Updated ,first published
Brandon Craig will take over from Mike Henry as chief executive of Australia’s largest mining company, BHP, after Henry steps down in July following six years in the top job.
Craig, a mining engineer, is currently BHP’s Americas president running the global resource giant’s Canadian, US and South American operations. Before that, he headed up its Pilbara iron ore business.
BHP chair Ross McEwan said Craig’s appointment followed a formal succession process.
“I am confident that his [Craig’s] discipline and focus will continue to drive BHP’s high-performance culture and advance the company’s unrivalled pipeline of growth options to maximise shareholder returns,” McEwan said in a statement on Wednesday.
The changeover at BHP coincided with another CEO appointment in Australia’s multibillion-dollar resources industry on Wednesday as Woodside Energy, the nation’s largest oil and gas producer, handed Liz Westcott the top job.
A former high-ranking executive at American oil major ExxonMobil and electric utility EnergyAustralia, Westcott has been Woodside’s interim CEO since Meg O’Neill left in December to lead London-based global energy giant BP.
Westcott takes on the role at a critical time: the war in Iran has unleashed turmoil in world energy markets, sending prices of oil, fuels and natural gas surging. Perth-based Woodside is also in the middle of a major expansion push in the United States, where it is building a giant terminal designed to export liquefied gas from Louisiana.
Woodside chairman Richard Goyder said Westcott’s track record of strategic leadership and delivery made her the board’s top pick for the role.
“Liz’s extensive industry experience and strategic vision will be invaluable in leading Woodside at this significant moment in its history,” he said.
Rio Tinto, BHP’s biggest rival, recently reinvigorated its leadership, appointing its former head of iron ore Simon Trott as chief executive to replace Jakob Stausholm last August.
Henry, who has run mining giant BHP since 2020, said he was proud of his achievements and that he left the company well positioned for growth.
The Canadian-born executive shifted BHP’s focus towards “future-facing” commodities such as copper, nickel and potash, taking advantage of a runaway boom in the minerals that will underpin the world’s energy transition away from fossil fuels.
He oversaw two failed multibillion-dollar bids to take over Anglo American and bolster BHP’s copper portfolio, walking away after six weeks of negotiation, first in May and then after another last ditch attempt in November.
Given Henry’s six-year tenure, succession has been a live issue for the company’s board.
But Craig’s appointment appears to be a “come from behind choice”.
Minerals Australia president Geraldine Slattery was widely thought to be a favourite to replace Henry. Other internal candidates considered to be potential CEO material included chief commercial officer Rag Udd and chief financial officer Vandita Pant. Chief development officer Catherine Raw was also in the mix, alongside Craig, but both were considered less likely to replace Henry.
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Simon Johanson is a business journalist at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
