Incoming BHP chief executive Brandon Craig will split his former role overseeing the company’s Americas operations into two positions, sharpening focus on North and South America as growth engines for the world’s most valuable miner, the company said Friday.
BHP named innovation chief Jessica Farrell as North America president effective July 1, and said Farrell will serve as acting president of the company’s South America business until a permanent appointment is made. Farrell’s promotion fills a gap created by Craig’s ascent: he has run the miner’s Americas operations since March 2024 and will become chief executive of Australia-based BHP on July 1, succeeding Mike Henry, who led the company for more than six years.
The company also said that, from September, Chief Operating Officer Edgar Basto will assume the newly created role of chief enterprise performance officer, which adds duties including strengthening contractor safety to his portfolio. Geraldine Slattery remains President Australia and will take over responsibility for Copper South Australia, the company said.
Craig said splitting North and South America under two separate leaders “will allow a greater focus on each of these regions.” He has promised to advance a pipeline of growth options assembled by his predecessor, many of which he helped shape.
In Canada, BHP is building a giant potash mine set to become one of the biggest sources of the fertilizer ingredient globally. In the United States, a joint venture with Rio Tinto to develop a copper mine in Arizona is progressing after a long-awaited federal land exchange earlier this year. In Chile, the company is investing heavily to support continued production from its massive copper-mining operations there. BHP also last year bought a stake in a copper project that straddles the Argentina-Chile border that the company considers one of the most significant copper discoveries globally in recent decades.
“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,” Craig said.