Board of Directors
Bringing breadth and depth of collective professional experience to deliver the Foundation's purpose in line with our values and ambitions.
Vandita Pant
Chair
Vandita Pant was appointed as a Director of the BHP Foundation in April 2022 and Chair in December 2023. Vandita joined BHP in 2016 and is currently Chief Financial Officer of BHP, and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team based in Melbourne. Vandita was formerly Chief Commercial Officer, based in Singapore, with global accountability for Sales and Marketing, Procurement, Maritime, Global Business Services and for developing the Company’s view on global commodities markets and macro trends. Over Vandita’s career, she had garnered international experience having worked in a variety of executive roles in banking in India, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom. She is currently an executive Committee member for the Australian Japan Business Co-operation Committee and has joined the Resource and environmental sustainability cluster of The Future Economy Council (FEC) which drives the growth and transformation of Singapore’s economy for the future.
Carlos Avila
Director
Carlos Avila was appointed as a Director of the BHP Foundation in August 2022. Carlos has worked for 30 years in the mining industry; the first half of them at the Chilean Copper Corporation (CODELCO), playing different leadership roles in operations, planning, projects, and technological development; and then, since 2007, with BHP in different executive roles. After serving as Vice President Planning and Vice President Mining at Minera Escondida, he was appointed Vice President of Mining Projects for BHP's Central Technical Team in Australia. In 2016, Carlos was appointed Vice President of Planning and Technical Services for BHP Minerals Americas. Since January 2021, he has served as President of Non-Operated Assets which includes the management of BHP's interests in Peru, Brazil, Colombia and the US.
James Agar
Director
James Agar was appointed as a Director of the BHP Foundation in November 2023. James joined BHP in 2002 and is currently the Group Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer based in Melbourne. James was formerly Group Procurement Officer - Commercial responsible for global procurement activities across BHP including supplier partnerships to create value through productivity, innovation, social value and decarbonization. James has over 20 years’ experience at BHP in several executive roles across Finance, Commercial, Investor Relations and External Affairs functions across Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands and in the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.
Heather Brown
Director
Heather Brown was appointed as a Director of the BHP Foundation in November 2023 and is currently Vice President Human Resources based in Melbourne. Heather was formerly Vice President Global Ethics & Investigations supporting BHP’s commitment to work with integrity. Heather joined BHP in 2018 as Vice President, Functional Audit and Advisory and was accountable for internal audit work delivered across the global Functions. Prior to joining BHP, Heather held several Executive roles in Banking and Finance including Chief Compliance Officer at GE Capital A&NZ. She also held leadership roles at National Australia Bank after commencing her career at Deloitte. She has extensive experience in both consulting and corporates in governance, risk and compliance in addition to culture and projects. Heather has spent over 10 years overseas in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Bronwyn Wilkinson
Director
Bronwyn Wilkinson was appointed as a Director of the BHP Foundation in October 2024. Bron joined BHP in Johannesburg in 2005, and is now the Vice President, ESG in BHP’s Investor Relations team. She has held a number of roles in BHP’s Investor Relations and Corporate Communications teams internationally, including in South Africa, London, Canada and Brazil. In her current role, Bron leads BHP’s engagement with investors and other stakeholders on the Company’s Social Value, Sustainability and Governance approach and performance. She has extensive experience in reputation management, major transactions, and strategic communications. She is a former news journalist who holds a Bachelor of Arts.