Oleg Deripaska, the Russian billionaire, is to return as chief executive of Rusal, one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, after being re-elected by the board, the company said on Sunday.

The return of Mr Deripaska, who is Rusal’s majority shareholder, to the more direct hands-on role comes as the company battles to survive the global credit crisis and plummeting revenues due to the drop in commodity prices. It is seeking to restructure $14bn of debt it owes to foreign and Russian banks.