No-nonsense new Anglo chairman brings fresh look

By Eric Onstad

LONDON (Reuters) - John Parker brings a hard-headed shipbuilding background, gracious style and merger expertise to the chairman's post of mining group Anglo American (AAL.L), under siege by predator Xstrata (XTA.L).

Parker, 67, who has sat on 12 boards of listed companies and chaired eight of them, will take the top job at Anglo on August 1.

Born in Northern Ireland into a farming family, Parker has a reputation as genial with a no-nonsense core.

"Beneath the velvet manners, it's hard to escape the impression that Parker is really made of shipbuilder's steel," said a 2007 article in World Business magazine.

"Smooth and unhurried, he has the kind of presence that is build on decades of success."

Parker is well suited to help chart Anglo's future after it solidly rebuffed a proposal by Xstrata two weeks ago for a "merger of equals."

Known to relish challenges, Parker helped navigate a clutch of companies through mergers, including the British shipbuilding sector through nationalisation and then back to the private sector.

He is currently chairman of British energy network provider National Grid Plc (NG.L), assuming the post when Lattice, a spin-off of British Gas, merged with National Grid in 2002.