Barnaba chairs Black Swan
Macquarie Group WA chairman Mark Barnaba has succeeded Sam Walsh as chairman of the Black Swan Theatre Company. Mr Walsh was appointed Rio Tinto’s chief executive officer last month and has since relocated to London. He said Mr Barnaba would bring to his new role “a depth of business acumen and wider experience that will prove invaluable in seeing [Black Swan’s] success maintained and enhanced.” Mr Barnaba is currently chairman of the UWA Business School board and a non-executive director of Fortescue Metals Group. He was the (joint) recipient of the First Amongst Equals award at the inaugural WA Business News 40under40 awards in 2002.
Karotkin to lead architects nationally
David Karotkin has been appointed as the national president of the Australian Institute of Architects for 2014, following a two-year period as Western Australian chapter president of the membership organisation. The body represents Australian architects nationally and currently has 12,000 members. Mr Karotkin is managing director of Perth-based architecture firm Sandover Pinder. He is the first architecture institute president from WA since Warren Kerr served as head of the organisation in 2002. The institute will hold its 2014 national conference in Perth, coinciding with Mr Karotkin’s presidency.
Osborn quits Leighton
Leighton Holdings’ only Perth-based non-executive director, Wayne Osborn, resigned from the company’s board late last week, along with chairman Stephen Johns and former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian Macfarlane, after a breakdown in relations between the construction giant and its controlling shareholder. The key issue was relations between Leighton and its major shareholder, German company Hochtief, and more specifically with Spanish company ACS, which gained control of Hochtief and therefore Leighton two years ago. Leighton has subsequently appointed Bob Humphris as chairman. Mr Osborn joined the Leighton board in November 2008, having previously served as managing director at Alcoa of Australia. He remains a director of Wesfarmers and Iluka Resources.
