Yves Fortier, chairman of the board of Alcan, and Paul Tellier, a non-executive director of Alcan, become non-executive directors of Rio Tinto. Dick Evans, the Alcan chief executive officer, becomes an executive director of Rio Tinto and the chief executive of the combined aluminium group, Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Montreal.

Rio Tinto chairman Paul Skinner says: "I am very pleased to welcome Yves, Paul and Dick to the Rio Tinto board. They will play key roles in providing important continuity during the integration of Alcan and bring valuable new perspectives, particularly in relation to Canada, to our board."

Yves Fortier was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations from 1988 to 1992. He is chairman and a senior partner of the law firm Ogilvy Renault. He has been a director of Alcan since 2002.

Paul Tellier was Clerk of the Privy Council Office and Secretary to the Cabinet of the Government of Canada from 1985 to 1992 and was president and CEO of the Canadian National Railway Company from 1992 to 2002. Until December 2004 he was president and CEO of Bombardier Inc.

Dick Evans held senior management positions with Kaiser Aluminium & Chemical Corporation before joining Alcan in 1997 where he has held several senior management positions including executive vice president, Office of the President.