Rio Tinto has appointed Trudi Charles to succeed Isabelle Deschamps as Chief Legal Officer, Governance & Corporate Affairs.

Charles is currently Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President Legal, Supply, Trading & Shipping at BP plc. She will join Rio Tinto from 1 August 2026.

She has spent over 20 years at BP in various senior legal roles across its downstream and supply, trading & shipping businesses. Before this, Charles spent almost eight years with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in London and Hong Kong. She is admitted to the Law Society of England & Wales, the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Queensland Law Society.

“Trudi brings deep legal experience and strong commercial insight. I look forward to having her join the executive team and lead our legal, governance and corporate affairs teams,” Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott said in a news release.