Juan Fernando Nuñez Chávez
SOUTHERN COPPER CORP/About Juan Fernando Nuñez Chávez
Juan Fernando Nuñez Chávez is Vice President, Explorations at Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO), appointed April 10, 2025; he is 67 years old and a geological engineer with 40+ years’ experience across Latin America . He holds a bachelor’s degree from Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (Arequipa) and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geology from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (Lima); he served as Explorations Manager of Southern Peru Copper Corporation since 2000 and has been a university professor at UNI, UNMSM, and UNSA; he was president of the Lima Chapter of Geological Engineers (2016–2018) . Company performance context: SCCO’s net income and TSR have been volatile over the past five years; pay‑vs‑performance disclosures show TSR of 11.2% in 2024 and net income of $3,376.8M, underscoring cyclicality in copper markets .
| Metric | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Shareholder Return | 52.3% | -0.3% | 3.5% | 49.1% | 11.2% |
| Net Income ($USD Millions) | $1,570.4 | $3,397.1 | $2,638.5 | $2,425.2 | $3,376.8 |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Peru Copper Corporation | Explorations Manager | 2000–2025 | Led metallic mineral deposit exploration; multi‑country project work |
| SCCO – Los Chancas Project | Technical Manager of Explorations (reserve responsibility) | 2018 | Accountable for ore reserve calculations, influencing project economics |
| Various mining companies (LatAm) | Exploration Advisor Geologist | Not disclosed | Mineralogical studies across Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI); Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM); Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA) | Professor (undergraduate & postgraduate) | Not disclosed | Talent development; academic-industry knowledge transfer |
| College of Engineers of Peru – Lima Chapter | President | 2016–2018 | Professional standards and community leadership in geology |
Fixed Compensation
SCCO did not disclose individual pay elements for Mr. Nuñez Chávez in the latest proxy; company disclosures indicate Peruvian executives (e.g., CFO, VP Exploration) receive cash-based compensation comprising base salary, discretionary bonus, and legally mandated benefits (profit sharing, legal bonuses, CTS), plus company programs (vacation travel, quinquenio) .
| Component | Company Policy (Peru) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Determined by role, performance, market; denominated in Soles (converted to USD for reporting) | Increases based on performance; FX impacts USD reporting |
| Discretionary bonus | Paid at management/committee discretion; not tied to pre‑set metrics | Varies with financial performance, investment plan, liquidity |
| Profit sharing | 8% of pre‑tax profits for Peruvian operations, capped per employee | Paid in cash; excess to funds/regional governments |
| Legal bonuses | Independence Day, Christmas, Labor Day, Miners’ Day per law | Annual statutory bonuses |
| CTS (Compensación por Tiempo de Servicios) | Annual deposits of ~1/12 of certain comp buckets; withdrawable at termination (temporary withdrawal allowed through 12/31/2024) | Held in bank trust; accrues interest |
| Vacation bonus & travel | Company-sponsored benefits for key salaried employees | Annual allowance |
| Quinquenio | 5% of monthly salary per five years of service (voluntary/company-labor practice) | Retention-linked tenure benefit |
Performance Compensation
SCCO states it does not use pre‑determined performance criteria (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR) or long-term incentive compensation for executive officers; cash bonuses are discretionary .
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary cash bonus | None (no pre‑set metrics) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Discretionary | None (cash) |
SCCO has not granted options/RSUs/PSUs since 2000; the stock incentive plan expired Jan 1, 2006 .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| SCCO shares beneficially owned | 0 (Form 3 initial statement) |
| Ownership % of outstanding | 0% of 796,182,905 shares (as of Mar 27, 2025) |
| Options/RSUs/PSUs outstanding | None; SCCO has not granted equity awards since 2000 |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed in proxy for officers |
| Hedging policy | Hedging/monetization transactions strongly discouraged; pre‑clearance required (e.g., zero‑cost collars) |
| Insider filings | Form 3 filed May 20, 2025; no beneficial ownership; power of attorney filed Apr 16, 2025 |
Employment Terms
| Provision | Detail |
|---|---|
| Appointment date & role | Appointed VP, Explorations on Apr 10, 2025 |
| Contract term | Not disclosed for Mr. Nuñez; SCCO notes Peruvian executives (other than expatriate CEO) generally do not have employment agreements |
| Severance (Peru) | Per law: if dismissed without cause, ~1.5× monthly salary per year of service, up to 8 years (or 12 months salary); CTS fully withdrawable at termination |
| Change‑of‑control | Peruvian NEOs do not have change‑of‑control employment agreements |
| Non‑compete / non‑solicit | Not disclosed |
| Clawback | Adopted per NYSE/SEC rules in 2023; applies to erroneously awarded incentive‑based compensation tied to misstated financials (company notes it does not use financial performance measures to compensate executive officers) |
| Insider trading controls | Securities Law Compliance Policy governs director/officer trading; hedging pre‑clearance |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: SCCO’s compensation framework for executives relies on base pay, legally mandated benefits, and discretionary bonuses with no pre‑set performance metrics or long‑term equity; this reduces direct linkage to operational/financial KPIs and minimizes equity‑based retention hooks .
- Insider selling pressure: Form 3 shows zero beneficial ownership for Mr. Nuñez; with no equity awards outstanding and hedging discouraged, near‑term insider selling pressure tied to his holdings is effectively nil .
- Retention risk: Absence of RSUs/PSUs and no vesting schedules for officers reduce long‑term lock‑in; retention relies on tenure benefits (quinquenio), mandated profit sharing, and discretionary bonuses rather than equity alignment .
- Governance context: SCCO is a controlled company; the Compensation Committee is not fully independent, which may sustain the current cash‑heavy, non‑metric framework (say‑on‑pay support was 99.40% in 2024) .
- Execution track record: Mr. Nuñez brings deep technical leadership (reserve responsibility at Los Chancas; decades of exploration management) which is strategically valuable for resource development, though his compensation structure does not explicitly tie payouts to exploration milestones .