MEDIA RELEASE PR35491
Peabody Energy Names Connie de Santana New Finance Head for Peabody Energy Australia
ST. LOUIS, July 24 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Peabody Energy today announced that Connie de Santana has been named Chief Financial Officer
for Peabody Energy Australia, effective Aug. 19, 2009. She will be responsible for finance, treasury,
accounting, tax, financial and operational reporting, shared services, information services, supply chain
management and compliance for Peabody's Australia operations.
De Santana will report to Julian Thornton, Managing Director of Peabody Energy Australia.
De Santana graduated from the University of South Africa with Honours Bachelor of Accounting
Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. From 1986 to 2009, de Santana held increasing roles of
responsibility with various subsidiaries of Anglo American plc Group, including Senior Divisional
Financial Manager and Vice President - Finance for Anglo Coal's South Africa subsidiary; and Senior
Vice President and Executive Vice President - Finance, with responsibility for the financial affairs of
Anglo's worldwide coal businesses. In 2002, de Santana was named Chief Financial Officer for Anglo
Coal Australia, where she directed all financial operations for Anglo's Australian coal businesses from
their Brisbane headquarters.
She succeeds Gregg P. Wickstra who is retiring from Peabody after a 31-year career. In 2007,
Wickstra was appointed Chief Financial Officer for Peabody Energy Australia. Prior to that, he served
as Vice President of Commercial Services with responsibility for contract administration, risk
management and trading/sales support activities.
Wickstra began his career at Peabody in 1978 as a Contract Administrator and has held
management positions in sales, marketing services, market research, property services, planning,
operations services, materials management and information services, and served as finance director
for a former Peabody subsidiary in Sydney.
Peabody Energy Australia shipped 24 million tons of thermal and metallurgical coal in 2008 from 10
operations in Queensland and New South Wales. The company also trades and markets coal globally
from offices in Brisbane and Newcastle. Peabody is the only U.S.-based coal company with a
significant presence in Australia, the world's largest coal exporting nation fueling the fastest-growing
coal markets.
Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2008 sales of
256 million tons and US$6.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all
U.S. electricity generation and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.
CONTACT:
Beth Sutton
(314) 342-7573
SOURCE: Peabody Energy
CONTACT: Beth Sutton of Peabody Energy,
+1-314-342-7573
(BTU)