BHP CEO Marries Oil With Chemistry to Get Value From Mining

When BHP Billiton Ltd.’s new chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie got his doctorate in chemistry in 1980, the ground-breaking research attracted the attention of oil producers including Chevron Corp.

It wasn’t until three years later that Mackenzie, 56, joined BP Plc and stayed for 22 years, while the findings of his research are still in routine use by academics and oil explorers. He will take the lead at Melbourne-based BHP, the biggest mining company, on May 10, succeeding Marius Kloppers.