Trained as an accountant, Freeport-McMoRan’s Richard Adkerson has proven uncannily adept at adding—as in the controversial $26-billion acquisition of Phelps Dodge in 2007—and subtracting, as in the aggressive cost-cutting drive he put in place last year. The next test? Manage through the recession.

Given the current global economic crisis that has engulfed numerous companies led by strong individuals, some might say Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s action-focused chief executive officer, Richard Adkerson, is facing for the first time a situation where even his shrewd abilities cannot fully shelter his company from the storms.

Perhaps so, but the 20-year Freeport veteran's skills can't hurt either. Adkerson has a long history of decisiveness and resolute action. In fact, in two years he has gone from engineering the acquisition of a competitor twice his company's size to overseeing massive cuts that affect every aspect of the multi-national copper, gold and molybdenum miner—including his own wallet.

In 2007, he led Freeport's acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corp., then the largest mining deal in history. Inked at a time when copper prices were inching toward $3 a pound on the...