John joined Licella in April 2024, bringing over 30 years of operational excellence and leadership experience from global companies like Comalco, Rio Tinto, Oyu Tolgoi, and OceanaGold. He has led operational and functional teams across the mining and refining industries, working with materials such as bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper, and gold. John’s leadership style is grounded in fostering an engaging operational excellence and innovation mindset, creating problem-solving cultures that drive sustainable change.

During his time at Oyu Tolgoi, John served as a Master Coach, providing invaluable guidance to senior leadership in building operational excellence capabilities grounded in best practices. At Rio Tinto, he excelled as a Transformation Leader, successfully implementing business transformation and improvement strategies resulting in significant cost reductions and operational enhancements. His expertise in Lean Six Sigma methodologies and coaching at all levels of the organisation ensured the adoption of waste reduction processes across bauxite, alumina, aluminium, and copper sites.

Throughout his career, John has demonstrated a commitment to fostering operational excellence, innovation, and sustainable business practices, making him a valuable asset in any organisational setting. His strengths lie in business transformation, operations improvement, demonstrated ability to implement Lean Six Sigma methodologies across varied value chains and cultures, leadership development, and executive coaching. John holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sydney, a Diploma in Business Management, and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.