Board of Directors
Don Argus
AO, SF FIN, FCPA, 70
Chairman, Independent non-executive Director
Chairman of the Nomination Committee
Director of BHP Limited since November 1996 and Chairman since April 1999. Chairman of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since June 2001. Mr Argus was last re-elected in 2007 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
Don Argus has considerable experience in international business and a strong management background. He has more than 40 years’ experience in the banking industry and is a former Managing Director and CEO of the National Australia Bank Limited.
Marius Kloppers
BE (Chem), MBA, PhD (Materials Science), 46
Chief Executive Officer and executive Director
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since January 2006. Mr Kloppers was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2007. He was appointed Group President Non-Ferrous Materials and executive Director in January 2006 and was previously Chief Commercial Officer. Mr Kloppers was elected in 2006.
Marius Kloppers has extensive knowledge of the mining industry and of BHP Billiton's operations. Active in the mining and resources industry since 1993, he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in December 2003. He was previously Chief Marketing Officer, Group Executive of Billiton Plc, Chief Executive of Samancor Manganese and held various positions at Billiton Aluminium, including Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Hillside Aluminium.
Paul Anderson
B S (Mech Eng), MBA, 63
Independent non-executive Director
Member of Sustainability Committee
Appointed a non-executive Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc on 26 April 2006 with effect from 6 June 2006. He was the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BHP Limited from December 1998 until June 2001 and of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc from June 2001 until July 2002. He was a non-executive Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc from July to November 2002. Mr Anderson was last elected in 2006 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
Paul Anderson has an extensive background in natural resources and energy and, as one of the architects of the merger that created BHP Billiton, has a deep understanding of the strategy behind the Group’s success. He is Chairman of Spectra Energy Corporation and retired as Chairman of Duke Energy Corporation in January 2007 where he had more than 20 years’ experience at Duke Energy and its predecessors.
Alan Boeckmann
BE (Electrical Eng), 60
Independent non-executive Director
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since September 2008. Mr Boeckmann will seek election at the 2008 Annual General Meetings.
Alan Boeckmann is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fluor Corporation, USA. He holds non-executive directorships with Archer Daniels Midland and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation. Mr Boeckmann has extensive experience in running large scale international industrial companies and experience in the oil and gas industry. He has global experience in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and project management across a range of industries including resources and petroleum.
John Buchanan
BSc, MSc (Hons 1), PhD, 65
Independent non-executive Director
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
Member of the Nomination Committee
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since February 2003. Dr Buchanan has been designated as the Senior Independent Director of BHP Billiton Plc since his appointment. Dr Buchanan was last re-elected in 2006 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
Educated at Auckland, Oxford and Harvard, John Buchanan has had a wide international business career gained in large and complex international businesses. He has substantial experience in the petroleum industry, and knowledge of the international investor community. He has held various leadership roles in strategic, financial, operational and marketing positions, including executive experience in different countries. He is a former executive Director and Group CFO of BP, serving on the BP Board for six years.
Carlos Cordeiro
AB, MBA, 52
Independent non-executive Director
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since February 2005. Mr Cordeiro was last re-elected in 2007.
Carlos Cordeiro brings to the Board more than 25 years’ experience in providing strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial institutions and governments around the world. He was previously Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
David Crawford
BComm, LLB, FCA, FCPA, FAICD, 64
Independent non-executive Director
Chairman of the Risk and Audit Committee
Director of BHP Limited since May 1994. Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since June 2001. Mr Crawford was last re-elected in 2007 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
David Crawford has extensive experience in risk management and business reorganisation. He has acted as a consultant, scheme manager, receiver and manager and liquidator to very large and complex groups of companies. He was previously Australian National Chairman of KPMG, Chartered Accountants. The Board has nominated Mr Crawford as the financial expert of the Risk and Audit Committee for the purposes of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Rules, and is satisfied that he has recent and relevant financial experience for the purposes of the UK Listing Authority’s Combined Code.
Gail de Planque
AB (Mathematics), MS (Physics), PhD (Env Health Sciences), 63
Independent non-executive Director
Member of the Sustainability Committee
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since 19 October 2005. The Hon. E Gail de Planque was last re-elected in 2007.
Gail de Planque is an expert in nuclear technology and has over 40 years’ experience as a physicist, adviser and regulator in the field of nuclear energy. She also has significant experience as a non-executive director of global energy companies and is a consultant on atomic energy matters. She is a former Commissioner of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a former Director of the Environmental Measurements Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, a Fellow and former President of the American Nuclear Society, a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science and a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering.
David Jenkins
BA, PhD (Geology), 69
Independent non-executive Director
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Member of the Risk and Audit Committee
Director of BHP Limited since March 2000. Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since June 2001. Dr Jenkins was last re-elected in 2007.
David Jenkins is a recognised authority on oil and gas technology. He was previously Chief Geologist, Director Technology and Chief Technology Advisor to BP Plc. He was also a member of the Technology Advisory Committee of the Halliburton Company and the Advisory Council of Consort Resources and Chairman of the Energy Advisory Panel of Science Applications International Corporation.
David Morgan
BEc, MSc, PhD, 61
Independent non-executive Director
Member of the Risk and Audit Committee
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since January 2008. Dr Morgan will seek election at the 2008 Annual General Meetings.
David Morgan was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Banking Corporation from March 1999 until January 2008. He has extensive experience in the financial sector, having worked in the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC in the 1970s and the Australian Federal Treasury in the 1980s where he headed all major areas before being appointed Senior Deputy Secretary. Dr Morgan joined Westpac in 1990 where he had responsibility for all major operating divisions, including Westpac Financial Services, Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking and International Banking.
Jacques Nasser
AO, BBus, Hon DT, 60
Independent non-executive Director
Member of the Risk and Audit Committee
Appointed a non-executive Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc on 26 April 2006 with effect from 6 June 2006. Mr Nasser was last elected in 2006 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
Following a 33-year career with Ford in various leadership positions in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America and the US, Jacques Nasser served as a member of the Board of Directors and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company from 1998 to 2001. He has more than 30 years’ experience in large-scale global businesses.
Keith Rumble
BSc, MSc (Geochemistry), 54
Independent non-executive Director
Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since September 2008. Mr Rumble will seek election at the 2008 Annual General Meetings.
Mr Rumble was until recently Chief Executive Officer of SUN Mining, a wholly-owned entity of the Sun Group, a principal investor and private equity fund manager in Russia, India and other emerging and transforming markets. He has over 30 years’ experience in the resources industry, specifically in titanium and platinum mining, and is a former CEO of Impala Platinum (Pty) Ltd and former CEO of Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Inc. He began his career at Richards Bay Minerals in 1980 and held various management positions before becoming CEO in 1996.
John Schubert
BCh Eng, PhD (Chem Eng), FIEAust, FTSE, 65
Independent non-executive Director
Chairman of the Sustainability Committee
Member of the Nomination Committee
Director of BHP Limited since June 2000 and a Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc since June 2001. Dr Schubert was last re-elected in 2006 and is retiring and standing for re-election in 2008.
John Schubert has considerable experience in the international oil industry, including at CEO level. He has had executive mining and financial responsibilities and was CEO of Pioneer International Limited for six years, where he operated in the building materials industry in 16 countries. He has experience in mergers, acquisitions and divestments, project analysis and management. He was previously Chairman and Managing Director of Esso Australia Limited and President of the Business Council of Australia.
Jane McAloon
BEc (Hons), LLB, GDipGov, FCIS, 44
Group Company Secretary
Jane McAloon was appointed Group Company Secretary in July 2007 and joined the BHP Billiton Group in September 2006 as Company Secretary for BHP Billiton Limited.
Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Jane McAloon held the position of Company Secretary and Group Manager External and Regulatory Services in the Australian Gas Light Company. She previously held various State and Commonwealth government positions, including Director General of the NSW Ministry of Energy and Utilities and Deputy Director General for the NSW Cabinet Office, as well as working in private legal practice. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries.