Brandon Craig will become chief executive of BHP, Australia's largest company by market capitalisation, after Mike Henry steps down in July following six years in the role. The appointment marks the end of a succession process that appears to have produced a come-from-behind winner.
TLDR
BHP has appointed Brandon Craig, its Americas president, as chief executive effective July 2026. Craig replaces Mike Henry after six years at the helm. The appointment came from behind, with Minerals Australia president Geraldine Slattery considered the frontrunner. BHP and Woodside Energy both announced new CEOs on the same day.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Craig currently runs BHP's Americas operations, overseeing copper, coal and potash assets across Canada, the United States and South America. He is a mining engineer by training and previously led the company's Pilbara iron ore business, its largest profit centre.
The surprise factor
The appointment represents something of an upset in succession expectations. Minerals Australia president Geraldine Slattery had been widely considered the leading internal candidate, with chief commercial officer Rag Udd and chief financial officer Vandita Pant also in contention.
BHP chair Ross McEwan said the board had conducted a formal succession process and was confident in Craig's ability to drive the company's high-performance culture.
I am confident that his discipline and focus will continue to drive BHP's high-performance culture and advance the company's unrivalled pipeline of growth options to maximise shareholder returns.
— Ross McEwan, BHP chair
Mike Henry's legacy
Henry, a Canadian-born executive who took the top job in 2020, leaves with a mixed record. On his watch, BHP accelerated its strategic pivot toward what the company calls future-facing commodities: copper, nickel and potash. The bet was that electrification and decarbonisation would drive demand for these minerals faster than traditional iron ore.
The copper thesis proved correct, with prices reaching record highs in 2025. But Henry's most ambitious attempt to capitalise on it ended in failure. BHP made two multibillion-dollar bids for Anglo American, the diversified miner with prized copper assets in South America. Both were rejected.
Henry also navigated a deteriorating relationship with China, BHP's largest customer. China Mineral Resources Group, the state-backed iron ore buying consortium, has been locked in a standoff with BHP over long-term supply contracts, part of Beijing's broader effort to reduce its dependence on Australian resources.
What Craig inherits
The incoming chief executive takes the reins at a moment of unusual turbulence. The Iran war has disrupted global energy markets, with oil prices spiking above $100 a barrel. China has been stockpiling iron ore at record levels, creating uncertainty about future demand.
Craig's Americas background may signal the board's priorities. BHP's copper growth options are concentrated in Chile and Peru, while its potash project in Canada represents the company's largest single capital commitment. His operational experience in these regions could prove more valuable than headquarters expertise as BHP executes its strategic shift.
Industry leadership refresh
BHP's announcement came on the same day Woodside Energy named Liz Westcott as its new chief executive, replacing Meg O'Neill who was poached by BP late last year. Rio Tinto appointed Simon Trott as CEO in August 2025.
The simultaneous announcements are likely coincidental rather than coordinated. But they underscore a broader generational shift in Australian resources leadership, with the executives who steered the industry through the last commodity cycle now handing over to successors who will navigate the next.
For those with long memories, the pattern echoes the leadership transitions of 1998 to 2002, when the industry refreshed its top ranks ahead of what would become the China-driven supercycle. Whether Craig and his peers are inheriting a similar opportunity, or something rather different, remains to be seen.
BHP shares closed at $50.14, up 0.82 per cent, on the announcement.
The board's calculation
The decision to pass over Slattery. widely seen as the natural successor. suggests the board prioritised operational experience over corporate headquarters expertise. Craig has run assets, managed capital projects, and navigated the regulatory complexities of multiple jurisdictions. That practical background may be more valuable than strategic vision in the current environment.
Henry's tenure demonstrated both the rewards and risks of bold moves. His strategic repositioning toward copper was prescient. His attempt to execute that strategy through acquisition was unsuccessful. The board appears to have concluded that BHP's next phase requires execution rather than transformation.
For Craig, the task is clear: deliver Potash in Canada, optimise the existing portfolio, and manage the increasingly fraught relationship with Chinese customers. The latitude for grand gestures has narrowed. Shareholders want returns, not headlines.
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