He maintained his leadership in the aluminium business until Jerome Pecresse, his successor, assumed the role on October 23. Leading up to the contract termination date on November 15, Vella assisted Pecresse in transitioning to his new position.
According to Reuters, the internal communication email stated, "The termination relates to actions that did not follow Rio Tinto's guidance on acceptable management of confidential information."
The internal communication email added, "The first stage of our external investigation has concluded that Ivan failed to maintain the standards expected of him relating to this topic."
