Ivan Vella joined Rio Tinto from 2003 to 2011 and re-joined in January 2016 as chief operating officer of coal before becoming managing director of port, rail & core services - iron ore in August 2016, interim chief executive of iron ore in September 2020, and aluminium chief executive since March 2021. He had led a number of large business improvement and transformation projects across various areas of the business. Mr Vella left Rio Tinto following his appointment as chief executive and managing director of IGO in December 2023.
Mr Vella was previously working in the copper product group in Mongolia where he was chief operating officer of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, and was manager of Deloitte Consulting with a focus on the mining industry.
He has a Bachelor of Business, a Master of Business in Operations and Quality Management from Queensland University of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from University of Edinburgh.
