Mark has had an international career as an entrepreneur, corporate advisor and independent director for organisations across the finance, technology, infrastructure, natural resources, sports administration and education sectors. He has extensive and particularly diverse experience at board level in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. 

Mark is the Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Audit, Risk and Sustainability Committee and sits on the advisory board of Fortescue Capital (a third party Asset Manager) at Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG). He is Chairman of Greatland Gold Plc. (LSE:GGP) and is also Chairman of AirTrunk (a cloud-based data centre company operating in Asia-Pacific and Japan). Mark co-chairs the University of Western Australia’s Business School Board and is a member of the Board of The Centre for Independent Studies. 

He was previously on the Board of Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), for two terms, and is a former Chairman of the Audit Committee of the RBA.  He has previously chaired several publicly listed Australian companies within the mining and infrastructure sectors along with chairing non-profit organisations and was a former Chairman of the State Theatre Company of Western Australia, the West Coast Eagles (AFL team) and Williams Advanced Engineering (UK based offshoot of the Williams F1 team).

In 2009, Mark was the recipient of the WA Citizen of the Year Award in Industry and Commerce and in 2015 was named a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the investment banking and financial sector, to business education and to sporting and cultural organisations.  

In his executive career, Mark founded, led and sold two companies - GEM Consulting and Azure Capital (both independent corporate advisory firms which provide financial, corporate and strategic advice to public and private organisations in the Asia Pacific region). He also held several senior executive roles at Macquarie Group (one being the Chairman and Global Head of the Natural Resources Group). He previously worked at McKinsey & Company in their London, Johannesburg and Sydney offices. 

Mark was the inaugural Chairman of the University of Western Australia Business School Board from 2002 to 2020 and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in Finance. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours and University Medal) from the University of Western Australia, an MBA from Harvard Business School (High Distinction; Baker Scholar) and has an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia. He has lived in Australia, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom and South Africa and is married with two children.

Adrian Fini is Director of Hesperia and Fini Group Pty Ltd, a private property and investment group. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at the UWA Business School.

Adrian is a current Board member of The University of Western Australia Business School Board and the Perth Festival.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of Western Australia.

Peter Robertson is a Professor of Economics and is Dean of the Business School.

He was Head of Economics 2014-2016  and was Associate Dean of Research from 2011-2014. He was educated at the University of Otago, the University of New England and Simon Fraser University. He has been a visiting Scholar at the University of Otago, The University of British Columbia, Rutgers University and The University of Oxford. He was formerly employed at the Productivity Commission 1994-1996,  and the University of New South Wales 1996-2009. Peter also serves as an expert consultant to the Productivity Commission and to the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts. He is currently serving on the editorial board of The Indian Growth and Development Review and Economic Papers. 

Alan Cransberg was Chairman and Managing Director, Alcoa of Australia, from 2008 until April, 2016. He is an Adjunct Professor in Corporate Strategy at the UWA Business School.

Alan’s last position with Alcoa was President Alcoa Refining and Australia Region. Alcoa of Australia has mining, refining, power and smelting interests across Australia. As President Alcoa Refining, Alan held responsibility for all of Alcoa’s alumina refineries globally. He was also a Vice President of Alcoa Inc., Chairman of Alcoa Australia and a Board Member of the Alcoa Foundation.

Alan graduated from The University of Western Australia with a degree in Civil Engineering (Hons) in 1979. He began his Alcoa career in the West Australian Mining Group in 1980. In 1989, he moved into Alcoa’s Western Australian refining system and became Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Manager in 1998. In 2001, he moved to the United States to continue his Alcoa career with stints in Texas, Tennessee and finally New York where he became President, Global Manufacturing for Alcoa’s Global Primary Products group in 2004.

Alan was a Director for Wesfarmers, was Chairman of the West Coast Eagles Football Club from 2011 to 2016 (Director for 2008-2010), is Chairman of The Waalitj Foundation, Investment Director for the SAS Resources Trust and on the UWA Business School Board. Previous Directorships include Black Swan State Theatre Company, ACE Mining Solutions, Swire and Sons Pty Ltd, and he is an ambassador for The Foundation for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and their Children (Our Watch).

Ben Wyatt is the former first Aboriginal Australian Treasurer, appointed in March 2017.

Testament to his capability, capacity and strong work ethic, Mr Wyatt also holds the position as Minister for Finance Aboriginal Affairs; Lands.

Mr Wyatt’s priority as a leader of the state is to focus on his pronounced Ministerial portfolio, his obligation to his constituents and to make a difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the state and the nation. Mr Wyatt is deeply committed to the principles of closing the gap in Australia. 

Elected to the Legislative Assembly in a by-election, held in March 2006, Mr Wyatt was fast-tracked to fill the vacancy created when the Hon Dr Geoff Gallop resigned and has been serving the State for more than 12 years. 
 
Prior to his appointment as a senior Minister in the current Government, Mr Wyatt held the positions of Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Federal State Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, Native Title and Government Accountability. 

Mr Wyatt holds a Masters Degree with distinction from the London School of Economics, Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia and has also served on the National Board of Indigenous Business Australia and as an officer in the Australian Army - following his graduation from the Royal Military College, Duntroon. 

In 2001, Mr Wyatt was awarded Young Australian of the Year in the Town of Victoria Park. Other accolades include a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Victoria Park for 2001 to 2002 and receiving the Australian Defence Medal in 2008. 

During his pre-Parliamentary legal career, Mr Wyatt worked as a barrister and solicitor with a national law firm in Perth and Sydney.  Mr Wyatt also served as counsel for the WA Director of Public Prosecutions.

Greg has been a non-executive director on the Board of Genmin Limited since July 2024 and Chairman since December 2024. Greg is also a director of Breight Group and a consultant/advisor to a number of mining industry companies. Greg previously served as CEO & Managing Director of Nathan River Resources after four years at Fortescue Metals Group in the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Director Operations and 26 years in various roles with Rio Tinto including as a member of Rio Tinto’s Executive Committee as Group Executive – Technology and Innovation. 

Greg has over three decades of extensive international experience in the mining sector, across multiple commodities in large-scale project development and construction, operational and business leadership, joint venture management and technology deployment. 

Greg holds a degree in Construction Engineering from Curtin University and is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in Ethical Leadership from University of Melbourne, as well as completing the prestigious Wharton Business School’s Advanced Management Program. 

He is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Dr John Willinge

John is the founder and Chairman of Alverstoke Group, a New York-based investment management and consulting firm, and is an Adjunct Professor in Finance and Investment at The University of Western Australia. He has more than three decades of experience in investment management and governance, having served as both a senior investment professional and strategic advisor as well as on the boards of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations.

John founded Alverstoke Group, a multi-strategy investment firm which invests globally in private and public securities, in 2003. Prior to forming Alverstoke, John was a Partner at Thomas Weisel Partners, an international investment bank, where he founded and managed an investment fund and was a member of a number of the firm’s investment committees. John has worked at other leading financial services firms including Goldman Sachs and Rothschild, as well as with investment funds and large family offices. Prior to entering the finance industry, John worked as an engineer in the mining and oil and gas industries.  

John has served as a member of the boards of directors of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations in Australia and internationally. He is a Member of the Board of the Business School at The University of Western Australia and is a Patron of the Hackett Foundation. For more than fifteen years, John served as the Chairman of UWA in America, Inc. and led the organization’s charitable and alumni activities. He was selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Partnership for New York City.

John holds a Master of Business Administration with Honours from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) from The University of Western Australia, and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Mining Engineering) from The Western Australian School of Mines at Curtin University. John was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Commerce by The University of Western Australia.  

Marshall co-founded Viburnum Funds in 2007, following a 16 year banking and investment career in UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia with ANZ Private Equity, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale and equity derivatives boutique Credit Agricole Lazard Financial Products (as Deputy Managing Director for Asia).

Viburnum is a Perth based “active ownership” fund manager managing both public and private strategies for local and international institutional investors.

Marshall was educated at the University of Western Australia (BCom) and Cornell University (MBA).

Rob was appointed Managing Director of Wesfarmers in November 2017 following his appointment as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in February 2017. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of the Wesfarmers Industrials division from August 2015 until August 2017. 

Rob started with Wesfarmers in 1993 before moving into investment banking, where he had various roles in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in Australia and Asia. Rob rejoined Wesfarmers in 2004 in a commercial role in business development, before being appointed Managing Director of Wesfarmers Insurance in 2007 and then Finance Director of Coles in February 2013. He was appointed to the role of Managing Director, Financial Services in October 2014.

Rob holds a Master of Applied Finance degree from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Australian National University. He has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investments, is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is a dual Olympian in rowing and a silver medallist from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He is a director of the Business Council of Australia and Brisbane 2032, Gresham Partners and the Business Council of Australia.  Rob is also a member of The University of Western Australia Business School Advisory Board.

 

Sue Murphy is a Company Director who graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Western Australia in 1979. 

After winning a Clough Scholarship as an undergraduate, she joined Clough Engineering in 1980 commencing what would be a 25 year career in that organisation.  Twelve years in the field as a site engineer and project manager led to corporate roles with a focus on human resources, safety and engineering design management and her appointment in 1998 as the first woman on the board of Clough Engineering Ltd.

 From 2008 until 2018 Sue was the Chief Executive Officer of the Water Corporation.

Sue is a member of the University of Western Australia Senate, Board Member of the UWA Business School and Director of the West Australian Treasury Corporation.  Sue is also a Board Member for the AFL Fremantle Dockers.

In each year from 2009 – 2015, Sue was listed in the top 100 most influential engineers in Australia by Engineers Australia.

In 2013, Sue was honoured with the prestigious Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year Award by the Board of the College of Civil Engineers of Engineers Australia.  Sue was also elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

In 2014, Sue was presented with the IWA’s “International” Women in Water Award and listed at number 8 of the 2017 “Top 25 Global Water Leaders” by Water and Wastewater International Magazine.

Since joining Rio Tinto more than 20 years ago, Simon has held a variety of operating, commercial and business development roles across a number of commodities. 

He was appointed to his current role as Chief Executive Iron Ore in 2021. Simon knows Western Australia well and has a deep understanding of the iron ore business and customers globally. 

He is focused on transforming Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s safe operational performance while building the business we need for the future.

He has a graduate diploma in Finance & Investment (FINSIA) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Emily Roper is the Director General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC). 

As the head of DPC, Ms Roper is responsible for leading the public sector in providing Whole-of-Government advice and support to the Premier and Cabinet in their service of the WA community.

Ms Roper has held various leadership positions in both State and Commonwealth Governments, with experience spanning over a 21-year period in a range of areas including national security, intelligence, and reform. 

Prior to this role, Ms Roper was the Deputy Director General of the Inter-Governmental Relations and COVID-19 at DPC, responsible for leading engagement with the Australian and other State and Territory governments and supporting WA’s COVID-19 pandemic response. 

Ms Roper has also held the Deputy Director General, Policy, and Reform position, overseeing Aboriginal, social, economic and environment policy, as well as the Government’s public sector reform program. 

Ms Roper holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Murdoch University, majoring in Psychology.

In 2023, Ms Roper was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service through leadership and management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ben was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the CBH Group in July 2021. Previously, he was Chief Operations Officer from where he was responsible for leading CBH’s world-class storage and handling, logistics and shipping services. Ben is leading CBH Group in creating a sustainable future and returning value to Western Australian growers. Before joining CBH, Ben worked for an investment advisory firm and an international professional services firm. Ben is a member of the Chartered Accountants, Australia, and is on the board of the Business Council of  Co-operative and Mutuals (BCCM).

Elsabe Muller is currently President Alcoa Australia, and Vice President Operations – Australia. In this capacity she heads up Alcoa’s business in Australia, including all operations of the Company’s bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting activities in Western Australia and Victoria.

Elsabe has considerable local and international resources sector expertise gained from more than 30 years working with BHP. Her career spans four continents and six commodities.

She held senior leadership positions as global Group Health, Safety and Environment Officer, Asset President of BHP Mitsui Coal (BMC) and NSW Energy Coal (NSWEC), General Manager Jimblebar (Iron Ore mine in Western Australia), as well as commodity marketing based out of Singapore, and business planning and improvement.

Mark is a senior partner at the Australian law firm Clayton Utz, where he leads the Corporate Practice Group in the Perth office. He recently served the maximum terms as an elected partner of the firm’s National Board.

Mark has previously held several prominent positions, including a member of the Australian Government’s Takeovers Panel and Chair of the Boards for the University Club of UWA, Scotch College, and the WA Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA), as well as a national Board member. He has also been a Councillor of HBF and the inaugural WA Chair of ChairConnect, a national association for the Chairs of independent schools.

He holds both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from The University of Western Australia and completed a three-month executive management program at Harvard Business School. Mark is a senior fellow of both the AICD and FINSIA and a recipient of the UWA Chancellor’s Medal. He serves on the Board of Rock Art Australia and practices as a corporate lawyer also providing pro bono legal services through Clayton Utz to various nonprofit organizations.

Christine currently serves as a Non-Executive Board Director of National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) and leading property investment and development company, Guocoland Group (SGX:F17), listed on the Singapore Exchange. Christine previously served on the Board of Directors of technology company VIQ Solutions Inc (TSX:VQS), listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In her corporate career, she held C-Suite roles across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and North America for global media, technology and communications companies including Comcast Corporation, NBCUniversal, Turner Broadcasting and The Omnicom Media Group, leading P&L and operations, international expansion, innovation and digital transformation. 

Most recently Christine served as the Managing Director of the NBCUniversal Global Networks and Direct to Consumer business in Asia Pacific, overseeing Pay-TV, television and digital services, where she also served on corporate boards until 2022. 

In 2021 she Co-founded and serves as Chair of the Singapore-based not-for-profit organisation, NINEby9, dedicated to research, data-driven solutions and advocacy to drive gender equity for women in the workforce. She also serves as Asia Pacific chapter lead for HBS alumni organization, WomenExecs on Boards.

Based in Singapore, Christine spends time between London and Australia where her three children are studying. Outside of work, she loves hiking in the forest and ocean swimming.

Graham joined Woodside as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2022. Graham has held significant financial, commercial and leadership roles across a range of business sectors, including minerals and oil and gas. He has extensive international experience, having worked in North and South America as well as in a variety of roles around Australia.

Prior to joining Woodside, he was previously at BHP where he held the role of Group Financial Controller with responsibility for BHP’s global accounting and reporting function and finance improvement spread across 10 countries.

During his 28-year career with BHP and WMC Resources, Graham has gained diverse experience spanning across senior roles in Australian nickel operations and the copper division from Chile.

Graham’s strong technical and financial capability equips him to oversee complex commercial issues, reporting across multiple regulatory jurisdictions (including Sarbanes-Oxley), engaging Auditors and working with the Board.

Graham holds a Bachelor of Business in Accounting and Finance from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, and is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants.