People

B.Build, FIEAust, FAIB, FAICD
Group Non Executive Chairman

Philip has over 37 years’ experience in infrastructure construction, development, operations and investment management, most recently as Global Head of Infrastructure at AMP Capital Investors. He has also been Chief Executive Officer of Tenix Infrastructure and prior to that he was a long term senior executive at Lend Lease Corporation culminating in his role as Chief Executive of Lend Lease Capital Services (the development capital, infrastructure development and project finance arm of Lend Lease). Philip is a former member of the Federal Government Environment Industry Action Agenda, and a former Councillor of Environment Business Australia. He was the inaugural Chairman of the ASX listed DUET group and a director for seven years. Other current directorships include Essential Energy, Downer EDI Limited, Charter Hall and the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation. He is also Chairman of Energy Queensland, and the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group.

BA Hons, Ph.D
Non Executive Director

Nikki is a senior executive and industry ambassador with diverse international and Australian experience in the mining, energy, chemicals and waste management sectors. Her deep involvement with public policy formation and political advocacy spans the last 30 years. She has driven international project developments with Shell International Coal and Shell Gas International. She commenced her career as an Industrial Relations Officer with Esso Australia in the Bass Strait. She has served on a wide variety of international and Australian Boards, government and university advisory panels, including the Victorian Government’s Hazardous Waste Consultative Committee. Nikki has held CEO and Company Secretary roles with the Plastics and Chemicals Industry Assoc, NSW Minerals Council and the Australian Coal Association. She was previously a member of the CSIRO Business Advisory Board and an accredited energy expert with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Nikki has held Board positions on a $5 Billion Superannuation Fund, $1 Billion Low Emission Technology Fund and a $0.5 Billion workers compensation fund, mines rescue and health business. Nikki is the inaugural patron of the NSW Women in Mining Network, is an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and former Chair of the NeuRA Foundation and a former member of the Board of Neuroscience Research Australia.

Non Executive Director

Chris has 27 years’ experience in the industrial services and waste management sectors. He has held a range of senior executive positions across a number of industry leading groups, including as CEO and Managing Director of Brambles Industrial Services and Cleanaway Australia and CEO and Managing Director of BIS Cleanaway and BIS Industries. During his career Chris has been instrumental in driving shareholder value through successful sales, integration and growth of his businesses. Chris was also Chairman of WSN Environmental Solutions, a NSW Government waste business, and led the privatisation of that business through the sale to SITA. Chris has also served as deputy executive general manager of HWE Mining P/L (Leighton Mining P/L) focussed on BHP Billiton Iron Ore mining contracts in the Pilbara. Chris is currently an adviser to Wagner Group and is a non-executive director to Hiway Group (NZ), John Swire Australia, Triple Energy and IncentiaPay.

BCom, GAICD
Non Executive Director

Joe has been nominated by Hume Partners Investment Group (Hume) to the Tellus board under the terms of Hume’s significant equity investment in Tellus earlier this year. Joe is an advisor to, and sits on the Investment Committee for, Hume, which manages wealth creation for a number of family offices in Australia.

Joe is an experienced senior executive and director with 24 years of involvement in online digital and education businesses, telecommunications and sports technology.  He brings a depth of experience in leading teams in purpose driven customer focused organisations that have delivered results for organisational stakeholders.

Joe is currently the Executive Chairman of Alffie, a leading provider of online training and compliance solutions to Employment Service Providers. Prior to this he held the position of Chief Executive Officer of publicly listed global sports technology leader – Catapult Sports.

His career experience includes 10 years with SEEK Ltd where he was Managing Director of SEEK Education and  Managing Director of SEEK Employment,  and 11 years in telecommunications at Singtel-Optus in various management roles.

Joe also has significant board experience, previously with Online Education Services and IDP Education and is a current Director of the Richmond Football Club and Migration Council Australia.

Joe will bring significant go-to-market expertise to the Tellus board which will be valuable as Tellus continues the process of executing on the commercial potential of the Sandy Ridge project.

Chief Executive Officer
(Tellus Holdings Group)

Nate is a global leader with a consistent record of success in a broad range of industries – including logistics, warehousing and distribution, technology, financial services, mining, infrastructure and waste management. He has deep experience in driving B2B sales, managing a wide range of capital raisings and achieving complex government approvals, having closed deals in 60+ countries, with values up to US$16.6 billion. Nate has additionally led the launch of multiple start-ups and also served as a senior executive at, or advisor for, some of the largest companies in the world.

Prior to joining Tellus, Nate was Vice President and lawyer for UPS in Atlanta (USA), where he supported various areas of a multi-billion dollar business, including key B2B sales relationships, global M&A, UPS’s venture capital fund, procurement, compliance and UPS’s Emerging Markets business unit. He also helped launch Ware2Go, a technology and logistics venture backed by BCG Digital Ventures. Before UPS, Nate worked for the global law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell and Latham & Watkins (in Sydney, London and the U.S.), focusing on corporate matters, particularly capital markets, governance and securities. He also worked as a business strategy consultant for IBM.

Nate holds a Juris Doctor with High Honours from Emory Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs with Distinction from the University of Virginia. He is qualified to practise law in New South Wales, California and Washington D.C. and is a former adjunct professor on international legal transactions at Emory Law School.

BCom, CPA, GradDip AppFin
Chief Financial Officer

Nicholas is an experienced finance executive with more than 20 years of success across a broad range of industries and geographies. Following a decade with BHP in Europe, the US and South America largely focused on treasury and corporate finance helping launch US and Euro denominated bond issuances and both on and off market share buy backs, Nicholas moved into the oil and gas industry working with BG Group and Shell in broader finance and commercial roles as they embarked on multi-billion dollar investments with local JV Partners in the Brazilian offshore pre-salt oilfields. After returning to Australia Nicholas took up the role as Head of Finance for Pacific National’s mining division where he established a proven track record as a trusted business partner within the operational team in the country’s largest rail company, being part of the team that hit record results for the division in 2019.

Nicholas is degree qualified in Commerce (BCom) from Melbourne University, he also is a qualified CPA with a graduate diploma in Applied Finance and Investments.

BCom, CA, MBA, MAICD
Chief Strategy Officer

Sterling is a seasoned executive with over 30 years’ experience in strategy and finance. He has architected and delivered growth in businesses operating across a broad range of industries. He is passionate about delivering successful outcomes.

Prior to joining Tellus, Sterling acted in a number of C-Suite roles at Velocity Frequent Flyer, where he helped double the size of the business in 5 years.

Sterling has also worked for NAB, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Sterling is degree qualified in Commerce (BCom) through the University of NSW and has also completed an MBA with distinction at INSEAD in France. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

BAppSc (Hons) Geology
Chief Operating Officer

Michael brings 25 years of practical experience in mining and mineral concentrator operations, design, engineering, project and construction management in Australia, Africa and USA. This experience covers various industry sectors including exploration, mining, minerals processing and R&D.

BEng (Hons), BSc (Hons), ACSM, MAusIMM
Chief Development Officer

Stephen is a project development specialist with over 17 years’ experience supporting the delivery of large scale infrastructure and mine development projects across Australasia, the Middle East and Europe. He has previously worked for BHP Billiton, Newcrest, Atlas Iron, Golder Associates and Halcrow.

Stephen is a graduate of Camborne School of Mines and a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

BA (Hons), CPE, LSF, GAICD
General Counsel & Company Secretary

Barbara is a highly experienced corporate lawyer and governance specialist, qualifying as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales in 1995. Her career spanning 25 years has focussed primarily on high value projects in the environmental, energy and mining sectors, firstly in global law firms Clifford Chance, Norton Rose Fulbright and King & Wood Mallesons, and since 2001 in international corporates. Relevantly for Tellus, ten years as senior in-house counsel (including as Acting General Counsel) in Banpu PCL’s Australian underground mining and logistics operations has given Barbara an extensive commercial and operational skillset. Merchant banking at Rothschild Bank in the early 2000s provided hands-on debt finance experience. Her most recent role was as General Counsel & Company Secretary for large aged care provider RSL LifeCare. This diverse background helps her give pragmatic, valuable advice and she prioritises developing trust relationships across the business.

Barbara was awarded an Order of Merit for the Company Directors Course by the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2014. She has used her governance expertise as a pro bono Non-Executive Director on the boards of several charities.

Barbara is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW, and is a member of the Law Society of NSW and of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

DipAppSci, BEnvSci (Hons)
General Manager External Affairs and Approvals

Richard brings 20 years of experience in environmental impact assessment (EIA), water resource and approvals management. Richard’s experience extends to project management, community and contractor engagement. Richard’s career includes working on significant EIA infrastructure projects in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. Richard studied Environmental Science (Honours) from the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Richard also has an Associate Diploma of Applied Science majoring in Environmental Engineering.

General Manager Sales and Business Development (Sydney, NSW)

Darren brings with him over 25 years international experience in operations, supply chain and sales. He has a diverse industry background with manufacturing and end to end supply chains domestically and internationally. Experienced providing solutions to industries including, waste, Oil & gas, Chemical, power generation and wide range of specialised manufacturing.

Darren has a Master of Logistics management (university of Sydney) and Graduate certificate business administration (Western Sydney university), and has served on the board of Gas Energy Australia (GEA), Canberra Regions Oil industry Emergency Response group (CROIERG) and worked on safety and standards committees including Australian institute of Petroleum (AIP) , Gas Energy Australia (GEA), and Australian Standards (ME57).

Previous roles have included, business development consultant, global client director, and General manager, and Regional logistics manager for various multinational corporations. Darren’s technical experience includes Project Management, end to end supply chain solutions and development of bespoke customer orientated solutions.

General Manager Sales and Business Development (Perth, WA)

Slade brings with him over sixteen years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry specializing in the treatment, management and disposal of drilling waste and associated services. Previous appointments have included positions as Sales Manager, Operations Manager and Business Unit Manager for multiple international Oil & Gas service companies. Slade’s technical experience revolves around project management, contract and operational management for waste, resources and energy infrastructure in Australia Pacific Region.