Background
Du Plessis, an Afrikaner, grew up near Cape Town, South Africa.
Du Plessis, an Afrikaner, grew up near Cape Town, South Africa.
He studied at the University of Stellenbosch for degrees in commerce and law, and is also qualified as a chartered accountant in his home country.
Du Plessis was placed tenth in The Times 2006 Power 100, a list which rates the most powerful people in British business. Although he was once a prominent figure in the tobacco industry, du Plessis has never smoked. Du Plessis worked in various management positions in the South African Rembrandt Group from 1981, and in 1988 he became Group Finance Director of Compagnie Financière Richemont.
He also held the same position at tobacco manufacturer Rothmans International between 1990 and 1995.
When Rothmans International was merged with British American Tobacco in 1999, du Plessis became a non-executive director on that board. In April 2004, du Plessis left his position at Richemont to take on the role of non-executive Chairman at British American Tobacco.
In June 2005, he was appointed non-executive Chairman of the United Kingdom food business RHM. In October of the same year, du Plessis joined the board of directors at the Lloyds Trustee Savings Bank Group as a non-executive director In March 2009 it was announced that he would be the new chairman of mining group Rio Tinto.
Du Plessis is also a member of the governing body of the International Chamber of Commerce United Kingdom.