Richard C. Adkerson

2012 Inductee into the American Mining Hall of Fame

Richard C. Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX). FCX with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, is the world's largest publicly owned copper producer and the principal supplier of copper to the United States. Adkerson led Freeport-McMoRan's $26 billion acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corp. in 2007, a transaction that transformed Freeport-McMoRan into the world's largest publicly traded copper company. He is being honored for his leadership of FCX and effective business leadership in the mining industry.

Adkerson holds a B.S. degree with highest honors and an MBA degree from Mississippi State University. He later completed the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. Prior to joining Freeport-McMoRan in 1989, he was a Partner and Managing Director in Arthur Andersen & Co. where he headed the Firm's Worldwide Oil and Gas Industry Practice. From 1976 to 1978, he was a Professional Accounting Fellow with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. and a Presidential Exchange Executive.

He currently serves as Chairman of the International Council on Mining and Metals and on the Executive Board of the International Copper Association. He is President of the Mississippi State University Foundation Board of Directors, chaired its "State of the Future" capital campaign, serves on the University's Advisory Board for the College of Business, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association and the Bulldog Club. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Phoenix Leadership and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and is a member of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States and the Dean's Council of 100 for the Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business. He also serves on the boards of numerous charitable and religious organizations. He was named the Outstanding Accounting Alumnus of Mississippi State University in 1989 and Outstanding Alumnus of Mississippi State University's College of Business and Industry in 1991. In 2008 and 2009, Mr. Adkerson was named "The Best CEO in Metals and Mining" by Institutional Investor magazine and recipient of The Copper Club's Ankh Award naming him "The Copper Man of the Year 2009" in recognition of his strong leadership in the global mining industry.

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