John B. Prescott

Last updated

John Prescott
AC, FTSE
Born
John Barry Prescott

(1940-10-22) 22 October 1940 (age 84)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Education Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Relations)
Alma mater University of New South Wales

John Barry Prescott (born 22 October 1940) is an Australian retired businessman and corporate bureaucrat who was managing director and CEO of BHP from 1991 to 1998. [1] Over his career, he has held numerous positions including chairman of Queensland Rail and ASC Pty Ltd, and director of Newmont Mining Corporation. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Education

Prescott was educated at North Sydney Boys High School where in 1957 as a pupil he was appointed Deputy Librarian. [6] He received a Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Relations) from the University of New South Wales in 1961. [5]

Career

~1958–1998: BHP

Prescott was an executive of BHP, having been with that company for over 40 years including as an executive director for 10 years and as managing director and chief executive officer from 1991 to 1998. [5] [7] [8] [9] Prescott's time as CEO of BHP coincided with a number of failed investments which lost the company almost $10 billion. [10] '

2000–2009: Australian Submarine Corporation

Chairman (2000 – 30 June 2009). Prescott served as chairman of Australian Submarine Corporation, later rebranded ASC Pty Ltd. [11] [7] [12]

2006–2015: Queensland Rail / Aurizon

From 2006 to 2010 Prescott was Chairman of the Government of Queensland owned Queensland Rail, that managed the state's passenger and freight railway network. [13] [14] During this time he oversaw the separation of the company into two separate entities: Queensland Rail that operated passenger services and QR National that operated freight services, becoming chairman of the latter. [13] Under Prescott's chairmanship the latter was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as Aurizon raising $4.6bn in what was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Australia that year. [15] He was chairman of Aurizon from 2010 to 2015. [16] Under Prescott's Chairmanship the company grew significantly. The company's operating ratio[ clarification needed ] improved from 91% [17] in 2010 to 74% [1] in 2015 and a turn around in safety saw the LTIFR[ clarification needed ] reduced by 97% [1] in this time. [18] Aurizon's share price increased by 95% to $4.96, and under Prescott's stewardship, total shareholder returns increased by 117% from IPO to 30 June 2015. [18]

Other corporate

1998–?: Horizon Private Equity

From 1998 Prescott was the executive chairman of Horizon Private Equity. [5]

1999–2013: Normandy Mining / Newmont Mining

Prescott served as a non-executive director of Normandy Mining from April 1999 to 2002. [19] He served as an Independent Director of Newmont Mining Corporation from 2002 to 2013 after it purchased Normandy Mining. [1]

Other

Prescott has been a Global Counsellor of The Conference Board since 2001, a member of the Global Advisory Council since 2013, and a member of the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal since 2010. Other Directorships and consulting/advisory positions have included Conference Board USA, World Economic Forum, Booz Allen Hamilton, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, Proudfoot Consulting and Asia Pacific Advisory Committee of New York Stock Exchange. [1]

Honours and awards

Prescott was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1996 [2] and received the Centenary Medal in 2003. [20] [4]

Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the Australian Institute of Management. [5]

He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Monash University in 1994 and an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of New South Wales awarded in 1995. [5]

In 2016 Monash University inaugurated a series of public lectures in his name which focus on human resources, industrial relations and related areas. [21] The University of NSW awards two scholarships named after Prescott – the John Prescott Scholarship in Human Resource Management [22] and the John Prescott Outstanding Teaching Innovation Award. [23]

He has also held the positions of director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and member then director of the Business Council of Australia. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland Rail</span> Railway operator in Queensland, Australia

Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger train services connecting Brisbane to regional Queensland. QR also owns and maintains rolling stock, in addition to approximately 6,600 kilometres (4,101 mi) of track and related infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcrest Mining</span> Australian-based mining company

Newcrest Mining Limited is an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and the froth flotation product, gold-copper concentrate. It is Australia's leading gold mining company and its operations have expanded beyond Australia, for example Indonesia, thus becoming a prominent international mining corporation. Newmont initially started the company as a subsidiary in 1966. The subsidiary became Newmont Holdings Pvt Ltd in 1980 and in 1990 acquired 100 per cent of Australmin Holdings Limited taking the current name.

Aurizon Holdings Limited is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in November 2010. The company was originally established in 2004–05 when the coal, bulk, and container transport divisions from Queensland Rail were brought under one banner as QR National.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downer Rail</span> Rolling stock manufacturer

Downer Rail is a business unit within the Downer Group. As well as manufacturing and maintaining railway rolling stock it holds maintenance contracts to maintain rail infrastructure. The head office is located in North Ryde.

Sakumzi Justice Macozoma (Saki) is a South African former political prisoner who is now one of South Africa's most prominent businessman and a leader in civil society.

Paladin Energy Ltd is a Western Australian based uranium production company.

Donald Robert ArgusACCPASF is an Australian businessman, chairman of Bank of America Australia advisory board and member of Monash University's Monash Business School advisory board. He is a former member of Bank of America's inaugural Global Advisory Council (2013–2019); former chairman of BHP (1999–2010) and Brambles (1999–2008), former director of the Australian Foundation Investment Company (1999–2013) and former CEO of National Australia Bank (1991–1999). He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School.

The Telfer Mine is a gold, copper and silver mine located at Telfer on the land of the Martu people, in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is owned by Newmont, having acquired the previous owner, Newcrest Mining, formerly the largest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, in November 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boddington gold mine</span> Gold and copper mine in Western Australia

The Boddington gold mine is a gold and copper mine located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northwest of Boddington, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goonyella railway line</span> Railway line in Queensland, Australia

The Goonyella railway system is located in Central Queensland, Australia. It services the coal mining area of the Bowen Basin, carrying coal to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals 20 km southeast of Mackay, as well as products to other destinations by way of connections to the North Coast Line at Yukan and the Central Line at Burngrove via the Gregory coal mine branch. It is also connected to the coal loading terminal at Abbot Point by the GAP line. The line opened on 5 November 1971 and runs for 477 kilometres. The Goonyella system is narrow gauge 1,067 mm and electrified using 25 kV 50 Hz. The line has been duplicated from Hay Point to Wotonga (174 km) and features CTC signalling over the entire system.

Sir Gordon Colvin Lindesay Clark was an Australian mining engineer and company director. He had a profound influence on the metallurgical industry in Australia and on the attitudes of many of its later leaders. He was instrumental in transforming Western Mining Corporation from a small gold miner into a diversified giant.

The Jundee Gold Mine is an active gold mine in Western Australia, approximately 47 km north east of the town of Wiluna, owned by Northern Star Resources.

The Golden Grove mine is a copper, lead, silver, zinc and gold mine located 52 km south-southeast of Yalgoo, Western Australia. It is operated by 29Metals Limited after a 2021 divestment by EMR Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Normandy Mining</span> Former Australian gold mining company

Normandy Mining was an Australian mining company which predominantly mined gold. Normandy was, during much of the late 20th century, Australia's largest gold miner.

Philip S. Aiken is an Australian business executive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Dam mine</span> Poly-metallic underground mine in South Australia

The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (340 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation. Since the 1970s environmentalists, traditional owners and others have campaigned against the mine, largely on the basis of its contribution to the nuclear cycle and its use of underground water.

Bruce James Carter is an Australian businessman and former member of the Executive Committee of Cabinet for the Government of South Australia. He is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a founding partner of the South Australian office of Ferrier Hodgson, and is considered to be one of the state's most influential people.

Malcolm William Broomhead is an Australian businessman who has held various directorships and senior positions in the Australian engineering, industrial and resources sectors. As of 2018, he is a director of BHP and Chairman of Orica. Journalist Andrew Crook wrote of Broomhead in 2012 that "nobody is more connected in Australian business".

Gordon Toll is a career mining industry professional and company director, with long term interests in iron ore mining and magnetite project development. In 2020 he was appointed non-executive director of Free Eyre Ltd and its subsidiary Peninsula Ports Pty Ltd, with the expectation of the company realising the Port Spencer project in South Australia ahead of the summer of 2020-21.

Regis Resources is an Australian-based, Australian Securities Exchange-listed (ASX) gold producer and explorer based in Subiaco, Western Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Aurizon 2015 Annual Report". Aurizon. 17 August 2015. p. Refer to Page 7, 2nd column, under header J B Prescott AC, line number 8. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Companion of the Order of Australia". (AC), 11 June 1996, It's an Honour. Citation: AC. For service to the manufacturing and mining industries as managing director of Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited and as an active contributor to various industry councils.
  3. ↑ "ASC Board 2008–2009". Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009., Australian Submarine Corporation
  4. 1 2 "QR Board". Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Spirit of the Snowy – Fifty years on". Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
    At the time of the Symposium, (November 1999), Mr John B Prescott AC FTSE was Executive chairman, Horizon Private Equity Pty Ltd.
  6. ↑ NSBHS Leaving Certificate 1957
  7. 1 2 "2004 Chairman's Report & Board of Directors" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ], pp.2–5, 2004 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
  8. ↑ "02 Feb 1991 - Prescott takes a step up in BHP - Trove".
  9. ↑ "Very down under". The Economist. 5 March 1998.
  10. ↑ Stephen Mayne (14 October 2014). "Companies for old men: the codgers who refuse to let go of their boards". crikey.com.au.
  11. ↑ "Reference at www.adelaidenow.com.au".
  12. ↑ "2003 Chairman's Report & Board of Directors" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017., pp.4–7, 2003 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
    "2005 Chairman's Report & Board of Directors" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ], pp.4–7, 2005 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
    "2006 Chairman's Report & Board of Directors" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ], pp.4–6, 2006 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
    "2007 Chairman's Report & Board of Directors" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017., pp.8–9, 2007 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
    "2008 Chairman's Report" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ], pg.4–5, 2008 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
    "2009 Chairman's Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017., pp.4–5, 2009 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd
  13. 1 2 Daniel Hurst (21 November 2012) " "QR National rebranded to end QR confusion". 21 November 2012.", SMH Business
  14. ↑ "QR Limited Annual Report 2009/10" (PDF). queenslandrail.com.au. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  15. ↑ Cynthia Koons (20 November 2010) "Queensland raises $4.6bn from QR National IPO". The Australian
  16. ↑ "Tim Poole an inspired choice as Aurizon chairman"., Australian Business – article is behind a paywall
  17. ↑ "Annual Report 2011-12"., QR National
  18. 1 2 "Notice of AGM" (PDF)., Aurizon Holdings Limited
  19. ↑ "John B. Prescott". NNDB.
  20. ↑ "Centenary Medal"., 1 January 2001, It's an Honour. Citation: For service to Australian society in industry.
  21. ↑ "The Prescott Family Lecture Series" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017., 10 October 2016, Monash Business School, Monash University
  22. ↑ "Scholarship Details, UNSW"., Australian Universities.com.au
  23. ↑ "CEPAR Annual Report 2016" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ], pg.148, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Aging Research
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.