Anglo American’s investors may have backed the company in its tussle with Xstrata, but that should not be confused with unconditional support for Cynthia Carroll, Anglo’s chief executive.

There have been rumours of a lack of support for Mrs Carroll for some time, although accusations against her have never been particularly specific.

She is said to be disliked by other executives, to have an abrupt manner and to have ruffled feathers by attempting to interfere in the company’s well-established fiefdoms in South Africa. She has also been accused of overpaying for assets at the height of the mining boom.

None of this is conclusive and some of it smacks of chauvinism — Mrs Carroll is not only a rarity as a female FTSE 100 chief executive, but she is also in arguably the most male-dominated industry.

Indeed, one Anglo old-timer said in an interview this week that female chief executives could not function properly because they were sexually frustrated.

Crackpots aside, there are clearly a significant number of institutional investors expressing reservations about Mrs Carroll’s ability to run Anglo and the merger-of-equals approach from Xstrata has not helped her cause.

Shareholders may not have liked the financial terms of Xstrata’s offer, but the prospect of Mick Davis, its chief executive, also running Anglo has excited many.

Mr Davis is well respected in the City, having built Xstrata into one of the world’s biggest miners almost from scratch, and his merger approach is in danger of becoming a referendum on Mrs Carroll’s performance.

When Sir John Parker is named as Anglo's chairman today, he will no doubt back the current management. However, Sir John needs to address the lack of confidence in the chief executive.

He needs to spend the next few months talking to shareholders and Anglo executives in order to get a better understanding of whether Mrs Carroll really is out of her depth.

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