( CNN ) -- Marius Kloppers was born in South Africa on August 26 , 1962 . Marius Kloppers , CEO of BHP Billiton . He obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and a PhD in Materials Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S . He began his career in South Africa , working in petrochemicals with Sasol and in materials research with Mintek . After receiving an MBA from Insead in France , he worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co in the Netherlands . Kloppers joined Billiton Group in 1993 as a core member of the team that created the Group 's aluminum business , assuming a variety of operating and functional positions including General Manager , Hillside Aluminum , and Chief Operating Officer , Aluminum . Prior to the formation of BHP Billiton , he also acted as Chief Executive Samancor Manganese and Group Executive of Billiton Plc , responsible for its coal and manganese businesses . He played a central role in the merger of BHP and Billiton , as Chief Marketing Officer and then Chief Commercial Officer before being appointed Group President , Non-Ferrous Materials and an executive Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc in January 2006 . Kloppers was appointed Group Executive and Chief Executive Non-Ferrous in July 2007 and has been Chief Executive Officer of BHP Billiton since October 2007 . He now lives in Melbourne , Australia , with his wife Carin and their three children , Noni , Reuben and Gabrielle .
He started career in petrochemicals and petroleum research in South Africa . Was core member of team that created Billiton 's aaluminumbusiness . He has been Chief Executive Officer of BHP Billiton since October 2007 .