Three of Australia’s biggest mining bulls have seen shake-ups at the top. Mining investigates.
It’s been a busy week for BHP, Fortescue and Evolution Mining, with the miners making key changes to their leadership structures.
BHP
Former National Bank Australia chief executive officer Ross McEwan will join the BHP ranks as chair at the end of March.
McEwan impressed BHP with his turn-around of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which had previously been found to have poor conduct and culture through a royal commission.
Under McEwan’s stewardship and chief executive from 2013–2019, the bank grew profits and was hailed to have benefitted from a top-down rehabilitation.
McEwan will replace long-serving chair Ken MacKenzie as part of the company’s nine-year limit on directorships.
“It is an honour and privilege to succeed Ken MacKenzie as chair of BHP,” McEwan said.
“Under his leadership, the company is simpler, more agile and well positioned for the future.
“As incoming chair, I am committed to generating long-term value for all our shareholders and will work tirelessly with the board and management to achieve this. I look forward to continuing to take this great company forward.”
Fortescue
Bringing 37 years of experience in a range of financial services, Noel Quinn has become the latest member to join the Fortescue board as a non-executive director.
Quinn was most recently the group chief executive of HSBC and was awarded a knighthood in the 2025 New Years Honours List for his financial services and commitment to net-zero.
“Noel is a highly respected leader who brings a wealth of international expertise and experience in finance and capital markets,” Fortescue founder and chair Andrew Forrest said.
“His deep understanding of the complexities of the global financial landscape will be invaluable as Fortescue continues to diversify into new markets and grow as a green technology, energy and metals group.”
Evolution Mining
Evolution’s founder Jake Klein will be taking a more hands-off approach as of July 2025, as he transitions from executive to non-executive chair.
Klein will continue to lead Evolution’s efforts in converting the Mt Rawdon operation into a significant, renewable, infrastructure asset generating clean power, known as the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro project.
“Having had the privilege of being both the founder and an executive of Evolution since our journey began almost 15 years ago, I have decided that the time is right, for the business and for me, for this change,” Klein said.
