John B. Prescott

John Barry Prescott AC (born 22 October 1940) is an Australian corporate bureaucrat, currently chairman of Queensland Rail and ASC Pty Ltd, and executive chairman of Newmont Mining Corporation. He was the managing director and CEO of BHP Billiton from 1991 to 1998.
Prescott received a Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Relations) from the University of New South Wales in 1961. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1996 and received the Centenary Medal in 2003.
Prescott's time as CEO of BHP coincided with the lost years when the company meandered from one crisis to the next. Failed investments such as Magma Copper, Venezuelan hot briquette plant, Pilbara hot briquette plant and the Beenup mineral sands project lost $10 billion.