BHP Splits Americas Role in Executive Reshuffle

Incoming BHP CEO, Brandon Craig, has made significant changes to the executive leadership structure before even taking the helm, most notably splitting the current President Americas role into two.

Ahead of Brandon's July 1 start, BHP announced the creation of President North America and President South ‌America roles, saying the move will allow ​a greater focus on each region.

Jessica Farrell will step into the President North America position on July 1. She is currently the ​vice-president of innovation and previously served as Western Australia Nickel Asset President, with more than 20 years of experience in commodities and ​jurisdictions at BHP.

Jessica will also babysit the President South America position while the appointment for that role is finalised. Brandon succeeds current CEO Mike Henry, having served in the President Americas role for nearly two and a half years.

“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,” Brandon says. 

Wider BHP leadership changes 

Further leadership changes have been announced, with current Chief Operating Officer Edgar Basto transitioning to a newly created Chief Enterprise Performance Officer role from 1 September. He will retain responsibility for health, safety and security across the company.

Geraldine Slattery continues as President Australia but also picks up Copper South Australia under the new structure, bringing all of BHP's Australian operating assets under a single leadership line.

The full executive leadership team takes effect on 1 September, which means Craig will spend his first two months as CEO operating with the structure in transition.

"As incoming CEO, I look forward to leading the talented people who make BHP a great company and I am confident that the new appointments will support BHP's progress in strategy, operating performance, growth and our differentiated approach to social value creation, all in support of strong long-term shareholder returns," Brandon adds. 

North America's growing strategic weight

BHP's North American portfolio helps explain why Brandon feels the need for the region to have its own president. The Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, represents a total investment of more than US$13.9bn across two stages, according to BHP, with Stage 1 targeting first production in late 2026.

Stage 2 is expected to bring total annual capacity to 8.5 million tonnes of potash by the early 2030s, according to the company. Once complete, it is set to be one of the largest potash operations in the world. 

As The West’s mission to erode its reliance on China’s supply chains for key metals intensifies, governments are increasingly looking to partner with domestic miners, which places even more importance on the North America region. 

As one of the biggest global mining operators, BHP already has a seat at that table. Separating North from South at this critical point in time will give the company the regional bandwidth to commit to those conversations, something Brandon knows better than anyone, having run the Americas region himself. 

He adds: "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."