Robert Michael "Bobby" Godsell (born 14 September 1952 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

)Bobby Godsell
Who'swho South Africa, accessed: 8 October 2010 is a retired South African businessman and the former CEO of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

company

AngloGold Ashanti AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a South African gold mining company, with global operations. With a diverse portfolio of cooperation, projects, and exploration activities, AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the ...

, a position he held from 1998 to 2007. He was the Non-Executive Chairman of

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...

from 2008 to 2009 and was appointed to the National Planning Commission of South Africa by former

South African President The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Fo ...

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

on 30 April 2010. His departure from Eskom in 2009 was under controversial circumstances, caused by a board room struggle with the company's CEO, Jacob Maroga. Godsell decided to resign while Maoga was later sacked. Godsell found himself accused of racism but was defended by both NUM ( National Union of Mineworkers) and the ANC (

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

Biography

Godsell completed a Master of Arts degree at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

, followed by a bachelor's degree at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

. He became an executive director of Anglo American in 1991. He served at the

South African Chamber of Mines The Minerals Council South Africa is a South African mining-industry employer organisation. Its members include famous South African mining houses such as Anglo American plc, Anglo American, De Beers, Gold Fields and Harmony. In its current form, ...

, first as a vice-president and later as its president. He was also chairman of the

World Gold Council The World Gold Council is an international trade association for the gold industry. It is headquartered in London and has offices in India, China, Singapore, the UAE and the United States. The organization's members are gold mining companies. ...

from 2001 to 2002. Bobby Godsell was appointed CEO of the gold and uranium division of Anglo American in July 1995 and CEO of

AngloGold AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a South Africa, South African gold mining company, with global operations. With a diverse portfolio of cooperation, projects, and exploration activities, AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloG ...

in April 1998.Bobby Godsell Retires as CEO at AngloGold Ashanti
AGA website, published: 31 July 2007, accessed: 8 October 2010 As CEO, he oversaw, alongside Sam E. Jonah, the merger of AngloGold and the

Ashanti Goldfields Corporation The Ashanti Goldfields Corporation is a gold mining company based in Ghana that was founded by Joseph Ellis and Joseph Biney both from Cape Coast. The Ashanti Mine, located at Obuasi, 56 km south of Kumasi, has been producing since 1897. Du ...

, announced on 16 May 2003 and completed on 26 April 2004, to form AngloGold Ashanti.Annual Report 2005
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 11 July 2010 Godsell announced his retirement on 31 July 2010 and retired from his position as CEO of AngloGold Ashanti on 30 September 2007, being replaced by Australian Mark Cutifani.Annual Report 2007
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 8 October 2010 He stated that, after 34 years in corporate life he was looking forward to exploring new ways of being a constructive citizen in his country, South Africa. He returned from retirement in 2008, when he became the non-executive chairman of

but resigned from the position in 2009. He remains a non-executive director of the Anglo American Corp., a position he has held since 1991. He is also the chairman of Business Leadership South Africa and has been appointed to the National Planning Commission (NPC) by President

on 30 April 2010. His resignation from Eskom came amidst a board room power struggle in the utility company between Godsell and CEO Jacob Maroga. Maroga was heavily criticised for power shortages, a record loss of R9,7 billion in the year to March 2009 and electricity price rises criticised for stoking inflation as South Africa battled recession. Maroga allegedly handed in his resignation, then denied doing so and Godsell, under political pressure from organisations supporting Maoga, decided to hand in his resignation instead.

Personal life

Godsell, born to Cyril Harold & Winnefred Godsell, is married to Gillian Hall. The couple has three daughters.

Legacy

Upon retirement, Bobby Godsell was described as "''a visionary, that has done much to shape the destiny of both the South African labour relations landscape and that of AngloGold Ashanti''" by then-chairman of AngloGold Ashanti, Russell Edey. Under Godsell, AngloGold Ashanti had hedged 11.3 million ounces of gold, as of early 2008, twice the value of the company's annual production. Under his successor, Mark Cutifani, this was gradually reduced to 3.22 million. In October 2010, this remaining amount was paid off with US$2.63 billion, or US$1,300 per ounce of gold. The hedging of gold at low prices while the overall-gold price reached record heights in 2010 was financially very unfavourable for AngloGold Ashanti, forcing the company to sell gold at prices far below spot market value. Bobby Godsell and his then-marketing director Kelvin Williams found themselves blamed for the excessive hedging of the company, brought on in parts by the AngloGold-Ashanti merger. Under Godsell's final years as CEO, AngloGold Ashanti experienced a high number of fatalities in its mines, 37 in 2006 and 34 in 2007. Under his successor, these numbers dropped to 14 in 2008 and 16 in 2009, achieved partly through new safety initiatives. Godsell is highly regarded and trusted by the National Union of Mineworkers, who came out in his defence after he lost the power struggle within Eskom and was accused of racism, as did the

, the ANC. His positive relationship with the unions dates back to 1974, when he became labour relations expert and got involved in forming Anglo American's employment practice policies. His role in getting white business in South Africa to accept both the unpopular Labour Relations Act and, later, the mining charter in the transformation period of the country was instrumental and his relationship with

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

was crucial in all this.Who is Bobby Godsell, the big cheese whom the workers support?
grubstreet.co.za, published: 11 November 2009, accessed: 8 October 2010

References

External links

AngloGold Ashanti Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godsell, Bobby 1952 births Living people Businesspeople from Johannesburg AngloGold Ashanti University of Cape Town alumni University of Natal alumni