Anglo American needs a strong CEO Ask anyone around the City of London who will be the next chief executive of Anglo Americanand you get the impression that one man is a shoo-in for the job. Alex Vanselow, who stepped down as finance chief at BHP Billiton a year ago, has made no secret of his ambition to run a global mining company. He has been named as the most likely candidate to take over from Cynthia Carroll - an idea welcomed by most analysts and investors. I fear the City may be set for a disappointment. After conversations with several people close to him, it seems the Brazilian is not actively pursuing the Anglo role, nor does he see himself as a likely successor to Ms Carroll. Rather than courting board directors and wooing City institutions, Mr Vanselow - true to the national stereotype - is spending quality time on the beach. And he plans to stay there - at least for the moment. When Ms Carroll last month said she would step down after six years in the job, Deutsche Bank called Mr Vanselow the "most obvious candidate" and said that they would see his appointment as a positive development for the beleaguered miner. Other possible candidates include AngloGold Ashanti boss Mark Cutifani - who hinted last week that he is happy where he is - and Doug Ritchie, head of strategy at Rio Tinto, as well as internal executives such as Chris Griffith, Anglo's head of platinum, who assumed the post a few months ago. Anglo faces a raft of serious challenges, from its South African platinum business to cost overruns at a flagship iron ore project in Brazil. Moreover, the wave of wildcat strikes around South Africa's platinum and gold sectors since the summer - and the violence at Lonmin's Marikana mine, which cost the lives of more than 45 people - have refocused investors" minds on the risks of doing business in the country. Some industry experts are concerned that Anglo's board will not give the new chief executive free rein to take dramatic action, such as restructuring the group or rethinking its strategy. Anglo's board, led by Sir John Parker, is seen as more hands-on than some of its peers. The board had set the strategy put into action by Ms Carroll and could resist the new chief executive's suggestions that the group spin off or separate some South African assets. One person characterised the mood as "preservation rather than transformation," and argued that the company needed more drastic surgery than its board seemed prepared to back. To attract a strong chief executive to tackle Anglo's problems, the miner's board may have to loosen its grip on the reins.