Tony Hayward got his life back, and it reaches all the way to northern Minnesota. For several months he's been a non-executive director at Glencore, the giant global commodities company and the primary investor in PolyMet, which is proposing to launch the controversial open pit copper mine in Hoyt Lakes, Minn. His primary responsibilities are to advise Glencore on the environment, health and safety.
Former BP chief Tony Hayward
The news has been out in Great Britain for some time, But this week former DFL legislator Frank Moe stirred up the pot when he sent out an email to local media and others describing Hayward's new job, plus Glencore's rather spotty environmental and human rights history. You can find it here, on the Conservation Minnesota web site. Moe is now working as a guide in northern Minnesota (he's not within cell phone range) and he's on the board of Conservation Minnesota, one of the many environmental non-profits in Minnesota that is fighting the state and federal approval of the mine.
According to British media reports, documents for Glencore's recent $12 billion stock offering reveal that Hayward has roles on several corporate board committees, including the environment, and the health and safety group.
He became the focus of anger and outrage over the oil spill, especially after he was pictured relaxing on a boat in England in the midst of the crisis half a world away. Six weeks after the oil explosion, which killed 11, he famously said "I would like my life back."
Less than a year after he left BP he found it at Glencore, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, and one of the world's leading commodities companies with integrated operations in metals and minerals, energy products and agricultural products. One of its investments is 18 percent of PolyMet's common shares, and rights to purchase up to 25 percent.
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