Randgold Resources announces Christopher Coleman as Chairman, and appoints Jemal-ud-din Kassum as independent Non-Executive Director

– JERSEY / UK, London – Randgold Resources today announced that Philippe Liétard, the chairman of the board for 10 years and a non-executive director since 1998, will step down from the board at the company’s next annual general meeting.  Mr Liétard will be succeeded as chairman by Christopher Coleman who has been an independent non-executive director of Randgold since 2008.

Mr Coleman is Head of Banking and Asset Finance at Rothschild and sits on the board of NASDAQ listed Papa Johns International, Inc.  He is also an economics graduate of the London School of Economics.

Randgold chief executive Mark Bristow said: “Philippe’s passion for the business, his pursuit of excellence and his vision of a better future for Africa made him an inspirational role model for all at Randgold.  His exceptional understanding of doing business in Africa, broad perspective and calm good sense helped to guide us safely through the many challenges Randgold has faced.  We shall miss Philippe’s presence on the board, but fortunately he has agreed to become the first chairman of Nos Vies en Partage Foundation, the charitable foundation recently established by Randgold.”

Mr Liétard said: “I am very fortunate to have been associated with this adventure and privileged to have worked with an amazingly talented and dedicated group of people, from the board and CEO down.  Chris has been a close colleague for many years, and Randgold will benefit from his leadership and judgement in the next phase of the company’s growth.  I’m fully confident that the adventure will continue, just on a larger scale.”

Mr Coleman said he was looking forward to working with the board and management as the company advanced to its next growth stage and he continues his long association with Randgold in his new role.

Also announced today is the appointment of Jemal-ud-din Kassum as an independent non-executive director with effect from 31 January 2014.

Mr Kassum, a Tanzanian national based in the United States, was educated in the United Kingdom at Harrow School and Oxford University and holds an MBA from Harvard University.  After a 25-year career with the International Finance Corporation, he was appointed as the World Bank’s regional vice-president for the East Asia and Pacific region, a position he held until 2005.  He subsequently provided strategic advice to these and other international financial institutions and governments.  He is currently a director of Guardian Holdings Limited, a board commissioner of PT Indonesia Infrastructure Finance and a director of Khan Bank.

Welcoming him, board chairman Philippe Liétard said his appointment was in line with Randgold’s policy of continuously broadening the board’s range of skills and experience, and refreshing its perspective.  “His many years of dealing at the highest level with governments and institutions and his strong capacity for investment and policy management, especially in emerging markets, will be invaluable to the board,” he said.

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