BHP ditching `Billiton` from its name, trims CEO pay rise

According to Mining News Pro -World’s largest miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) is rolling out the second phase of a $10 million rebranding campaign launched last year, which may see it become dropping “Billiton” from its name an attempt to emphasize its Australian roots.

Documents released Tuesday to the Australian Securities Exchange, show the miner will ask shareholders at the annual meeting in October to vote to rename the company as BHP Group.

The rebranding, the first since BHP used the late actor Bill Hunter 30 years ago in its “Big Australian” promotion, can also be seen as an effort to regain public trust after the damage to the firm’s image caused by the November 2015 dam burst at its Samarco joint-venture in Brazil.

It also coincides with chief executive Andrew Mackenzie’s receiving a $100,000 pay rise in the last financial year, but missing out on a significantly higher increase due to two fatalities and lower than targeted production of coal, iron ore and copper

The increase bumped up Mackenzie’s salary to $4.66 million from $4.55 million a year earlier. Target remuneration stood at $7.72 million with a maximum of $13.1 million the in the case of “significant outperformance”, BHP said in its annual report published Tuesday.

For almost a year and a half, the mining giant has been using a new logo that simply says “BHP”, also adopting the motto “Think Big” in place of “Resourcing the Future.”

Chief External Affairs Officer, Geoff Healy, said the second phase of the “Think Big” advertising campaign demonstrates the crucial role the company plays in addressing global challenges through the supply of essential resources.

“Each advertisement will focus on a key global challenge and highlight the role of our commodities in helping build a sustainable future,” Healy said. “The first adverts focus on steel; which is crucial for growing cities and is made from iron ore and coal, and electric vehicles; which need four times more copper than conventional cars.”

The campaign, which kicked off earlier this week, includes television, print, online and outdoor billboards.