# Stefanie Wilkinson Group General Counsel and Group Company Secretary ## Career chronology - **2024-04-02 onward: BHP Group** — Group General Counsel and Group Company Secretary. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Stefanie Wilkinson biography); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive leadership; p.112, company secretary); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive roster, or p.101 for company secretary) - **March 2021 onward: BHP** — Group Company Secretary. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Career and experience); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive roster, or p.101 for company secretary) - **Before joining BHP; 15 years, dates unconfirmed: Herbert Smith Freehills** — Partner. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Career and experience); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive roster, or p.101 for company secretary) - **Earlier career; dates unconfirmed: Allen & Overy** — Solicitor. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Career and experience); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive roster, or p.101 for company secretary) ## Education and qualifications ### Reported professional qualifications [wilkinson_education] Career background · issuer reported · low materiality BA, LLB and LLM and Governance Institute fellowship, issuer-reported. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. Reported by the issuer; credentials and membership were not independently checked. **Relevance:** Professional training relevant to the role. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Qualifications and experience) ## Environmental record ### Fundão dam litigation and continued remediation [wilkinson_mariana] 2015–October 2026 · documented · high materiality The 2015 Samarco Fundão dam collapse resulted in extensive harm. In 2025 the English High Court found BHP liable; in May 2026 the Court of Appeal refused permission on the substantive liability grounds. A separate October 2026 appeal concerned prejudgment interest on costs. **Attribution:** Employer context; no individual link established. BHP is a party and leadership responsibilities concern subsequent legal, remediation or Americas oversight; individual involvement in the 2015 collapse is not established. **Relevance:** Material continuing group governance and remediation exposure. [Municipio Mariana v BHP \[2026\] EWCA Civ 502]() (paragraphs 4–7 and 143, liability and refused appeal permission); [Judgment explained: Mariana v BHP and pre-judgment interest on costs]() (16 October 2026 judgment entry); [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (current responsibilities) ## Suitability for the current role ### Experience relevant to current remit [wilkinson_fit] Career through October 2026 · analyst inference · medium materiality Group Company Secretary since March 2021 and General Counsel since 2 April 2024; formerly partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and solicitor at Allen & Overy. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. The chronology is issuer-reported; the role-fit conclusion is an analytical inference, not a measured individual contribution. **Relevance:** Relevant experience for group general counsel and group company secretary. [Stefanie Wilkinson]() (Stefanie Wilkinson biography); [Annual Report 2026]() (physical p.106, executive leadership; p.112, company secretary) ## Evidence gaps - Independent verification of qualifications and some prior-job dates was not obtained. - Broader employer-specific, regulator and court searches are incomplete; absence of a finding is not a clearance. - Ongoing Mariana damages, remediation and proceedings require continued monitoring; post-cutoff developments are excluded. - A single combined named query was reused across the nine broad topics; individual topic, prior-employer and official-record searches remain incomplete.