Guy Debelle leaves Fortescue as executive exodus gathers pace

Former Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle has become the third senior executive this week to free themselves from the orbit of Andrew Forrest, leaving Fortescue Futures Industries (FFI) for a vanadium minnow Tivan.

Debelle left his post at the Reserve Bank less than 18 months ago to become chief financial officer of the miner’s green energy arm, FFI, but stepped down after a serious cycling accident to become a part-time director.

On Friday, he joined the board of ASX-listed Tivan, which is developing critical minerals deposits in northern Australia, and has a market capitalisation 600 times smaller that of Fortescue.

Debelle’s departure follows the shock exit of Fortescue Metals Group’s chief executive Fiona Hick on Monday, which was swiftly followed by the departure of the iron ore miner’s chief financial officer Christine Morris. Both Hick and Morris had short stints at the miner, with the CEO leaving just shy of six months in the role and Morris only staying for three months as CFO.

Fortescue shares were down 4.9 per cent on Friday, wiping more than $3 billion from the value of the iron ore miner.

Debelle said joining Tivan was a great opportunity to help Australia push the energy transition, especially in the supply of critical minerals.

Fortescue executive chairman and Australia’s richest man, Andrew Forrest, said earlier this week that the steady churn of senior executives was a natural part of the process of a company reinventing itself.

“Have you ever seen a massive company in transition before, in deep transition?” he said on Wednesday, prior to the departure of Morris and Debelle. “Well, I haven’t either, but it’s my responsibility to make one.”