Cheung reckons he's big enough for the challenge at Rusal
The appointment of Barry Cheung as non-executive chairman of Russian aluminium company Rusal has raised eyebrows around the world, with critics saying the job needed a strong independent chairman. 'If I thought the job was impossible, then I wouldn't have taken it on,' he told Lai See in response to those who wonder how he will be able to operate with Oleg Deripaska, who is both CEO and controlling shareholder.
But he says that as far as he can see, Deripaska has not tried to take advantage of his position with respect to other shareholders. 'In any case the other big shareholders are watching very carefully.'
But why would he want to step into a job that will inevitably be difficult? He says that it's an interesting challenge and believes the company has 'tremendous prospects'. People have said the company should have conducted a more extensive search. But Cheung said the board wanted a quick end to the uncertainty created by former chairman Viktor Vekselberg's acrimonious departure, and felt they had in Cheung someone who could do the job.
His main task will be to improve corporate governance and to make the board operations more transparent. He says the company will implement the HKEx's requirement of having one-third of the board as independent non-executive directors, this year.
People wonder whether Cheung has a conflict-of-interest issue, being chairman of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange and EN+, another company controlled by Deripaska having a 10 per cent investment in the HKMEx. He says Rusal's lawyers have examined the matter and assured the HKEx that Cheung's independent status is not affected. On the question of being able to stand up to the Russians, Cheung, who is well over 6 ft tall, says there aren't many Russians that are much bigger than him and when it comes to vodka, he says he can handle that part of the job as well.