OREANDA-NEWS. Matthew Hird has decided that he wishes to step down as Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhmys PLC (‘Kazakhmys’ or the ‘Group’) in May 2013, to coincide with the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, having spent six years in the role. Andrew Southam, the current Deputy Chief Financial Officer, will become Chief Financial Officer. To ensure a smooth transition, Matthew will remain with the Group until the end of the year.

Oleg Novachuk, Chief Executive Officer said: "I should like to thank Matthew for his exceptional input over the past eight years. Matthew joined Kazakhmys before Listing and led the creation of a strong finance function which has helped us meet the challenges of reporting required by the international markets and enabled us to put in place the debt facilities necessary to deliver our growth projects.”

Matthew Hird, Chief Financial Officer said: "I have greatly enjoyed my time at Kazakhmys. The listing process and creation of a finance function in the UK and Kazakhstan was an immense challenge, which we successfully achieved. Over the past three years we have put in place robust, long term financing which allows us to deliver our major growth projects. After eight years at Kazakhmys and having established these key building blocks, I think it is an appropriate time to seek new challenges.”