Whitehaven coal
The Hon. Mark Vaile AO
Chairman and Non-Executive Director
Chairman of the Governance & Nomination Committee
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Member of the Health, Safety, Environment & Community Committee
As Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the National Party from 2005 to 2007, Mark established an extensive network of contacts throughout Australia and East Asia. His focus at home was with regional Australia and particularly northern NSW. As one of Australia’s longest serving Trade Ministers from 1999 until 2006, Mark led negotiations which resulted in Free Trade Agreements being concluded with the United States of America, Singapore and Thailand as well as launching negotiations with China, Japan and ASEAN. Importantly, early in his ministerial career as the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark was instrumental in the establishment of the ARTC which operates the Hunter Valley rail network.
Mark brings significant experience as a Company Director having been Chairman of Aston Resources, CBD Energy Limited and SmartTrans Limited, a former independent Director on the board of Virgin Australia Holdings Limited and a former Director Trustee of HostPlus Superfund. Mark is currently a Director of ServCorp Limited which is listed on the ASX (since June 2011) and Stamford Land Corp which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Paul joined the Board of Whitehaven on 3 May 2012 and assumed the role of Managing Director and CEO on 27 March 2013, having been instrumental in the merger of Whitehaven Coal and Aston Resources.
Paul has presided over a period of significant growth at Whitehaven Coal, including the successful commissioning of the Narrabri underground mine and the construction and ramp up of the Maules Creek open cut mine, both in the Gunnedah Basin. More recently, Paul led the acquisition of the Blackwater and Daunia metallurgical coal mines from BMA in Queensland. This acquisition transformed Whitehaven into a metallurgical coal producer, in line with the company’s long-held strategy to diversify its geographic and product mix while increasing its exposure to attractive high-growth segments of the market.
Under Paul’s leadership, Whitehaven has also established a unique pipeline of high-quality, large-scale development assets that present opportunities for further production growth in the near term.
Prior to joining Whitehaven Coal, Paul developed extensive experience in the mining, infrastructure, construction and energy sectors through 20 years as a professional advisor at Ernst & Young. Paul was the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s Sydney office and a member of its Oceania executive team. As a partner for over eight years, Paul managed many of the firm’s largest mining and energy clients across Australia, Asia, South and North America. Paul also fulfilled various leadership roles with large corporations on secondment including as the CFO of a top 50 listed company.
Paul is a prominent advocate for the mining sector, holding several influential leadership positions where he is widely recognised for his expertise and valued contributions. This includes serving as Chair of the NSW Minerals Council, a Director of the Minerals Council of Australia and a Director of Low Emissions Technology Australia.
Paul has a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Newcastle and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia.
Chairman of the Health, Safety, Environment & Community Committee
Member of the Governance & Nomination Committee
With a background in mining engineering, Nicole has over 25 years’ experience in the resources industry. After starting her career as an underground miner, Nicole went on to hold a number of site technical and consulting roles before taking on a leadership role with Glencore Coal Australia, where she led a team of resources professionals responsible for business development, project assessment and technical governance of mining operations.
A Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Nicole has served as Chair of the AusIMM Hunter Region Branch and sat on a number of industry advisory boards for tertiary mining education. In 2018, Nicole was named Exceptional Woman in NSW Mining at the NSW Minerals Council awards and was selected for the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining in 2018.
Nicole is Chair and President of the AusIMM, having been elected to the Board in 2021. She has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) (Hons) from UNSW and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne.
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
Member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee
Wallis has over 20 years’ experience as a finance professional in funds management, corporate finance, private equity and investment banking. Wallis is currently a Director of Servcorp Limited, where she chairs the Remuneration Committee, and is a Director of the Wenona School, Wenona Foundation, Sydney Youth Orchestras, and the Garvan Research Foundation. She also holds a Senior Consulting role focused on energy transition with Energy Capital Partners. Wallis has a BA in Economics Modified with Mathematics from Dartmouth College in the United States.
Member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee
Member of the Health, Safety, Environment and Community Committee
Tony has more than 40 years’ experience in the mining sector predominantly in the coal mining industry in NSW and Queensland, working for North Broken Hill Limited, Pasminco, Peabody, Rio Tinto and Xstrata. He has experience across a variety of finance and business development roles, including six years until his retirement from executive roles in 2018 as the Director of Finance for Glencore Coal Assets Australia, Australia’s largest coal exporter.
Tony has sat on numerous joint venture Boards and investment committees, including as Chair. He joined the Board of Whitehaven as an independent non-Executive Director in August 2023.
Tony has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and Politics from UNE with post graduate qualifications in Financial Management, Business, Leadership and Applied Finance & Investment. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Member of the Health, Safety, Environment and Community Committee
Mick has more than 40 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors, including gas-fired and renewable energy power generation, gas processing, LNG and underground storage.
Mick worked for 15 years at AGL Energy and 20 years at APA group, including 15 years as the Managing Director & CEO. Mick is Chair of Central Petroleum Limited (since November 2020) and Non-executive Director of Origin Energy Limited (since December 2020). He is also Chair of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Foundation, a director of the Clontarf Foundation, and a patron of the Australian Ice Hockey League.
Mick holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Queensland, a Graduate Diploma of Engineering from Monash University, a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Queensland, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Chairman of the Audit & Risk Management Committee
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Member of the Governance & Nomination Committee
Fiona has a corporate finance background, with more than 20 years’ experience as CFO of ASX-listed emerging and mid-tier mining and oil and gas companies, preceded by 14 years with Chase Manhattan Bank in London, New York and Sydney in corporate banking, credit risk management and mining finance roles. Previous Non-Executive Directorships include ASX-listed oil and gas producer, Drillsearch Energy Limited, where she chaired the Audit & Risk Committee, and Heron Resources Limited. Currently Fiona is a Non-Executive Director of Bellevue Gold Limited and 29Metals Limited (since May 2021).
Member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee
Raymond is the founder and CEO of Tiga Investments Pte Ltd. He is also senior advisor to Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C., one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world, an independent Non-Executive Director of Toshiba Corporation (listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange), a Non-Executive Director of PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk (listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange), and an independent director of EDBI Pte Ltd, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board.
Raymond has been involved in investments throughout Asia in various industries, including financial services, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and real estate. Previously, Raymond was on the Board of Commissioners of Indonesian company Gojek, the Managing Director and CEO of Farallon Capital Asia, and prior to that he worked in the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in Singapore, New York and Los Angeles.
Paul joined the Board of Whitehaven on 3 May 2012 and assumed the role of Managing Director and CEO on 27 March 2013, having been instrumental in the merger of Whitehaven Coal and Aston Resources.
Paul has presided over a period of significant growth at Whitehaven Coal, including the successful commissioning of the Narrabri underground mine and the construction and ramp up of the Maules Creek open cut mine, both in the Gunnedah Basin. More recently, Paul led the acquisition of the Blackwater and Daunia metallurgical coal mines from BMA in Queensland. This acquisition transformed Whitehaven into a metallurgical coal producer, in line with the company’s long-held strategy to diversify its geographic and product mix while increasing its exposure to attractive high-growth segments of the market.
Under Paul’s leadership, Whitehaven has also established a unique pipeline of high-quality, large-scale development assets that present opportunities for further production growth in the near term.
Prior to joining Whitehaven Coal, Paul developed extensive experience in the mining, infrastructure, construction and energy sectors through 20 years as a professional advisor at Ernst & Young. Paul was the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s Sydney office and a member of its Oceania executive team. As a partner for over eight years, Paul managed many of the firm’s largest mining and energy clients across Australia, Asia, South and North America. Paul also fulfilled various leadership roles with large corporations on secondment including as the CFO of a top 50 listed company.
Paul is a prominent advocate for the mining sector, holding several influential leadership positions where he is widely recognised for his expertise and valued contributions. This includes serving as Chair of the NSW Minerals Council, a Director of the Minerals Council of Australia and a Director of Low Emissions Technology Australia.
Paul has a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Newcastle and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia.
Appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Whitehaven Coal in October 2013, Kevin has more than 30 years’ experience working in the mineral and energy industry across coal, oil and gas and in complex consulting practices.
A finance graduate of the University of New South Wales, Kevin is a Chartered Accountant having spent 11 years with Ernst & Young at the commencement of his career predominantly in EY’s natural resources group and has a graduate Diploma in Geoscience (Mineral Economics) from Macquarie University.
Ian is a Mining Engineer with more than 25 years’ experience in the Australian resources sector, with a diverse and deep background across open cut and underground operations.
Ian is a proven leader, whose operational credentials are complemented by a successful track record of leading a large workforce with strategic oversight of multiple mining operations. Ian was most recently Vice President – Health, Safety and Environment at Peabody Energy Australia. Prior to this, he fulfilled a broad range of senior roles covering many aspects of that business, including managing the company’s open cut operations, supply chain and infrastructure assets. Ian began his career in resources as a mining engineer in various Queensland mines before transferring to the New South Wales Coalfields and working in senior roles for a number of mine owners and for mining services provider, Thiess. Ian holds a degree in Mining from the University of New South Wales.
Timothy joined Whitehaven as General Counsel and Company Secretary in July 2009. He has more than 25 years’ ASX listed company legal, secretarial and governance experience across a range of industries. Prior to joining Whitehaven, Timothy held senior roles at ASX listed companies Boral Limited, UGL Limited and Australian National Industries Limited. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney.
Daniel is a highly experienced HR professional with more than 25 years’ experience, including more than a decade leading large resourcing, remuneration, workplace relations and organisational culture functions for a range of publicly-listed companies. Most recently Daniel ran his own consultancy firm specialising in Human Resources, Employee Relations and Remuneration strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions and change management. Prior to this, Daniel spent over a decade in senior human resources roles at AGL Energy covering the industrial aspects of that business including their power generation assets and coal mining operations, culminating in his appointment as Executive General Manager People & Culture. Daniel also spent 12 years at Westpac and B&T financial group where he worked in a number of human resource and employee relations roles. Daniel holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Wollongong, a masters in industrial relations from Charles Sturt University and has studied at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Michael has 25 years’ experience across corporate communications and public policy roles in both the government and private sectors. He was appointed Executive General Manager Corporate and External Affairs in May 2018. Prior to joining Whitehaven, Michael was a founding Partner of Newgate Communications and led the firm’s mining and resources practice group. Michael was previously a ministerial adviser in the Howard Government and worked in a range of national security policy roles for the Departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Foreign Affairs and Trade and Defence.
Jason was appointed Executive General Manager – Marketing & Logistics in December 2020. Before joining the Marketing team at Whitehaven Coal in 2014, Jason held a range of roles in the resources sector, primarily in the coal industry, across research, production and commercial functions at Yancoal, White Energy and BHP Billiton in Australia and the Netherlands. Jason holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) and Master of Environmental Management and Business from the University of Newcastle.
Mark joined Whitehaven as Executive General Manager – Project Delivery in January 2020. Mark has more than 30 years of Australian and international experience in project management and project delivery across infrastructure, rail, oilsands, coal, and oil and gas. Mark has successfully delivered projects across all phases, from concept through construction to commissioning and handover, with a combined capital cost in the billions. Mark holds a Bachelor and Master of Engineering (Mining) from Camborne School of Mines and MBA from University of Queensland.
Sarah has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining and resources sector with a proven track record of delivering major mining approvals, effective safety and governance systems, and excellent HSEC performance.
She brings diverse greenfield, brownfield and project development experience, having held senior positions across open cut and underground operations in both NSW and Queensland. Most recently Sarah led the HSE function for BHP’s NSW Energy Coal and BMC division, and has also held roles at Coal & Allied and Peabody.
Sarah started her career as an environmental specialist and has a Masters in Engineering Science. She was the winner of the 2019 Exceptional Woman in NSW Mining award and a finalist in the 2019 Women in Resources National Award.