BHP Billiton Names Ken MacKenzie as New Chairman
June 15 2017 - 7:14PM
Dow Jones News
By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE, Australia -- BHP Billiton Ltd. has tapped board
director Ken MacKenzie to succeed Jac Nasser when he retires after
seven years as chairman.
Mr. MacKenzie will assume the role in September, one year after
he joined the mining and energy company's board as a nonexecutive
director.
A veteran of global packaging company Amcor Ltd., Mr. MacKenzie
has been appointed at a time when activist investors have been
angling for an overhaul of BHP's board and sweeping changes,
including an exit from at least some of its U.S. oil and gas
assets. New York hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. and others
have criticized longstanding directors of standing by while value
was lost through acquisitions and mistimed share buybacks.
On Friday, BHP said the selection had been made after a rigorous
search and assessment of potential external and internal
candidates, with the assistance of international recruitment firm
Heidrick & Struggles.
"Ken MacKenzie brings extensive global executive experience and
a strategic approach. He has a proven track record of delivering
value for shareholders," said Shriti Vadera, a director who led the
succession process.
In a statement, Mr. MacKenzie said he planned to engage with
shareholders and other individuals over the coming weeks to
understand their perspectives. "I am committed to the creation of
long-term value for all of our shareholders and will work
tirelessly with the board and management to achieve this," he
said.
BHP has been embroiled in a public spat with Elliott that has
drawn out criticism from other investors, including Sydney hedge
fund Tribeca Investment Partners.
In its latest attack, Elliott earlier this week urged BHP to
appoint a strong, experienced chairman with a mandate to refresh a
board it accused of allowing shareholder value to be wasted by
approving the acquisition of shale oil and gas assets and poorly
times share buybacks that were at the root of BHP's share
underperformance over many years against the Australian benchmark
stock index and rival Rio Tinto PLC. That added to its calls for an
independent review of the petroleum division and a collapse of the
dual Australia-U.K. structure around a main Sydney listing.
Before that, Tribeca said it had been holding private talks with
a number of possible candidates for BHP's board.
Mr. MacKenzie, 53 years old, was managing director and chief
executive of Australia's Amcor for a decade until 2015. He held a
number of senior executive positions over a 23-year career with the
company, and as leader he oversaw more than 30 acquisitions during
a period of consolidation for the packaging industry that lifted
Amcor's market value from $4.5 billion to about $12.5 billion and
widened its global footprint.
Mr. Nasser, a former president and chief executive of Ford Motor
Co. who joined BHP's board in mid-2006, took over as chairman in
2010. His predecessor, Don Argus, was also on BHP's board for
several years before becoming chairman.
Mr. Nasser led the board through a tumultuous period, marked by
the height of the global commodities boom and a more recent
collapse that prompted deep cost-cutting and a slashing of dividend
payouts. Under his guidance, the company has steadily ramped up its
production of commodities including iron ore and copper, moved into
the U.S. onshore shale industry but was thwarted by government
opposition in its attempt to buy Canada's Potash Corp. of
Saskatchewan. BHP also greatly restructured its operations, most
notably with the 2015 spinoff of a suite of assets including
aluminum, coal and manganese as South32 Ltd.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 15, 2017 19:59 ET (23:59 GMT)
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