Appointments August 25, 2023

Chris Jordaan has been announced as chief operating officer at Australian Strategic Materials. Mr Jordaan brings a wealth of knowledge from his 31 years in operational and corporate leadership roles in the petrochemical, processing and mining industries. He has worked in these sectors across Australia, South Africa and Papua New Guinea. For the past two years, Mr Jordaan has worked as president and chief executive officer at Canadian gold miner Superior Gold. He has also previously worked at Newcrest Mining for nearly five years and at BHP for seven years.

Not-for-profit Short Back and Sidewalks has appointed Natalie Jenkins as chief executive, effective early September. She will take over the role from founder Craig Hollywood, who would step down to a non-executive director position. Ms Jenkins has held senior executive positions in the not-for-profit sector for more than three decades, with particular focus on creative industries. Ms Jenkins will transition to Short Back and Sidewalks from her current job as chief executive at Block Branding, a role she’s held since January 2020. In the past, Ms Jenkins has served as Black Swan State Theatre Company co-CEO and executive director, ThinIce Productions general manager, Western Australian Community Foundation project manager and acting CEO, and Perth Theatre Company CEO and general manager.

Vanadium Resources has recruited Tim Feather as chief financial officer, bringing 25 years of experience in corporate finance. Mr Feather is a qualified chartered accountant and started his career in England with Deloitte. He also worked at banking company Brown Shipley in London before becoming the co-founder of Westhouse Securities. With this company, Mr Feather was head of corporate finance and was focused on working with mining, oil and gas companies. He moved to Ireland and continued working as an accountant in the resources sector. Mr Feather currently serves as non-executive director of UK-based Orcadian Energy. He will be based in Australia as appropriate for this role.

Ricky Burges has been selected as chair of the Great Southern Development Commission, as announced by Regional Development Minister Don Punch. Ms Burges has served as Albany Community Care chief executive since 2019 where she led the delivery of critical services in the region. She formerly worked as Western Australian Local Government Association chief executive for 19 years. Prior to this, Ms Burges was Perth Zoo chief executive and Department of Culture and Arts director general. She brings extensive experience in leadership within WA communities to her new role with the GSDC.

Jocelyn Connick has been promoted to Magistrate of the Family Court of Western Australia, effective October 30. Ms Connick was first admitted into practise in 1990. She spent 12 years as a supervising solicitor at Legal Aid WA, a role in which she assisted clients on complex family law matters, and additionally trained and managed other lawyers. Ms Connick worked as a solicitor at the WA Corruption and Crime Commission for two years and after this, one year as state prosecutor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Ms Connick has served as a registrar at the Family Court of Western Australia since 2018.

Savills Australia and New Zealand has announced the appointment of Chris Paul as managing director of its Western Australia business. Mr Paul is additionally set to extend his long-term role as national director – retail valuation and advisory with the company. In his new role as managing director, Mr Paul is expected to oversee the leadership and growth of the WA business. He has been with Savills Australia and New Zealand for 15 years, providing valuation and consultancy advice to the company’s retail clients such as Vicinity, Scentre Group, Dexus, Stockland, Lend Lease, GPT and Charter Hall.