John Barry Prescott
AC FTSE (born
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, 22 October 1940) is an Australian retired businessman and corporate bureaucrat who was managing director and CEO of
BHP from 1991 to 1998.
Over his career, he has held numerous positions including chairman of
Queensland Rail and
ASC Pty Ltd, and director of
Newmont Mining Corporation.
[, Australian Submarine Corporation][
]
At the time of the Symposium, (November 1999), Mr John B Prescott AC FTSE was Executive chairman, Horizon Private Equity Pty Ltd.
Education
Prescott was educated at North Sydney Boys High School where in 1957 as a pupil he was appointed Deputy Librarian. He received a Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Relations) from the University of New South Wales in 1961.[
]
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.[ Prescott's time as CEO of BHP coincided with a number of failed investments which lost the company almost $10 billion.'
]
2000–2009: Australian Submarine Corporation
Chairman (2000 – 30 June 2009). Prescott served as chairman of Australian Submarine Corporation, later rebranded ASC Pty Ltd.[
, pp.2–5, 2004 Annual Report, ASC Pty Ltd]
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.[Daniel Hurst (21 November 2012) "", SMH Business] 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.[ Under Prescott's chairmanship the latter was listed on the ]Australian Securities Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...
as Aurizon raising $4.6bn in what was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Australia that year.[Cynthia Koons (20 November 2010) '' The Australian''] He was chairman of Aurizon from 2010 to 2015.[, Australian Business – article is behind a paywall] Under Prescott's Chairmanship the company grew significantly. The company's operating ratio improved from 91%[, QR National] in 2010 to 74%[ in 2015 and a turn around in safety saw the LTIFR reduced by 97%][ in this time.][, Aurizon Holdings Limited] 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.[
]
Other corporate
1998–?: Horizon Private Equity
From 1998 Prescott was the executive chairman of Horizon Private Equity.[
]
1999–2013: Normandy Mining / Newmont Mining
Prescott served as a non-executive director of Normandy Mining from April 1999 to 2002.
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.
Honours and awards
Prescott was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1996[ (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.] and received the Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...
in 2003.[, 1 January 2001, It's an Honour. Citation: For service to Australian society in industry.][
Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the ]Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...
, and the Australian Institute of Management
The Australian Institute of Management Education and Training Pty Ltd, commonly known as AIM or AIMET, is an Australian education provider. Its courses include business, management and leadership. AIM offers short courses, nationally accredited qu ...
.[
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.][
In 2016 Monash University inaugurated a series of public lectures in his name which focus on human resources, industrial relations and related areas.][, 10 October 2016, Monash Business School, Monash University] The University of NSW awards two scholarships named after Prescott – the John Prescott Scholarship in Human Resource Management[, Australian Universities.com.au] and the John Prescott Outstanding Teaching Innovation Award.[, pg.148, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Aging Research]
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.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, John B
University of New South Wales alumni
Companions of the Order of Australia
Australian businesspeople
1940 births
Living people
Newmont
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
BHP people
Fellows of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
People educated at North Sydney Boys High School