John has been a Non-Executive Director since 1984 and is an economist and lawyer.

He is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Seawick Pty Ltd and until the end of 2022 was the Founding Chair of the National Indigenous Education Foundation.

Previously, John was a senior executive at BHP Billiton (BHPB). In this role John had central involvement in the development and implementation of the strategy resulting in the reconstruction and repositioning of BHPB as one of the world’s leading resources companies, including major transactions that gave effect to that strategy. He was BHPB’s Chief Legal Counsel and Head of External Affairs (with overall group responsibility for BHPB’s worldwide political and country risk), a member of its most senior management committee and its Investment Review Committee.

Before BHPB, he was the Senior Commercial Partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions at a law firm.

John is a former member of the Australian Government’s Takeovers Panel and consults to private and public companies on governance, succession, and strategy.

He is an Executive Director of ESL Support Pty Ltd, BT Assurance Systems (Aust) Pty Ltd, Learning Base Pty Ltd and The Development Studio Pty Ltd.

John was a Non-Executive Director of The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Investa Funds Management Limited and the Gandel Group Pty Ltd, and the former Chair of the Advisory Board of the Rotary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Tertiary Scholarship.