Sir Andrew Stewart Mackenzie (born 20 December 1956) is a Scottish businessman, who is the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Shell plc Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

and formerly CEO of

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian Multinational corporation, multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Propri ...

, the world's largest mining company. He succeeded

Marius Kloppers Marius Jacques Kloppers (born 26 August 1962) is a South African-born Australian businessman and former CEO of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. He was also Executive Director and Chairman of the Group Management Committee from 2 ...

, on 10 May 2013, and was succeeded by Mike Henry, at the start of 2020.

Early life

Andrew Stewart Mackenzie was born in December 1956, grew up in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

, Scotland, and was educated at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

where he graduated with a first class bachelor's degree in geology in 1977. He went on to study at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

where he was awarded a PhD in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

in 1981.

Career

Mackenzie was a

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

fellow with the British

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. He was a Humboldt fellow and worked at the Nuclear Research Centre in

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

, Germany. He published over 50 research papers as a scientist. In 1983, Mackenzie joined BP's research division. He worked his way to BP Finance, and then as head of capital markets. After 22 years at BP, he left as group vice-president petrochemicals. In April 2004, Mackenzie joined

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

as chief executive of the industrial minerals division. In June 2007, he served as the chief executive officer, diamonds & minerals. He served as trustee of a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

, from 2005 until June 2008. Mackenzie was poached from Rio Tinto in 2007 by then CEO of BHP Billiton

, ahead of a failed takeover bid of Rio Tinto. Mackenzie became the chief executive of non-ferrous in BHP Billiton in November 2008. He succeeded Marius Kloppers as the CEO of BHP Billiton in May 2013. In 2014, he was paid $7,123,000 in total compensation. Australia mining head Mike Henry succeeded Mackenzie as BHP CEO on 1 January 2020. In March 2021, Mackenzie was tapped to replace Chad Holliday as company chair of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

starting May 2021. In June 2021, Mackenzie was selected to be Chair of

UK Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

to replace Sir

John Kingman __NOTOC__ Sir John Frank Charles Kingman (born 28 August 1939) is a British mathematician. He served as N. M. Rothschild and Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Director of the Isaac Newton Institute at the University of Cambridge from ...

Awards and honours

Mackenzie was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 2014. His nomination reads Mackenzie was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to business, science, technology and UK/Australia relations.

Personal life

Mackenzie speaks five languages. He met his wife, Liz, whilst they were students at St Andrews.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Andrew Stewart Scottish chief executives Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Bristol Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Living people 1956 births Scottish geologists BP people BHP people People of Rio Tinto (corporation)