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Tuesday, 11/29/2011 9:15:49 AM

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 9:15:49 AM

Post# of 19
BHP Appoints New CFO

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203802204577065231057515326.html

›NOVEMBER 27, 2011, 11:48 P.M. ET
By ROBB M. STEWART

MELBOURNE—BHP Billiton Ltd. on Monday announced the surprise departure of Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow after more than five years in the role and said he would be succeeded in the new year by Graham Kerr, head of its diamonds division.

Mr. Vanselow said he would stay on until the end of February to help with the transition, then take time out before looking for a new post, possibly as chief executive at a listed company with some of the same dynamics as BHP.

"I am looking for the next step in my career," he told reporters on a conference call.

Mr. Vanselow joined the company in 1989, before the 2001 merger of Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary and U.K.-listed Billiton, and held a number of executive positions before becoming CFO in March 2006.

"We will miss his wise counsel, but we understand his decision to pursue other interests and wish him well. He will be an honored member of BHP Billiton's alumni," Chief Executive Marius Kloppers said of Mr. Vanselow.

Since the merger, BHP has grown to become the world's largest mining company by revenue and market capitalization. In the financial year through June it posted a record net profit of US$23.65 billion on revenue of US$67.9 billion, the highest profit ever for an Australian company.

The company said it would expand its top management committee, with Mr. Kerr taking on the role of CFO from Jan. 1 and Mike Henry, president of marketing, becoming chief marketing officer.

Mr. Kerr joined the then BHP in 1994 and held a range of finance and treasury roles until the end of 2004, when he left for Iluka Resources Ltd. He rejoined in 2006 and was recently president of BHP's diamonds and specialty products division, based in Vancouver, Canada.

Mr. Henry joined BHP in 2003 from Mitsubishi Corp., which jointly owns coking coal assets with BHP in Australia. He will continue to be based in Singapore, the company said.

BHP has become increasingly cautious in recent weeks, though it earlier this month said it continued to sell all it produces. Mr. Kloppers told shareholders at a meeting in Melbourne on Nov. 17 that the company's customers were more cautious in how they manage inventories, and some have seen the availability and terms of trade finance tighten.

He said on Monday there has been a large change in the way banks, particularly European banks that have traditionally led trade finance, operate and in the availability of letters of credit. "We expect we will continue to see an impact," he said.‹

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