ASX-listed Mineral Resources (MinRes) has formally stepped away from the previously announced target date for a CEO transition, with new chair Malcolm Bundey telling shareholders the handover from founder and MD Chris Ellison will no longer be treated as a fixed “event”, but as a multi-year organisational change programme.

Addressing the company’s AGM on Wednesday, Bundey said the former board’s approach, which included a target date for Ellison’s succession, “could not confidently deliver the intended outcomes of a smooth transition without creating unnecessary risk for the company and its shareholders”.

He stressed that transitioning from a founder-led model required a significantly broader and more rigorous process.

“A CEO and founder transition should never be treated as a single day in the calendar. It is not about simply searching for and naming a successor – it is about identifying the right person but also putting in place the organisational structures, resources and support to ensure they will succeed,” Bundey said.

Bundey has initiated a three-stage leadership succession framework with Korn Ferry and HR consultancy Xperience, which will overhaul MinRes’ organisational design, elevate leadership-team accountability and evaluate both internal and external candidates against a newly defined CEO profile.

This processplaces the former timeline-based commitment.

“We will ensure the company, its people and our shareholders get a lasting, high-quality outcome, rather than rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline,” Bundey said.

Ellison, who founded MinRes in 1992 and remains central to operational and strategic decision-making, is fully aligned with the approach, Bundey noted.

“Chris has endorsed and contributed to the development of this approach with me… His active and positive participation in succession planning will create a legacy for him, and MinRes, long into the future.”

The new framework includes embedding a change manager to work directly with Bundey and Ellison and restructuring MinRes into a more traditional CEO-led operating model, with a fully accountable executive leadership team.

MinRes has been navigating heightened governance scrutiny since late 2024, when an internal probe found Ellison had misused company resources for personal benefit and failed to properly disclose revenue from overseas entities prior to MinRes’ 2006 listing. At the time, the miner announced plans to unwind or exit dealings with entities linked to Ellison and people close to him, and confirmed that a search for his successor was under way. MinRes told shareholders it expected the leadership transition process to be completed within 12 to 18 months, following a period in which the scandal wiped more than 25% off its market value, triggered a Moody’s downgrade and drew criticism from major pension funds.

Bundey said on Thursday that MinRes was entering a “pivotal” phase following a year of governance overhaul and board renewal, adding that the company was “turning a corner after a challenging period”.

The leadership succession reset forms part of broader governance reforms, including five new director appointments this year, new governance and compliance functions, and external reviews from King & Wood Mallesons and Elizabeth Broderick & Co.