Press Release
 
Johannesburg, 10 February 2003
 
Sappi appoints new Chief Executive Officer.
Sappi Limited announced today that Jonathan Leslie, currently Chief Executive of the  Diamonds and Gold Group of Rio
Tinto plc, will join the group in April this year as Chief Executive Officer.  At that time Sappi will split the roles
of Chairman and Chief Executive, and Eugene van As, the current Chief Executive Officer, will retire as CEO and become
Non-Executive Chairman of the group.
 
Jonathan Leslie is a businessman with a great deal of international experience, and has had a highly successful career
at Rio Tinto where he has been responsible for a wide range of corporate activities, including in the past the Rössing
Uranium mine in Namibia, the Copper Group and, more recently, the Diamonds and Gold Group.  He has lived and worked in
many countries of the world and is familiar with managing an operation with diverse cultures.  He and his wife, Pepe,
will be relocating to Johannesburg from London where they now live.
 
Sappi announced about a year ago that it intended splitting the role of Chairman and Chief Executive, when Eugene van
As, the current Executive Chairman, retires, and that it was conducting a global search for a new Chief Executive. 
Commenting on the process undertaken by Sappi, David Brink, a Non-Executive Director of the group and Chairman of the
group's Selection Committee, said today that the board had set out to find a new leader for the group that met specific
characteristics.  Ideally, it wanted somebody who would lead the group for the next eight to ten years, and who could
build on Sappi's successful formula, keeping the culture of the group intact whilst growing it to its full potential. 
Mr Brink said the Committee had an excellent group of internal and external candidates to choose from, and the initial
short list of candidates included four nationalities.  The board is satisfied that it has chosen the best possible
candidate to lead the company.
 
Jonathan Leslie said today that he was very excited about joining Sappi Limited, "I was attracted by the group's
business strategy, its successful track record and its already significant market shares in Africa, Europe and the
United States.  I look forward to developing the business further and attaining its strategic objectives.  Sappi seems
to be well positioned and poised to be able to grow.  I have been particularly impressed when studying the group's
reports by its financial discipline and rigorous process of allocating capital.  I look forward to working with the
Sappi team".
 
Eugene van As, Sappi's current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said "I am delighted that Jonathan has agreed to
join the Sappi group, and I could not be more pleased with the board's choice.  He is a first-rate executive and he
brings valuable skills and international experience to the group.  I know he will get unqualified support from the
Sappi team and will be an excellent leader and get the best out of all of them".
 
As regards his new role as Non-Executive Chairman, van As said, "I have been at Sappi a very long time and I am
conscious of the fact that it is time for change and for new dynamic leadership.  I am also very conscious of the need
for the new CEO to be the undisputed leader of the business.  When I hand over executive responsibilities after a short
transition period to familiarise Jonathan with the business, he will lead the company.  My role as Non-Executive
Chairman will be to provide a sounding board for Jonathan when he needs it, and to ensure that the appropriate debate
on major strategic issues and decisions is properly and transparently aired at board meetings, and to maintain the
culture of open debate and good corporate governance".
 
 
End
 
Notes to the Editor:
 
A photo of Mr Jonathan Leslie, as well as the electronic version of this document, can be accessed on the Sappi website
www.sappi.com .
 
Sappi Limited is the world's largest producer of coated fine paper with leading market shares in North America, Europe
and Africa.  It is also the world's largest producer of dissolving pulp.  It has manufacturing operations in eight
countries on three continents and customers in more than 100 countries.
 
Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest mining and resources groups, employing approximately 36 000 people and
operating on every continent.
 
 
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                               Biographical information                                                
Jonathan C A Leslie
 
 
Born in Kasulu, Tanzania on 13 December 1950, Jonathan Leslie, a British citizen, was educated at Trinity College,
Oxford, receiving a Master of Arts degree in Jurisprudence.  He was called to the Bar in 1974.
 
He joined Rio Tinto in 1977.  In the years leading up to his appointment as mining director in 1994, he had a wide
experience of the company's interests in Africa, Australia, Latin America and the United States, including Managing
Director of Rössing Uranium in Namibia.  Prior to becoming Chief Executive of the Diamonds and Gold Group in 1999, he
was Chief Executive of the Copper Group from 1997.  He is also a director of Lihir Gold.
 
He was appointed a director of Rio Tinto plc in 1994 and of Rio Tinto Limited in 1995.
 
He is married to Pepe, also a qualified lawyer, and they have 4 grown-up children (two sets of twins) - a son and three
daughters.
 
He has lived in the UK, the USA, Namibia and Australia.
 
His interests include rackets sports; he gained five different blues at Oxford University and was the leading British
amateur squash player from 1976 - 1980.
 
CAREER SUMMARY[INS::INS]
[INS: :INS]
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|[INS: 1974 - 1977:INS]                |[INS:CHANCERY CHAMBERS:INS]            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| [INS::INS]                           |[INS:Barrister:INS][INS::INS]          |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1977 - present                       |RIO TINTO                              |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1977-1980                            |Legal Department                       |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1980-1984                            |Uranium Marketing Executive, Mineral   |
|                                      |Services                               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1984-1985                            |Strategy Department                    |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1985-1987                            |PA to the Chief Executive              |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1987-1989                            |Strategy Manager, Metals Group         |
|                                      |                                       |
|                                      |Responsible for Zimbabwe operations    |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 1989-1991                            |Director Latin America and RTZ Mining  |
|                                      |and Metals Lt  Chairman Anglesey       |
|                                      |Aluminium (smelter)                    |
|                                      |                                       |
|                                      |Chairman Capper Pass (smelter in Hull) |
|                                      |                                       |
|                                      |Rio Tinto Representative on Escondida  |
|                                      |Owners Council (copper mine in Chile   |
|                                      |run by BHP)                            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|  1991-1994                           |Managing Director, Rössing Uranium Ltd,|
|                                      |Namibia                                |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|  1994                                |Appointed to Main Board with           |
|                                      |responsibilities in Europe, Brazil,    |
|                                      |Namibia, India and Papua New Guinea    |
|                                      |                                       |
|                                      |                                       |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|  1995                                |Director RTZ-CRA Dual listed company   |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|  1996                                |CRA Group Executive, Melbourne         |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|  1997                                |Acting President of Kennecott          |
|                                      |Corporation based in Salt Lake City    |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|1997-1999                             | CEO Copper Group                      |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|1999 - present                        |CEO Diamonds and Gold Group            |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
                                               
 
 
 
 
For further information please contact:
 
André Oberholzer
Corporate Affairs Manager
Sappi Limited
Tel +27 (0)11 407 8044
Fax +27 (0)11 403 8236
Cell +27 (0)82 906 0638
Andre.oberholzer@za.sappi.com