Appointments April 26, 2024

St John of God Health Care announced Sidone Thomas as the company’s new chief technology and corporate services officer, effective April 29. Ms Thomas has more than 20 years of experience across digital, data and innovation, operations, facilities management, and marketing, and would transition to SJoG from Sydney Airport, where she was chief operating officer. Ms Thomas joined the airport in 2020 as general manager customer strategy and digital, and before this, she worked at Sydney-based The GPT Group.

State Counsel Alan Sefton has been appointed as a Judge of the District Court of Western Australia, bringing more than 30 years’ experience working at the State Solicitor’s Office. Mr Sefton became senior counsel and state counsel in 2020 and served a stint as state solicitor during his time at the SSO. He has represented state government on a variety of complicated matters in several courts, appearing on behalf of ministers, departments, agencies and instrumentalities. Mr Sefton commences on May 6, taking over from long-serving Andrew Stavrianou who has retired after 18 years.

Jennifer Smith has been announced as Auxiliary Judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, commencing the 12-month appointment on June 5. Justice Smith will transition from her current role as Judge of the Supreme Court WA, a role she has held since 2017. She presided in the legal battle between Hancock and Wright Prospecting over iron ore royalties and is due to hand down her judgment on that case sometime this year. Justice Smith has held the positions of Commissioner, Senior Commissioner and Acting President of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

Rio Tinto iron ore chief Simon Trott has been appointed as president of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, succeeding BHP's Brandon Craig. Mr Trott has worked at Rio Tinto since 2000, becoming chief commercial officer in 2018 before taking on the role of iron ore chief executive in 2021. He said he was looking forward to helping drive CME’s strategic direction, working closely with chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson, the executive council and team.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission chief executive Warren Day would be joining the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on secondment as the director’s chief executive on June 1. ASIC regulation and supervision executive director Greg Yanco will be the interim chief executive from June 1, however, he has also flagged his retirement in mid-2025.