AAC) with £1-million raised from UK and US sources.  The AAC became the majority shareholder in the De Beers Company in 1926 and two years later it began mining on the Zambian copper belt.

Much later, in 2011, Anglo American agreed to acquire the Oppenheimer family’s 40% shareholding in De Beers, raising its stake to 85% (with the remainder owned by the Botswana government).

But getting back to its leaders and the company’s particular culture and contribution to southern Africa – because, if I am allowed the indulgence, it is also a chance for me to pay a small personal tribute to the leaders of this company for the support they have given me in different stages of my career.  I didn’t ever meet Sir Ernst Oppenheimer but I knew all of his successors – Harry, Gavin Relly, Julian Ogilvie Thompson, and Tony Traher who was succeeded by Cynthia Carroll.  I knew some better than others – Julian and I represented our respective schools at a Cadet Officers Training Course more decades ago than I care to remember.

Harry Oppenheimer succeeded his father when he died in Johannesburg in 1957.  He also became chairman of De Beers.  Under his leadership Anglo American Corporation again became the largest gold mining group the world has ever seen.  In May 1999, its gold mining operations were spun off into the separate AngloGold Corporation which in 2004 merged with Ashanti Gold Fields Corporation to form AngloGold Ashanti.  This development was probably the most important corporate initiative to occur at this time.    But in the 70’s and 80’s, because, Anglo American Corporation was hedged into South Africa by South African law and the international reactions to apartheid, it used its very considerable finance base to spin off a whole slew of companies that greatly enriched the South African economy and led to its diversification – something that distinguishes South Africa today from most African countries.  Much later, Anglo also responded positively and imaginatively to the requirements of BEE – introducing a highly successful procurement system for small black companies.

But aside from being the biggest and most significant and internationally admired company, Anglo American all through the 60s and 70s and 80s developed a strong humanistic corporate culture which was reflected in its enormous contributions to education, health and hospitals, and the promotion of culture.  Every Anglo leader made his contribution but the basis was laid by Harry Oppenheimer.  (An interesting analogy, incidentally, is the relationship between Harry Oppenheimer and Anton Rupert of Rembrandt.  They were great friends and made enormous contributions but in very different fields:  Harry loved politics whereas Rupert was a lover of the arts.)

As a young lecturer in politics, just returned from five years of study in the United States, I asked Harry Oppenheimer for an interview.  He took me to lunch in Johannesburg at a small restaurant which I suspect no longer exists.  I ordered some or other Italian dish which burnt my mouth and inhibited my conversation and he had Parma ham and melon and a Becks beer.  Subsequently he assisted my wife and I and some other brave souls with the launch and regular publication for seven years of the monthly intellectual review New Nation.  He ensured that AAC had an ad in every edition.

But my wife and I really got to know Harry and Bridgete Oppenheimer when I was ambassador in London in the 80s.  He took a genuine interest in what I was trying to do and we enjoyed many an enjoyable (and influential) dinner at his Eaton Square flat.  Certainly one of his serious loves was politics.  He served in the United Party opposition (that was before he was appointed to lead the Company) and subsequently played a giant role in keeping the Progressive Party alive when Helen Suzman was its only representative in Parliament.  When I established the Independent Party after resigning as ambassador in London, I went to him for support:  “Of course, Denis, I will assist you.  But I need to discuss it with Zack and Colin first” – a reference of course to Zach de Beer and Colin Eglin, the Progressive Party Leaders.  We got the funding that we needed.

Harry Oppenheimer set up what was called the Chairman’s Fund and through this the Company to this day supports all kinds of worthy causes.  What is also surprising is that the Company allowed certain talented individuals within the organisation a freedom which other corporations would not have tolerated.  For example, Michael O’ Dowd produced several books of a political and economic relevance from within Anglo and Clem Sunter, now South Africa’s top futurologist, with Bobby Godsell and Michael Spicer, developed his High Road and Low Road from within Anglo American.  This would not have been tolerated by other businesses but it was Harry Oppenheimer, followed by Gavin Relly, who laid the basis for this kind of open tolerance within the business.

As Carroll passes on the baton, one hopes Anglo American will act in the tradition of the Oppenheimers.  The times may be different but the fact is that that culture is precious.