By Melanie Burton
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -BHP, the world's biggest listed mining company, said on Wednesday that former National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) CEO Ross McEwan would be its new chairman, replacing Ken MacKenzie, who will step down on March 31.
In his new role, McEwan is expected to be tasked with overseeing the selection of BHP's next CEO and will need to consider whether the company resurrects plans to buy rival Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) after a $49 billion offer failed last year.
McEwan has been a non-executive director at BHP since April 2024 after five years running NAB, Australia's second-largest bank, and its biggest business lender. He has also held the top job at Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS_old_old).
The New Zealand-born banker was installed as CEO of NAB after a damaging royal commission inquiry into poor business practices in 2019, and was widely seen as reviving the bank’s standing with investors with a simplification programme.
He is currently a director of defence technology company QinetiQ Group and Australian plumbing and bathroom products supplier Reece.
McEwan is likely to oversee the process of finding a replacement for CEO Mike Henry who is entering his fifth year at the helm of BHP, where tenure in the top job averages about six years.
MacKenzie was with BHP for nine years and has been chair for the last eight. He oversaw BHP's failed offer for Anglo, its recovery from the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil, the unification of its structure to a single Australian listing, the approval of major investments in Canadian potash and a workforce that is approaching gender equity.
"I think he’s done a really good job over that time," said Andy Forster of Argo Investments in Sydney. “He brought in a lot of operational discipline, really focused on returns and capital allocation."
MacKenzie's decision to step down probably lowered the chances of BHP making another tilt at Anglo, said two other investors who were not authorised to speak to media.
MacKenzie told the company's annual general meeting on October 30 that BHP had "moved on" from pursuing Anglo, although the company subsequently backtracked in a filing to regulators.