Anglo-Australian miner BHP appoints new global chief executive
BHP announced that it had appointed a new chief executive this morning, with current boss Andrew MacKenzie due to retire at the end of this year.
Mike Henry, the current head of BHP’s Australian operations, will take over from MacKenzie on 1 January 2020.
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53-year-old Henry, who originally hails from Canada, takes over the world’s largest mining business at a time when the industry is feeling the pressure of rising environmental concerns, social issues and a slowdown of growth in China, BHP’s biggest customer.
Henry, who joined BHP in 2003, led the group’s Australian division for three years, leading 50,000 people across iron, coal, copper and nickel operations.
The division is the group’s single largest earner, generating profits of $16bn in 2019, roughly 70 per cent of the group’s total for the year.
Group chairman Ken MacKenzie said: “Mike’s deep operational and commercial experience, developed in a global career spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, is the perfect mix for our next CEO.
“I am confident his discipline and focus will deliver a culture of high performance and returns for BHP.”
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However, some noted that Henry’s tenure had not been without its difficulties, especially relating to long-running problems at South Australia’s Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine.
In March, a runaway train was also forced to derail in the Australian outback at a cost of several hundred million dollars, and meant BHP had to suspend its rail freight operations in that area for several days.
Henry will be faced with some big decisions from the off, including a decision on whether to pursue a $17bn push into potash mining in Canada.
He will also face questions over the company’s environmental footprint. At November’s Sydney AGM, a motion calling on BHP to give up its membership in industry bodies which support policies which run counter to the Paris climate change treaty received the support of 30 per cent of stakeholders.
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Henry has yet to say whether he will step down from his position as vice chair of industry association Minerals Council of Australia.
There was some surprise over the timing of the decision, as MacKenzie had repeatedly said that he was keen to stay on.
Under his tenure BHP spun off a range of assets and sold its disastrous shale division, narrowing its focus to concentrate on iron ore, copper, coal and conventional oil and gas.
In 2015, the collapse of the company’s Samarco mine in Brazil killed 19 people and contaminated water sources across the area in what was the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history.
In recent weeks BHP approved $44m to restart operations at the mine.
The appointment has met with a mixed reaction from investors, with opinion split between those who welcomed the continuity and those who were keen for the introduction of some fresh blood.
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Names mentioned included Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani and former Fortescue Metals chief executive Nev Power.
Analysts at Shore Capital said: “This appointment was a bit of a surprise for us in two ways. First, noises from the incumbent had led us to expect that he would be staying in the job a bit longer into 2020. Second, there had been chatter that an external candidate could be brought in, with Anglo American’s proven Cutifani particularly favoured.”
Shares in BHP initially fell 1.6 per cent on the announcement, before recovering.
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