BHP is likely to appoint Geraldine Slattery, the miner's current head of Australia, as its first female chief executive to replace current CEO Mike Henry, the Financial Times reported.
The appointment to the world's largest mining company would be the first female leader in the company's 140-year history.
Henry is expected to step down by the middle of 2026 after five years as CEO, the report said, citing unnamed people "familiar with the board's thinking", FT said.
However, BHP said the board was "not in a rush" to make a change, the report added.
The company did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Slattery has been at BHP for three decades and previously led the company's US petroleum business.Slattery is a high-profile business figure in Australia, attending the federal government's productivity roundtable in August, and accompanying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to meet the leaders of China's largest steelmakers in July.
Peer Rio Tinto had also appointed insider Simon Trott as its new CEO in mid-July. Trott earlier headed the company's most profitable iron ore unit.
