Ross McEwan has had a few weeks to brush up on his history. The former National Australia Bank chief executive was announced as the next chairman of the country’s largest miner, BHP, last month. He starts on Monday, replacing retiring predecessor Ken MacKenzie.
And he’s prepared for his stint by reading Geoffrey Blainey’s The Steel Master, a 1971 profile of Essington Lewis, a man who was either managing director or chairman of the mining giant between 1921 and 1961.
A crucial player in Australia’s wartime defence, Lewis’ visits to BHP customers in Japan and Europe in the 1930s provided Canberra with vital insights to the looming threat. When World War II finally broke out, Lewis expanded BHP’s steel business to help make military planes and ships while also being seconded to run the federal Department of Munitions.
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