Cynthia Carroll Biography and Photos

Cynthia Carroll is an American businesswoman. She is the chief executive officer of Anglo American PLC, a London, UK mining company, which, among other things, is the world's largest platinum producer.

On October 24, 2006, Carroll was hired by Anglo American, and joined the board in January 2007, becoming chief executive at the beginning of March 2007. She is one of only three female Chief Executives of FTSE 100 companies and the first non-South African to hold the post with Anglo American.

Forbes magazine has named her the seventh most powerful woman in the world for 2007

Carroll previously worked with the Montreal, Canada headquartered Alcan, as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Primary Metal Group since 2002. She joined Alcan in 1989. In January 1996, she was promoted to managing director of the Aughinish Alumina division, located on Aughinish Island, Askeaton, County, Limerick, Ireland. Before joining Alcan, she worked for Amoco, which is now part of British Petroleum, for eight years as a petroleum geologist, from 1982 to 1987--working in gas and oil exploration in Colorado, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. She is married with four children

Carroll graduated from Skidmore College in 1978, a Bachelor of Science in Geology.She holds a Masters of Science degree in Geology from the University of Kansas (1982) and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University (1989).

She serves as a director of Sara Lee. She also sits on the Boards of American Aluminium Association and the International Aluminium Institute.

Since taking over as CEO, Carroll has started an initiative to sell off two mining subsidiaries of Anglo American to black South Africans and create an employee ownership plan.

Carroll was personally attacked while at Anglo American for her responsibility in the conglomerate's dismal labour rights record as well as her role in several environmentally controversial projects piloted by the company. Carroll was most notably nicknamed by Grist Magazine "Cyanide Cynthia, world's biggest Scrooge" for her role in the Pebble Mine project in Alaska.