Vedanta Resources has appointed Deshnee Naidoo, as the CEO, Africa Base Metals. In her new role, Deshnee will combine the leadership of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia, Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) in South Africa and Namibia, and Copper Mines of Tasmania. 

Her appointment coincides with the departure of KCM’s current CEO Steven D who will leave Vedanta group this July. 

In an official statement Vedanta Resources stated that her appointment signals the group’s "ongoing commitment to enhancing its African operations, and will seek to identify and drive synergies across these operations in terms of operational excellence, procurement, marketing, people development, and the investment in communities, in line with the group’s vision of business with purpose." 

Commenting on her appointment, Vedanta Resources chairman, Anil Agarwal said, "Deshnee has successfully brought on new production at Gamsberg (South Africa) and won the respect and confidence of the teams that she leads. I’m delighted that we have a woman leader from Africa at the helm of our African operations. We have strong ambitions for our business in Africa and Deshnee is committed to deliver on these." 

Deshnee joined Vedanta Resources in 2014 and has over 20 years of experience in the resources industry, including platinum, thermal coal, and manganese. Prior to joining the Vedanta Group, she was Chief Financial Officer of Anglo American Thermal Coal, South Africa. As CEO of VZI she has led the development of the $400 Mn Gamsberg Project, which will come into production in mid-2018.

Last month, Vedanta appointed Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan as the CEO of the company.