During that time, the 59-year-old BHP veteran has reshaped the company. Within the first two years of his leadership, the miner announced plans to sell its oil and gas business and dismantle a dual listing structure, as well as approving a giant potash mine in Henry’s native Canada.
Henry also led BHP through a return to dealmaking after years on the sidelines, culminating in the ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful bid for Anglo American. The $75 billion takeover attempt sent shockwaves through the industry but was rebuffed by the smaller company as too complex and risky.
The appointment of either Pant or Slattery would mark the first time that the world’s biggest mining company is led by a woman.
BHP rose 0.9 per cent to $38.03 in early trading on Wednesday, trimming its share price loss since the start of the year to 4.7 per cent.
Slattery — previously operator of BHP’s offshore oil and gas assets, which it spun off to Woodside Energy — was placed in the far more public role of president of the Australian unit in 2022.
Pant, a former banker, has been at BHP since 2016. She served as chief commercial officer before becoming CFO last year. Udd has a technical past but was put in more operational roles and has proven success across BHP’s important copper business in the Americas.
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The appointment of either Pant or Slattery would mark the first time that the world’s biggest mining company is led by a woman, in an industry notorious for the lack of diversity in its top ranks. Of the three dozen miners in the ASX200 index, just one has a female CEO.
And Henry’s successor will inherit some thorny challenges. Despite recent years of record profits, BHP is looking financially stretched — already trending toward the top of its self-imposed debt target before it starts to pay for the series of hugely expensive growth projects.
The company is planning to spend billions of dollars to halt a decline in copper production at its crucial Escondida copper mine, further expand the Canadian potash mine, and develop copper projects in Argentina and Australia.
BHP isn’t alone. Capital allocation is likely to be a focus across the largest miners this year, according to analysts from Citigroup and Jefferies Financial Group.
In BHP’s case, the company has ramped up its focus on cost reduction. Wage inflation is just one contributing factor: In WA’s iron-ore-rich Pilbara region, unions are organising to raise salaries, a negotiation not seen in more than two decades, adding further pressure to other areas of the business.
The company has already lowered its dividend to the minimum payout under its current policy, and insiders said they don’t expect the policy to change. Unless commodity prices rise significantly, BHP may have to change its debt approach or move to stagger some of its growth plans as a result, they said.
Bloomberg
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