BHP CFO Steps Down in Executive Reshuffle -- Update

By Rhiannon Hoyle

BHP Group, the world's largest miner by market value, said its chief financial officer will step down amid a reshuffle of the company's executive ranks.

The mining giant has revamped its business in recent years to bet on commodities linked to decarbonization and electrification. It has shifted away from fossil fuels and invested in industrial metals copper and nickel, and fertilizer ingredient potash.

Mike Henry, BHP's chief executive since 2020, on Thursday said the refresh of the leadership team is aimed at having the right mix of skills and perspectives for the company's next leg of growth.

BHP said Chief Financial Officer David Lamont will be succeeded by Vandita Pant, its chief commercial officer, from March 1. Lamont will remain with BHP until February 2025 in an advisory and projects role, reporting to Henry.

The company named Americas President Rag Udd to succeed Pant. Brandon Craig, currently BHP's Western Australia Iron Ore asset president, will take up the Americas role.

The miner said Chief Technical Officer Laura Tyler will leave BHP in February and be succeeded by Johan van Jaarsveld, who is currently chief development officer.

"These new appointments ensure that we continue to build organizational capacity, with the right mix of skills, experience and perspectives to deliver BHP's strategy and pursue our growth agenda," Henry said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for BHP declined to comment further on the changes.

In October, BHP doubled down on its potash bet, approving a $4.9 billion project to further expand the Jansen project that it is building in Canada's Saskatchewan province.

Earlier in the year, it bought Australian copper miner OZ Minerals in what was its biggest acquisition in more than a decade. It has offloaded its petroleum business and sold coal mines.

Pant--who joined BHP in 2016--has overseen the miner's sales and marketing, among other responsibilities, for the past four years. Her team has developed BHP's views on global commodities markets and macro trends.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 06, 2023 19:15 ET (00:15 GMT)

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