16 August 2022
BHP has today announced two changes to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) that will take effect on 1 October 2022. Edgar Basto will be appointed Chief Operating Officer and Geraldine Slattery will be appointed President Australia.
Chief Operating Officer As Chief Operating Officer Mr Basto will enable acceleration in safety and productivity improvement across the Group. He will have accountability for the continued transformation of BHP through the embedment of the BHP Operating System, and for BHP’s global Performance and Improvement and Health, Safety and Environment functions. Since May 2020, Mr Basto has been President Minerals Australia. Mr Basto has over 30 years of operating experience across BHP’s minerals footprint, including time as Asset President of BHP’s two largest assets, Western Australia Iron Ore and Escondida, and leading BHP’s global Health, Safety and Environment team.
President Australia As President Australia, Ms Slattery will be responsible for BHP’s Australian operations.
From March 2019 until the completion of the Woodside merger in June this year, Ms Slattery was President Petroleum and led BHP’s business which included oil and gas interests and development and exploration programs in the US, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago, Algeria, Mexico and Canada. Ms Slattery has 28 years of operational and global leadership experience gained in the UK, Australia and the US.
BHP Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry said: “I am pleased to announce these new appointments. Safety and operational reliability are at the heart of value creation at BHP. These two appointments will enable us to build upon the strong performance we have delivered in recent years to drive even better safety and productivity outcomes. Edgar’s and Geraldine’s particular experiences and capabilities as leaders, together with the newly created COO role, will ensure BHP is best placed to continue to operate reliably and deliver value in an increasingly complex and volatile world.
Geraldine has navigated the Petroleum business through the intensity of the successful merger and integration with Woodside, while delivering outstanding business performance. Geraldine brings a strong combination of in-field technical expertise, risk management and global leadership experience, and has a track record of generating shareholder value and developing teams with outstanding culture.
With broad leadership experience in Australia, Chile, Colombia and Peru, Edgar is uniquely placed to enable the next wave of safety and operational improvement across BHP. As Chief Operating Officer, Edgar will ensure that operational capability is central to our growth agenda and he will drive strengthened operational leadership across the company.”
As a result of these changes, and the recent appointment of Jad Vodopija as Chief People Officer, the ELT will comprise:
- Chief Operating Officer, Edgar Basto
- Chief Legal, Governance and External Affairs Officer, Caroline Cox
- Chief Financial Officer, David Lamont
- Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant
- President Australia, Geraldine Slattery
- Chief Technical Officer, Laura Tyler
- President Americas, Ragnar Udd
- Chief Development Officer, Johan van Jaarsveld
- Chief People Officer, Jad Vodopija
