Jac Nasser will succeed Don Argus as BHP Billiton chairman.
Nasser, who was born in Lebanon but raised and educated in Melbourne, becomes the 25th chairman of BHP Billiton.
He joined the BHP board in 2006 after 33 years with Ford, including three years as its president and chief executive.
Since 2002, he has been a partner of JPMorgan’s private equity arm, One Equity Partners, and a director of British subscription-TV operator BSkyB, which is part of News Corporation.
His appointment was announced part-way through BHP’s three-day board meeting in Melbourne.
The announcement follows an 18-month selection process.
The other internal candidate for the role was John Schubert, who is also chairman of the Commonwealth Bank.
Argus has been a director of BHP since 1996 and chairman since 1999. He will retire in early 2010.
Shares in BHP closed up 2.02% yesterday after adding 77c to close at $38.84.
