SINGAPORE — BHP Billiton Plc will consider both internal and external candidates in its search for a successor to chief executive officer Marius Kloppers, according to chairman Jac Nasser.

Nasser told investors during BHP Billiton’s annual general meeting in Sydney Thursday that succession planning starts on the first day a chief executive officer and his team are appointed.

His remarks came after media reports that the mining major had begun searching for a successor to Kloppers as he enters his sixth year at the helm.

"Succession planning and executive development is a process, not an event, and at BHP Billiton this process is ongoing and thorough," Nasser said. "As part of the executive development process, we identify high-potential people at various levels both inside and outside the company on an ongoing basis. We use our own human resources people and we also use external advisors."

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.