Board of Directors
Mr Forrest started Fortescue in April 2003 and was the driving force behind the creation of the Pilbara Iron Ore and Infrastructure Project. Mr Forrest was the founding non-executive Chairman of the Company in 2003, then appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2005 and was appointed Chairman-elect in July 2011. He has resumed the role of non-executive Chairman as of 18 August 2011.
Mr Forrest is also currently Non-Executive Chairman of Poseidon Nickel Limited and is also Chairman of the West Australian charity, The Australian Children's Trust.
Previous roles include Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chairman of Anaconda Nickel Ltd (now Minara Resources Ltd) and Chairman of the Murrin Murrin Joint Venture, Director of the West Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy, Chairman of Athletics Australia, Chairman of Moly Mines Ltd and Chairman of Siberia Mining Corporation Ltd.
Mr Forrest has extensive experience in the mining sector with specialist expertise in large scale project finance and implementation. Mr Forrest is also a long-standing Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Mr Elliot was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Fortescue in October 2003, Deputy Chairman in May 2005 and Chairman in March 2007. He has stepped down as Chairman in August 2011 and will remain on the Board as Deputy Chairman and lead independent Director.
Mr Elliott is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. He is also the Chairman of Telstra Foundation Limited and has been a Director of Pacific Dunlop and Ansell Limited. Herb is also Chair of a private corporate health company called Global Corporate Challenge which this year has 23,000 participants.
A local of Perth, Western Australia, Herb, at the age of 22, won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome for the 1500m track event, setting a new world record in the process. Herb was also a dual gold medalist from the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff two years earlier for the 880 yards and mile track events.
Previous executive roles include President of PUMA North America. Mr Elliott is the former inaugural Chairman of National Australia Day Committee and was a Commissioner to the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Mr Rowley joined Fortescue at Andrew Forrest's invitation in May 2003. In October 2003, he was appointed Executive Director Operations and in January 2009, he became responsible for Fortescue's public policy and corporate affairs. Mr Rowley retired from his executive role with Fortescue in March 2010 and remains a Non-Executive Director on the Fortescue Board.
Previously he was an executive with Rio Tinto Plc holding senior positions in Hamersley Iron and Argyle Diamonds. Mr Rowley's previous directorships have included Dampier Port Authority, the Pilbara Development Commission, the Council for the West Pilbara College of Tafe and the Western Australian State Government's Technical Advisory Council.
Mr Rowley has extensive experience in operational management of both iron ore ship loading facilities and heavy haul railway within the unique Pilbara environment.
Mr Ambrecht is a Non-Executive Director of the Company and is a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.
Mr Ambrecht is the Principal of KCA Associates LLC, an investment banking and advisory firm. He is a Non-Executive Director of American Financial Capital Inc and Spectrum Brands Inc. Mr Ambrecht was previously a Managing Director of First Albany Capital and the Royal Bank of Canada following a 25 year career at Lehman Brothers in New as Managing Director in the capital markets division.
Mr Brayshaw joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2007. He was previously an Audit Partner with BDO Accountants and retired in June 2005. Mr Brayshaw has held a number of positions in commerce and professional bodies including National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2002, Independent Director and Audit Committee Chairman of Fortron Insurance Group, Board member of the Small Business Development Corporation and was formerly the Chairman of a Trustee Company related to an Aboriginal Corporation. He is also a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Poseidon Nickel Limited.
Mr Brayshaw is Chairman of Fortescue's Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Mr Hegarty BEc(Hons), FAusIMM was appointed a Non-Executive Director in October 2008. He has nearly 40 years experience in the mining industry in Australia and internationally. Mr Hegarty had 25 years with the Rio Tinto Group where he was Managing Director of Rio Tinto Asia and Managing Director of the Group's Australian copper and gold business. He was the founding managing director from 1995 through to the merger in 2008 of the Oxiana Ltd Group, which grew from a small exploration company to a multi-billion dollar Australian and Asia focused base and precious metal explorer, developer and producer. Oxiana Ltd Group became Oz Minerals Ltd. Mr Hegarty is also a Non-Executive Director of Range River Gold Limited and Executive Chairman of Hong Kong listed G-Resources Ltd.
Mr Hegarty is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and was awarded the 2005 AusIMM Institute Medal for his leadership and achievements in the mining industry. He was elected a Director of the AusIMM in October 2008 and took up the position in January 2009.
Mr Barnaba was appointed as a Non-Executive Director in February 2010, joined the Audit and Risk Management Committee in June 2011 and was appointed Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee on August 18, 2011.
Mr Barnaba currently holds the position of Chairman with Macquarie Bank Western Australia, Western Power, Edge Employment Solutions (a disability employment organization), and the University of Western Australia Business School. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in Investment Banking and Finance and as a member of the In The Zone Editorial Committee with the University of Western Australia. Until recently, Mr. Barnaba held the position of co-founder and Executive Chairman of Azure Capital and was a Non-Executive Chairman of the West Coast Eagles Football Club and a member of the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.
Mr Barnaba received his Bachelor of Commerce with first class honors from the University of Western Australia in 1985 and was awarded the JA Wood University Medal for top graduate, university wide. He then went onto Harvard Business School and received an MBA in 1988, graduating with a high distinction as a Baker Scholar. In 2009, Mr Barnaba was the recipient of the Western Australian Citizen of the Year Award in Industry and Commerce.
Dr Geoff Raby joined the Fortescue Board as a Non-Executive Director in August 2011.
Dr Raby was Australia's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2007 to 2011. Prior to that, he was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade(DFAT).
Dr Raby has extensive experience in international affairs and trade, having been Australia's Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (1998-2001), Australia's APEC Ambassador (2003-05), Head of DFAT's Office of Trade Negotiations and Head of the Trade Policy Issues Division at the OECD, Paris. Between 1986 and 1991 he was Head of the Economic Section at the Australian Embassy, Beijing. He has been the Chair of DFAT's Audit Committee and served as an ex officio member of the Boards of Austrade and EFIC (Export Finance and Insurance Corporation).
Dr Raby is also a non-executive director of ASX listed companies Oceana Gold and SmarTrans.
Mr Herbert (Bud) Scruggs joined the Fortescue Board in August 2011 as a Non-Executive Director.
Mr Scruggs in an expert in business leadership, corporate recoveries and step change business improvement. A lawyer by training (BYU 1984), he has held a number of corporate, government, political and civic positions including Chief of Staff to the Governor of Utah and Chairman of the University of Utah Board of Trustees.
Mr Scruggs served on a number of boards of public as well as privately held companies including American Investment Bank, Barbados Light & Power, Deseret Morning News, Empire Insurance, MK Gold and Sangart - including service on multiple audit and executive committees.
Mr Scruggs served recently as CEO of Huntsman Financial Corporation as well as the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and previously worked for Leucadia Asset Management Group. He was instrumental in Leucadia's original decision to invest alongside Andrew Forrest in Fortescue. He now provides, among other activities, consulting services to The Metal Group and the Australian Children's Trust.
Mr Neville Power joined the Fortescue Board in September 2011 soon after his appointment as CEO in August 2011.
Mr Power joined Fortescue in February 2011, having recently held the position of Chief Executive Australian Operations for Thiess Pty Ltd where he was responsible for the construction business with a turnover of $4 billion per annum and 3,500 staff. In this role, Mr Power was responsible for some of Australia's most significant projects including the Brisbane Airport Link, Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital redevelopment and the Victorian Desalination project.
He spent more than 10 years in senior executive positions with Smorgon Steel Group Ltd where he was progressively promoted as the Group grew through acquisitions and expansion and, in February 2001, was appointed Chief Executive (Reinforcing and Steel Products Division).
Mr Power has a Bachelor Engineering from University of Southern Queensland and an MBA from the University of Queensland. He maintains an active interest in managing the family cattle property and is an avid aviator, holding both helicopter and fixed wing licenses with endorsements on a range of aircraft.
Mr Cao Huiquan has joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 27 February 2012 as the nominated director on Fortescue’s Board from Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group Company Ltd as following Fortescue's Subscription Agreement with Hunan Valin Iron and
Steel Group Co Ltd of 25 February 2009. Mr Cao Huiquan is chairman of Valin.