Rio Tinto has named Simon Trott as chief executive following the surprise exit of Jakob Stausholm, tasking the company veteran with steering the mining group during a period of global consolidation across the industry.

Rio Tinto named Simon Trott, who heads the company's most profitable iron ore unit, as its new chief executive on Tuesday, placing trust in the 20-year veteran to rein in operational costs and drive long term growth.

The miner opted for Trott and his experience running its most profitable operations as the company seeks to strengthen its growing business.