Mike Henry

Mike Henry became CEO of BHP Group in January 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global commodity markets. A Canadian-Australian mining executive, he had spent over 17 years at BHP in various operational roles across coal, copper, and iron ore before being named to the top job. BHP is the world's largest mining company by market capitalization (approximately $150 billion) and one of the most important commodity producers globally. The company's Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia — which produce roughly 280 million tonnes per year — generate the majority of group profits, driven by the insatiable demand from Chinese steel mills. BHP is also a major copper producer (through its Escondida mine in Chile and Olympic Dam in Australia), a significant metallurgical coal producer, and is building one of the world's largest potash mines — Jansen in Saskatchewan, Canada. Henry's most significant corporate action was the unification of BHP's dual-listed company (DLC) structure in January 2022, merging the London-listed BHP Group Plc into the Sydney-listed BHP Group Limited. This simplified the corporate structure, improved capital efficiency, and gave BHP a single share registry — ending a complex arrangement that had been in place since the 2001 merger of BHP and Billiton. Strategically, Henry is executing a "future-facing commodities" pivot. He attempted the $49 billion acquisition of Anglo American in 2024 — which would have been the largest mining deal in history — primarily to gain access to Anglo's copper assets. Although Anglo American rejected the bid, Henry's intent was clear: BHP sees copper as the critical growth commodity of the next two decades, driven by electrification, renewable energy, and data center power demand. The Jansen potash project ($7.5 billion first phase) represents another long-term bet — on growing global food demand. The fundamental investor question is whether BHP can successfully transition from a company whose profits are overwhelmingly driven by Chinese iron ore demand to a more diversified portfolio positioned for the energy transition, without destroying value in the process.