It’s no accident that Abdul Rahman Amoadu FCCA, one of six brothers raised in a small village in Ghana, has just been promoted from Newmont Corporation’s South America regional CFO to managing director of Peruvian operations at the world’s leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver and zinc. Well, actually it is.
While his education in accounting and business administration at the University of Ghana would lay the foundation for the road ahead, it was a distinctly random act of being in the right place at the right time that would pave his way to the top table.
‘The ACCA Qualification forced me to think about things in a unique way’
During his final term in 2007, Rahman tagged along with a friend who was taking the logistic company Maersk’s management training programme test. ‘I didn’t really want to spend my Saturday waiting in line, but I went anyway,’ he says.
After six long hours queuing with his friend and hundreds of others, Rahman decided that he might as well take the test, too. When the results came in, seven people were chosen; with the highest marks of anyone in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the top 3% in the world, Rahman would be one of them.
Basics
Newmont is the world’s leading gold company and a producer of copper, silver, zinc and lead. The Company’s world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favourable mining jurisdictions in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical expertise. Newmont was founded in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925. In 2022, it produced 6.0 million gold ounces and 1.3 million gold equivalent ounces from copper, silver, lead and zinc.
Rahman was not to rest on his laurels, though; during the course of that final year of his studies, Rahman also completed all but three ACCA papers. ‘For me, the ACCA Qualification called for a more advanced use of the human intellect,’ he says. ‘It didn’t confine things to black and white, but forced me to think about things in a unique way. How the syllabus is written really helps you maximise your intelligence.’
New countries, new company
This random act of lining up with his friend would lead to a 12-year career in finance at Maersk, culminating in his final role with the company as CFO of the eastern Africa area. The range of positions he held would take him from Ghana, to Nigeria, to Kenya, to Germany and, ultimately, the difficult career move to another company.
‘The opportunity to contribute something so important to the country was very appealing to me’
CV
2023
Peru managing director, Newmont Corporation
2022
South America CFO, Newmont Corporation
2019
Africa Region CFO, Newmont Corporation
2018
Eastern Africa Area CFO, Maersk
2016
Central West Africa Cluster CFO, Maersk
2013
CFO, Ghana, Maersk
2009
Financial Controller, Germany, Maersk
2007
Various accounting roles, Ghana, Maersk
‘My family really wanted to get back to Ghana,’ Rahman explains, which is how he came to join Newmont Corporation, the world’s leading gold company, as its regional CFO in Africa. It was a very difficult decision to leave Maersk, he adds, ‘but I felt that I wanted to do something different’. Ghana has a long history of gold mining, which is a significant contributor to the national economy. ‘The opportunity to contribute something so important to the country was very appealing to me,’ he says.
Next stop, America
However, after only two-and-a-half years in Ghana, the global CFO based in the US would call upon Rahman to move to Miami to head up the finance team of its South American operations – the most complex asset portfolio in the company.
The regional CFO role had greater scope and was a natural progression, Rahman says, with one of its bigger challenges dealing within South America’s current economic climate. ‘We’re the biggest taxpayer in most of the countries we operate in, as well as the largest contributor to their national economies,’ he says. ‘However, given the fiscal challenges around the globe at the moment, we’re called upon more and more to support the local economies.’
This has, he continues, become increasingly difficult – not least due to the supply-chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine. ‘We have to find creative ways to get our metals to their final destination,’ he says.
In addition to his role at the financial helm of the operations in Suriname, Peru, Argentina and Mexico, Rahman was responsible for coordinating all environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting in terms of tax transparency for the region, and was a member of various ESG groups within the company, as well as having responsibility for IFRS Standards reconciliation to US GAAP. He was also a key member of the global finance leadership team, the Regional Investment Council, and board chair for two joint ventures in Chile.
Mentoring role
And now, as of 1 August 2023, he finds himself promoted to the role of managing director for Newmont’s Peru business unit. However, Rahman is particularly proud of is his role as a mentor; he is executive sponsor of Women and Allies for Peru, a business resource group that helps women achieve their potential in their careers and their communities. ‘Spending time and mentoring these women in terms of what they can achieve, and providing them with the platform to speak up has been fulfilling for me,’ he says.
‘I’ve always considered myself a citizen of the world, and the ACCA Qualification helped me realise that’
Now planning to split his time between Peru and his current home in Miami, Rahman reflects on the role of the ACCA Qualification in his international career. ‘I’ve always considered myself a citizen of the world, and the ACCA Qualification helped me realise that.
‘The training provides a unique way of thinking about business, and that has helped me move between roles and cultures. It’s allowed me to see things in shades of grey, rather than black and white.’
