MIKE HENRY

Henry joined BHP in 1996 as an engineer in metallurgical coal operations in Queensland. He spent the next 25 years working through nearly every division of the company — coal, copper, iron ore, petroleum — building an unusually broad understanding of BHP's operations from the ground up.

He ran BHP's Australian operations before being named CEO in January 2020, replacing Andrew Mackenzie. He took over just as COVID-19 hit, which meant his first year involved keeping some of the world's largest mining operations running under strict pandemic restrictions — not easy when your workforce lives in fly-in fly-out camps across remote Western Australia.

His first major strategic move was to exit petroleum. In 2022, BHP merged its oil and gas assets with Woodside Petroleum, receiving Woodside shares worth approximately $28 billion.

That deal gave BHP shareholders a clean exit from fossil fuel exposure at a time when oil prices were high and institutional investors were increasingly reluctant to hold upstream energy assets.

In 2023, he completed the acquisition of OZ Minerals, an Australian copper and gold producer, for AUD $9.6 billion — the largest mining acquisition in years. Then in April 2024, he put forward a $39 billion approach to acquire Anglo American, which would have added world-class copper assets in Chile and Peru.

Anglo's board rejected three successive proposals. Henry walked away.

Whether that was disciplined capital management or a missed opportunity depends entirely on what copper does over the next decade.

BHP (CEO since 2020, employee since 1996) — the world's largest diversified miner, with iron ore operations in Australia's Pilbara region, copper mines in Chile and Peru, coal in Queensland, and potash development in Canada. OZ Minerals (acquired 2023) — added copper and gold production from Carrapateena and Prominent Hill mines in South Australia, plus development assets in Brazil.

Anglo American (failed bid, 2024) — would have added platinum, copper, and diamonds but the approach was rejected.

He is a copper bull with a structured thesis. He believes the combination of electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and grid expansion will drive copper demand growth that existing supply cannot meet.

He is willing to pay full prices for high-quality copper assets in stable jurisdictions, but he applies capital discipline — he walked away from the Anglo American deal rather than overpay. His preference is for tier-one assets in tier-one countries, not cheap assets in difficult geographies.

The exit from petroleum in 2022. Selling BHP's oil and gas assets into a merger with Woodside effectively returned approximately $28 billion in Woodside shares to BHP shareholders, while cleanly removing BHP from the stranded asset risk of fossil fuel production.

The timing was good — oil prices were elevated, making the Woodside shares valuable at distribution. Strategically, it removed an asset class that was increasingly difficult to finance, insure, and defend to ESG-conscious institutional investors.

It freed management bandwidth to focus entirely on the mineral assets driving the energy transition.

The Anglo American approach in April 2024. Henry put forward three successive takeover proposals — the final one valued Anglo at approximately $39 billion — and was publicly rejected each time.

Anglo argued successfully that the proposed structure, which would have required Anglo to spin off its South African platinum and diamond assets before the deal closed, was unworkable. Walking away was probably the right financial call.

But the public nature of the failed approach, and Anglo's successful argument that the structure was flawed, left BHP looking like it had reached for something it could not close. Investors noticed.

Capital discipline is the foundation. Size without returns is not success.

He maintained BHP's commitment to paying progressive dividends through the cycle and refused to overpay for Anglo American even when the market was watching. The OZ Minerals deal went through multiple rejected offers before a final price was agreed — he was willing to walk away rather than let deal momentum force him into a bad price.

That patience is rare in a CEO.

He is married with children. He grew up in regional Queensland and has spoken about his rural Australian upbringing shaping his direct communication style and preference for practical outcomes over corporate polish.

He keeps his family life entirely private.

He studied engineering at an Australian university before joining BHP straight from graduation. His real education came from three decades of operational experience across nearly every corner of BHP's global business — metallurgical coal in Queensland, copper in Chile, iron ore in the Pilbara.

There is no MBA in this story.

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