John H. Akehurst

John H. Akehurst Managing Director, Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

"In 1976 John joined Shell International and undertook a number of technical assignments in the North Sea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Nigeria. He was appointed to the Shell Group Human Resources Management team in London in 1990 before moving to The Hague as Exploration and Production Manager for the Far East, Australasia and South America. Shell then seconded him to the position of Executive General Manager, Woodside Offshore Petroleum Pty Ltd based in Perth, where he was responsible for the operation of the NW Shelf Joint Venture. John was appointed a Director of Woodside Petroleum Ltd. on 7 February 1996 and resigned from Shell at the beginning of March 1996 to join Woodside as Managing Director. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the advisory board of the Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia and a director of Youth Focus, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide in Western Australia. Born in London 1948, John graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Engineering Sciences in 1971."

• Director, Reserve Bank of Australia