Gaines first woman on Fortescue board
Elizabeth Gaines has been appointed as a non-executive director at WA iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. Ms Gaines is chief operating officer, chief financial officer and an executive director of the Jetset Travelworld Group.
She was previously CFO of the Stella Group, chief finance and operations director of UK-based media group Entertainment Rights and chief executive officer of private WA company Heytesbury. She has held senior treasury and finance roles at Bankwest and qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young.
Ms Gaines is Fortescue’s first female director on the board. Peter Meurs has been appointed to the FMG board as an executive director. Mr Meurs is Fortescue’s director developments and joined the company in May 2010. Prior to that, he was a founder and managing director of WorleyParsons.
Loose Box’s Fabregues to retire
One of WA’s best-known chefs and restaurateurs, Alain Fabregues, has announced his retirement after 34 years in the industry. Mr Fabregues has also put The Loose Box, his degustation restaurant in Mundaring, and the adjoining five-star chalet property on the market. He also owns a truffle farm in the Avon Valley and a newer restaurant in Subiaco called Bistro des Artistes. Mr Fabregues was an apprentice in Bordeaux under the late Jean Delaveyne and moved to Australia and opened The Loose Box in 1979. He is the only chef outside France to be awarded the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvrier de France and has been knighted twice by the French government for his services to professional cookery.
Cooper’s Shervington retires
Cooper Energy has completed its long-running succession plan, with Perth-based chairman Laurie Shervington to be replaced by John Conde, whose experience includes former roles as chairman of Whitehaven Coal, Ausgrid, PowerTel and a non-executive director of BHP Billiton. Mr Shervington has served as chairman since November 2004 and will remain on the board of the petroleum explorer as a non-executive director until later in 2013 when he plans to retire from the company.
Minerals council on hunt for new CEO
The Minerals Council of Australia is looking for a new chief executive officer following Mitch Hooke’s decision to leave the organisation at the end of the year. Mr Hooke, who has been CEO since 2002, has agreed to continue as a special adviser for 12 months after he steps down. Minerals Council chairman Peter Johnston, who heads WA nickel miner Minara Resources, said Mr Hooke had made an enormous impact on the industry and the wider public policy landscape.
