Miner BHP’s Australia Boss Is In Running for Top Job at Woodside

(Bloomberg) — Geraldine Slattery, president of BHP Group’s Australia unit and widely seen as the preferred candidate to succeed current boss Mike Henry, is vying for a top job at Woodside Energy Group, according to people familiar with the situation.

Slattery has not been officially selected, but has interviewed for the position and is one of only a handful of candidates competing, the sources said, asking not to be named because the process is not public. Woodside is seeking to replace Meg O’Neill, who unexpectedly left last December to take the top job at BP Plc.

Slattery was well known to Woodside as he ran BHP’s oil business when it agreed to merge with Woodside in 2021. At the time, he was already in the running to get the job, which ultimately went to O’Neill.

Liz Westcott, who previously ran Woodside’s Australian operations, has been acting chief executive since O’Neill’s departure last year.

A spokesman for Woodside said the company had already announced plans to appoint a permanent CEO in the first quarter of 2026 and declined to comment further. BHP declined to comment.

Slattery’s departure would be a blow to BHP, which runs its high-profile Australian business and is seen as a strong candidate for the top job. BHP’s management team has publicly denied succession speculation, but Henry has completed six years and the company is preparing for a changing of the guard.

His exit will also narrow the list of those in the CEO race at the mining giant, leaving BHP’s Americas chairman Brandon Craig and Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant as frontrunners or an outside candidate. Chief Commercial Officer Rag Udd is also seen as a potential rival.

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