BHP Promotes Three Women to its Top Executive Ranks to Make History

BHP has re-engineered its executive ranks and promoted three women to its leadership team, a move that gives the miner its highest ever representation of women in its top tier of management.

The promotions, when combined with two executive departures announced by BHP, will mean that five of the 11 person leadership team will be women.

The changes will also mean that half of the 10 “direct reports” to chief executive Andrew Mackenzie will be women, a historic high for the mining giant and a move that has been lauded by women business leaders.

Laura Tyler will be the miner’s chief geoscientist, Geraldine Slattery will head the global petroleum business, and Vandita Pant will become chief commercial officer.

BHP also promoted Jonathan Price, currently BHP’s transformation director, to “chief transformation officer”.

The changes reflected the miner’s “simplified portfolio and transformation agenda,” BHP said in a statement. All the appointees are currently in senior positions at BHP.

BHP, which also reported an underlying attributable profit of $US4.03 billion ($5.66 billion) for the December half, also confirmed the departure of two men from its current executive ranks.

The two leaving are the current chief commercial officer Arnoud Balhuizen, who will go after 25 years with Billiton and BHP, and Steve Pastor, head of BHP’s global petroleum business.

Mr Mackenzie said the two departing executives had made a significant contribution to BHP and they would “leave a strong legacy in their respective areas of the business and across the company more broadly.”

He also said: “These management changes are an important step as we plan for the future of BHP. The elevation of geoscience and transformation to the executive leadership team demonstrates the determination we have to advance the best science, technology and people to make our operations safer and more productive.”