Mr. Cutifani promised to sell assets and cut jobs, though a revival in commodity prices helped steady the listing miner, which owns the De Beers diamond business.
Mr. Cutifani's biggest impact was the operational turnaround in the company's mines, said Danielle Chigumira, a mining analyst at Bernstein.
"Before, if Anglo gave you guidance for 100,000 tons of production for a mine, what you would put into your model is 90,000 because they disappointed so much," she said.
"Now, if they gave 100, you would put in 102 or 105," she added.
Mr. Cutifani, a big rugby fan who began his career as an underground mining engineer, had widely telegraphed his retirement.
He hands over to Mr. Wanblad, who is currently Anglo American's director of strategy and business development and previously ran its base metals business.
The 54-year-old mining veteran inherits a miner with a broad portfolio of resources, including diamonds, iron ore, platinum, copper and potash. But like other miners, Mr. Wanblad needs to contend with continued pandemic-induced volatility in commodity prices, while convincing investors to buy into a sector many see as a dirty industry with a heavy impact on communities where it operates.
Mr. Wanblad's challenges also include getting off the ground Anglo American's new potash mine, which has a troubled history.
Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com
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