Mining giant BHP has unveiled a major shake-up of its executive leadership team, splitting its Americas leadership role in two to better capture regional growth.
The changes follow the appointment of incoming CEO Brandon Craig, who will succeed Mike Henry on July 1.
Under the new structure, the single President Americas position will be divided into two distinct roles: President North America and President South America.
Craig said the split would allow a sharper focus as the company navigates an increasingly complex global operating environment.
“This will allow a greater focus on each of these regions. Our operating environment is increasingly complex, but also rich in opportunity for companies that are best able to positively engage stakeholders, deploy capital to the right opportunities in a disciplined way and deliver safe, reliable operational performance,” Craig said.
Jessica Farrell, currently BHP’s Vice President Innovation and former Western Australia Nickel Asset President, has been appointed President North America, effective July 1.
A 20-year veteran of the company, Farrell will also step in as interim President South America while recruitment for that position is finalised.
Further executive changes will take effect on September 1. Current COO Edgar Basto will transition into the newly created role of Chief Enterprise Performance Officer. Reporting directly to the CEO, Basto will oversee health, safety, security, and the BHP Operating System, with a specific mandate to strengthen contractor safety and enterprise-wide discipline.
Meanwhile, President Australia Geraldine Slattery will expand her remit to assume responsibility for Copper South Australia, unifying all of BHP’s Australian operating assets under a single leadership structure.
Craig expressed confidence that the new-look executive team would drive strong long-term shareholder returns through disciplined capital deployment and a focus on social value.
“These new appointments ensure that we continue to build organisational capacity, with the right mix of skills, experience and perspectives to deliver BHP’s strategy and pursue our growth agenda,” he said.
