Bedford will replace Constantine Karayannopoulos, who was appointed interim president and CEO in December 2012 and who will continue as a director and vice chairman of the Molycorp board of directors.
Bedford will assume the president and CEO position effective in December 2013.
Bedford previously served as executive vice president and COO of Neo Material Technologies until Molycorp acquired Neo Materials in June 2012.
"Geoff Bedford is one of the rare earth industry's most seasoned and experienced leaders, and he led the successful effort over the past year to integrate Molycorp's global team and our assets, facilities, and market strategies," Karayannopoulos said. "His steady hand will ensure a smooth and seamless execution of our business plan, and his visionary leadership will help position the company to take advantage of the many growth opportunities on our horizon."
Ross R Bhappu, chairman of the Molycorp board of directors, added: "Molycorp is very fortunate to have someone of Geoff's caliber, expertise, and breadth of rare earth industry knowledge to assume the next generation of leadership of the company. He has the operational experience as well as the deep knowledge of this company to lead Molycorp to the next level of performance.”