Jan du Plessis became group finance director of Compagnie Financière Richemont in 1988. In 2004, he was appointed chairman of British American Tobacco, a position which he held until 2009. He was appointed a director of Rio Tinto in 2008, and became its chairman in 2009. As of 2015, he was chairman of SABMiller, having previously served as a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer Group.