John Barry Prescott (born 22 October 1940) is an Australian retired businessman and corporate bureaucrat who was managing director and CEO of BHP from 1991 to 1998.
[1] Over his career, he has held numerous positions including chairman of Queensland Rail and ASC Pty Ltd, and director of Newmont Mining Corporation.
[5][7][8][9] Prescott's time as CEO of BHP coincided with a number of failed investments which lost the company almost $10 billion.
[13] Under Prescott's chairmanship the latter was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as Aurizon raising $4.6bn in what was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Australia that year.
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.