50 Influential Leaders in Perth Australia

Last updated: June 2026  |  consultclarity.org

Introduction

Perth is one of the most geographically isolated major cities on Earth, and yet its leadership community punches well above its weight. As of June 2026, the Western Australian capital drives one of the most productive regional economies in the world, anchored by resources but increasingly diversified into clean energy, technology, higher education, health, and the arts.

The 50 leaders on this list were selected on the basis of a documented, fact-checked contribution to their field in Perth and Western Australia, from decades of industry leadership and civic impact to the founding of organisations that are now shaping how thousands of people live and work. Rather than recycling the same dozen names that appear on every annual WA power list, this directory reflects the genuine breadth of leadership shaping this city and state right now.

Leaders are grouped into seven categories reflecting the industries and sectors that define Perth's character. Every role and organisation was verified as current at the time of writing.

To bring Jonno White in to facilitate a leadership team offsite, Working Genius workshop, or keynote for your Perth or WA-based organisation, email jonno@consultclarity.org. International travel is often far more affordable than clients expect.

Why Perth Leadership Matters

Perth sits at the intersection of some of the most consequential forces shaping the global economy right now. The Pilbara region, accessible from Perth, produces iron ore that underpins the steel output of China, Japan, and South Korea. As of the 2025 financial year, Fortescue alone shipped more than 198 million tonnes of iron ore, generating revenue of US$15.5 billion. Rio Tinto spent a record AU$19.7 billion with Australian suppliers in 2025, of which AU$1.1 billion went to Indigenous businesses.

The energy transition is reshaping what Perth leadership means. Western Australia's Wholesale Electricity Market is navigating one of the fastest renewable buildouts of any grid in the world. The state government's sustainability strategy, first developed under Professor Peter Newman in 2001, helped establish WA as a global reference point for sustainability policy. The leaders shaping Perth today are doing so against a backdrop of extraordinary resource wealth, rapid diversification, and the persistent challenge of governing a state the size of Western Europe from a city on its far south-western coast.

Perth's four major universities, UWA, Curtin, ECU, and Murdoch, collectively enrol more than 100,000 students and anchor a research ecosystem increasingly global in reach. The nonprofit and community sector serves a population spread across metropolitan Perth and one of the world's largest health authority catchment areas by geography. The leaders below have shaped all of these realities.

If you are looking for inspirational speakers in Perth for your next event, the companion directory at consultclarity.org profiles 50 verified professional speakers across leadership, sport, mental health, business, and specialist topics.

How This List Was Compiled

Each leader was selected for a documented, fact-checked contribution to their field in Perth and Western Australia. The selection draws on published sources including sector publications, government records, university communications, annual reports, award programmes, and primary sources dated within the last twelve months. Every role and organisation on the list was verified as current at the time of writing in June 2026. The list does not reflect advertising relationships or payments of any kind.

Who Shapes Perth Business, Innovation and Creative Industries

Perth's business and creative leadership spans digital strategy, Indigenous enterprise, sport administration, precious metals, and the performing arts. The leaders in this category are connected by the energy they bring to institution-building in a city that rewards those who commit to it for the long term.

1. Jo Saunders

Jo Saunders is the founder of Wildfire Social Marketing and one of the most recognised LinkedIn experts in the Asia Pacific region. Based in Perth, she has spent more than fifteen years helping individuals and organisations turn LinkedIn from a passive professional directory into a genuine engine for business development and influence.

Saunders was named the number two LinkedIn expert in Asia Pacific by the Social Media Marketing Institute and has been ranked consistently among the top 200 LinkedIn practitioners globally. She developed the Connectfluence methodology, which underpins her training programs for professionals and executive teams across Perth and beyond. Her emphasis on authentic connection rather than automation has become commercially distinctive as platforms grow noisier and audiences grow more selective.

2. Dr Andrzej Gwizdalski

Dr Andrzej Gwizdalski is a researcher at the University of Western Australia and co-founder of the WA Web3 Association, the incorporated body he established to build Western Australia's blockchain, AI, and quantum technology ecosystem. His work bridges academic research, public education, and commercial ecosystem development in ways that are rare for a single practitioner.

His UWA research focuses on the adoption and impact of emerging technologies including blockchain, AI, IoT, and quantum science on organisations, First Nations communities, and governments. In 2026 he delivered a keynote at the University of Cambridge on governing AI's environmental impact and presented at the Point Zero Forum in 2025. His LinkedIn presence in 2025 and 2026 has made him one of Perth's most consistent public voices on digital transformation and responsible deep technology adoption.

3. Zak Kirkup

Zak Kirkup is the Managing Director of Chalkwest, the WA franchise of Budget Car and Truck Rental of which he acquired a majority stake in September 2025, and a Director of Kolbang, the Aboriginal-operated electrical contracting business he co-founded. A Yamatji man who grew up in Midland, Perth, Kirkup has built a portfolio of Aboriginal-owned businesses that are among the largest Indigenous employers in Western Australia.

Across Chalkwest, Kolbang, and PowerOn Cabling, Kirkup has created employment pathways for Aboriginal people across the Pilbara, South West, and metropolitan Perth. Chalkwest operates across twelve locations including seven regional airports, manages a fleet of more than 1,300 vehicles, and counts BHP, Rio Tinto, and MinRes among its clients. His work on Indigenous enterprise was profiled in the National Indigenous Times in January 2026 and in the Indigenous Business Review in March 2026.

4. Nick Hudson

Nick Hudson is the founder of the Push for Better Foundation, the Perth-based organisation behind The Push-Up Challenge, Australia's largest fitness-based mental health movement. Since launching the challenge in 2017 following his own experience of open heart surgery and severe depression, he built the organisation to engage more than one million participants and raise more than AU$70 million for mental health charities.

In January 2026, Hudson stepped back from the CEO role, appointing Nicole Cikarela to lead the organisation as it expanded into the United Kingdom and New Zealand, while he remained as Founder and Board Advisor. He was named Australian of the Year WA Local Hero 2024 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year in WA 2024. The Push-Up Challenge 2026 launched in June 2026 with Hudson's active support and LinkedIn engagement reflecting his continued involvement in the movement he created.

5. Niamh O'Connor

Niamh O'Connor is the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Force, the Perth-based Super Rugby Pacific franchise. Appointed permanently in February 2024 following a period as acting CEO, she oversees the organisation's strategy, financial sustainability, and community engagement across Western Australian rugby.

O'Connor moved to Perth from Ireland in 2011 and has been involved in WA community rugby for more than a decade, serving on the RugbyWA board and the Force board before stepping into leadership. Under her tenure the Western Force announced a 2026 charity partnership with youth mental health organisation zero2hero. Western Force Chairman Anthony Flannery described her as bringing grassroots understanding and strategic vision to a role that demands both.

6. Paul Graham

Paul Graham is the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Corporation, the state-owned enterprise that operates The Perth Mint. Gold Corporation refines and markets gold, silver, and platinum products to more than 100 countries and has operated continuously since 1899 as Australia's oldest operating mint, holding a globally significant position in precious metals refining and distribution.

Graham was recognised in Business News' 2026 Power 500 as one of the most influential business leaders in Western Australia, and the Committee for Perth named him among its board members acknowledged in the publication. His leadership of Gold Corporation sits at the intersection of the state's resource wealth, its financial services sector, and its international trading relationships, making his influence extend well beyond Perth's domestic economy.

7. Ian Booth

Ian Booth is the Chief Executive Officer of Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA, Perth's state theatre company. Appointed in 2022, he brought more than twenty years of experience in Western Australia's creative industries, including a decade as CEO of Screenwest where he oversaw investment in productions including Red Dog, Bran Nue Dae, and Cloudstreet.

Booth was recognised in Business News' 2026 Power 500 and was named to the state government's Creative Industries Taskforce in January 2026. His commentary on arts funding in ArtsHub in April 2026 welcomed the early commitment of state government arts sector support, describing it as continuing the momentum the sector had been building. Black Swan renewed its Fortescue sponsorship in 2025, reflecting the company's integration into Perth's commercial and cultural landscape.

Who Shapes Perth Resources, Energy and Industry

Western Australia's resources and energy sector is the most powerful economic engine in the nation, generating export revenues that underpin federal and state budgets. The leaders in this category run organisations with collective revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars and make decisions that reverberate across global iron ore, energy, and media industries.

8. Andrew Forrest AO

Andrew Forrest is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Fortescue, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, and co-founder of Minderoo Foundation, Australia's largest private philanthropy. He built Fortescue from a startup in 2003 into a company that shipped more than 198 million tonnes of iron ore in the year to June 2025 and generated revenue of US$15.5 billion.

In 2023, Forrest and his former wife Nicola donated Fortescue shares worth AU$5 billion to the Minderoo Foundation, the largest single charitable donation in Australian history, bringing Minderoo's endowment to more than AU$9 billion. Fortescue's mission to reach real zero fossil fuel use in its Australian operations by 2030 is one of the most ambitious corporate decarbonisation commitments in the global mining industry. Forrest holds a PhD in Marine Ecology and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.

9. Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, the privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company her father Lang Hancock founded and she has led since succeeding him in 1992. She has built Hancock Prospecting into one of Australia's most significant privately held mining companies with major interests in iron ore, coal, and pastoral holdings.

Rinehart was Australia's wealthiest individual according to Forbes 2026 estimates, reflecting both the scale of the Pilbara iron ore operations Hancock co-owns and her expansion into agricultural and energy sectors. She has been a consistent public advocate for policy settings that support Australia's mining industry competitiveness. The Business News Power 500 2026 placed her among the most influential figures in the state.

10. Kerry Stokes

Kerry Stokes is the Chairman of Seven Group Holdings and Australian Capital Equity, with major commercial interests spanning media, construction equipment, energy, and property. Perth-based for decades, he built a media and industrial empire beginning with television distribution in Perth in the 1960s that now includes significant stakes in Coates and WesTrac, Australia's largest Caterpillar equipment dealer.

Seven Group Holdings operates at significant scale and Stokes also serves as Chairman of the Australian War Memorial. The Business News Power 500 2026 noted his deliberate step back from day-to-day media involvement after reducing his Southern Cross Media stake, while he maintained his standing as one of WA's most enduring commercial and civic presences. His influence spans media, mining services, and community engagement across several decades.

11. Liz Westcott

Liz Westcott became CEO of Woodside Energy on 17 March 2026, appointed by the Woodside board following the departure of Meg O'Neill in December 2025 to lead BP. She had previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Australia at Woodside since joining in June 2023, leading the company's Australian operations, projects, and safety programmes.

Her prior career included the Chief Operating Officer role at EnergyAustralia, following a twenty-five-year career at ExxonMobil across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Her expertise spans strategic planning, operations, project management, and safety and commercial leadership. Her appointment as CEO makes her one of the most senior women leading a major Australian publicly listed company, and the Woodside board described her as a widely respected senior executive with deep global operational leadership.

12. Richard Goyder AO

Richard Goyder is the Chairman of Woodside Energy, a role he has held since 2020, and a Director of Rio Tinto and West Coast Eagles. A Perth-born business leader, he served as CEO and Managing Director of Wesfarmers from 2005 to 2017, building it into one of Australia's largest conglomerates, and subsequently as Chairman of Qantas from 2018 to 2024.

Goyder announced his retirement from the AFL Commission chairmanship in September 2025, effective March 2026, after eight years in the role. In his capacity as Woodside Chairman, he oversaw the appointment of Liz Westcott as CEO in March 2026 following the transition from Meg O'Neill. He is a member of the UWA Business School Advisory Board and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.

13. Tim Day

Tim Day is the Asset President of BHP's Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operation and President of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), appointed to that industry leadership role in August 2025. He has been with BHP since May 2008, moving through technical and leadership roles across iron ore and coal before becoming Asset President in January 2024.

In 2026, Day and Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Matthew Holcz jointly announced a conceptual study into sharing Pilbara infrastructure to unlock additional production capacity with minimal capital requirements, a significant collaboration between WA's two largest iron ore producers. The Business News Power 500 2026 placed him among the state's most influential leaders for the first time, reflecting his growing institutional footprint across both BHP operations and the WA resources sector.

14. Nicola Forrest AO

Nicola Forrest is the co-founder of the Minderoo Foundation and co-owner of Tattarang, the Forrest family private investment company whose six business divisions span agri-food, energy, health technology, property, resources, and lifestyle. In 2023 she and Andrew Forrest donated AU$5 billion worth of Fortescue shares to Minderoo, the largest single charitable donation in Australian history.

Minderoo Foundation operates across climate action, ending plastic pollution, humanitarian response, and natural ecosystem restoration. In July 2025, Minderoo donated AU$3.3 million to Regional Arts WA and twenty organisations in the Regional Arts Network, demonstrating the foundation's commitment to cultural life beyond the metropolitan core. Nicola Forrest was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Tattarang represents one of the most diversified private investment programmes in Western Australia.

Who Shapes Perth Government, Policy and Civic Life

Western Australia has a distinct political culture, shaped by its geographic distance from Canberra and its dependence on resources revenues that can diverge dramatically from the national economic cycle. The leaders in this category set the policy and governance frameworks within which all other Perth leaders operate.

15. Roger Cook

Roger Cook is the Premier of Western Australia, having assumed the role in June 2023 and been re-elected with a strong majority in the March 2025 state election. He previously served as Deputy Premier and Health Minister under Mark McGowan and is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Kwinana.

The Business News Power 500 2026 placed Cook at number one for a second consecutive year, citing his leadership of a state economy generating record iron ore revenues while advancing major infrastructure investment and economic diversification. His government announced the state's first productivity commission to help define the future of WA's resources industry, and his second ministry sworn in on 19 March 2025 maintains a strong focus on trade, investment, and economic transition.

16. Rita Saffioti

Rita Saffioti is the Deputy Premier of Western Australia, Treasurer, and Minister for Transport and Sport and Recreation. A graduate of Curtin University and Member of the Legislative Assembly for West Swan since 2008, she ranked second in the Business News Power 500 for both 2025 and 2026.

Her tenure as Treasurer has coincided with significant fiscal surpluses driven by iron ore royalties, deployed toward infrastructure, hospital investment, and cost-of-living relief. At a CEDA event in 2026 she presented the state budget and announced live that WA had retained its AAA credit rating. She is widely regarded as one of the most capable economic policy practitioners in Australian state politics.

17. Amber-Jade Sanderson

Amber-Jade Sanderson is the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation in the Cook Labor Government, overseeing Western Australia's energy transition as the state pursues one of the fastest renewable buildouts of any Australian grid. The Business News Power 500 2026 placed her in the top ten of WA's most influential people for the first time, describing her as a credible future leadership contender.

She was previously Health Minister and was a contender for the WA Labor leadership in 2023. As Energy Minister she has overseen policy settings for the Wholesale Electricity Market during a period of significant transformation, managing the integration of large-scale renewables while maintaining grid reliability. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mirrabooka and brings a public health background to one of WA's most consequential ministerial portfolios.

18. Bruce Reynolds

Bruce Reynolds became the Lord Mayor of Perth in October 2025, succeeding Basil Zempilas who moved to state parliament following the March 2025 election. Reynolds had served as Deputy Lord Mayor and City of Perth Councillor since October 2023, running as an Independent after previously being affiliated with the Liberal Party.

As Lord Mayor, Reynolds leads the City of Perth at a time of significant urban transformation. The City's Shaping Perth City Centre: Towards 2036 framework, developed with international urban strategy firm Gehl, won the 2025 Place Leaders Asia Pacific Award. The City of Perth manages extensive public spaces, laneways, parks, and community assets across the CBD and serves as the capital city authority of Western Australia.

19. Basil Zempilas

Basil Zempilas is the Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia and Leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, roles he assumed unopposed in March 2025 following the Liberal Party's loss in the state election. He is the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Churchlands, elected at the March 2025 state election.

Prior to entering state parliament, Zempilas served as Lord Mayor of Perth from October 2020 to March 2025, presiding over a period of post-pandemic recovery for Perth's CBD and civic life, including the Lotterywest Boorloo Heritage Festival. He is a former broadcaster and brings a high public profile to the Opposition role. As Leader of the Opposition he shapes the accountability function of WA's parliament and the policy direction the Liberal Party will take to the next state election.

20. Dr Shirley Bowen

Dr Shirley Bowen is the Director General of WA Health, the state's largest public sector agency with a budget of AU$12 billion and a workforce of more than 57,000 staff across metropolitan and regional Western Australia. She was appointed Director General in May 2024, having previously served as Chief Executive of the North Metropolitan Health Service.

Bowen holds dual Fellowships in Infectious Diseases (FRACP) and Sexual Health Medicine (FAChSHM) and built her career as a clinician before moving into health administration. Her prior executive roles include CEO of St John of God Subiaco Hospital, Chief Medical Officer of the Australian Capital Territory, and Executive Director of Fremantle Hospital. In early 2025 she shared WA Health's innovation priorities at a WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub event attended by more than 120 professionals.

21. Annelies Moens

Annelies Moens commenced as the inaugural Information Commissioner of Western Australia on 28 July 2025 under the Information Commissioner Act 2024 (WA). Her role gives her oversight of the new Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (WA) and the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (WA), with the PRIS Act commencing on 1 July 2026.

Prior to this appointment, Moens led Privcore, a privacy, AI, and cyber risk management company she operated as a profit-for-purpose enterprise. She is the 2023 recipient of the Vanguard Oceania Award from the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Her appointment as WA's first Information Commissioner places her at the centre of a new area of civic governance, overseeing how information about Western Australians is held, shared, and protected by government and industry.

22. Dr Parwinder Kaur

Dr Parwinder Kaur is a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, elected for the Australian Labor Party in May 2025. A scientist, advocate, and political leader, she brings a rare combination of STEM expertise and public service to the WA parliament, having earned the Australian Academy of Sciences' Science and Innovation Award in 2013 and Microsoft's AI for Earth Award in 2019.

Kaur was inducted into the Western Australia Women's Hall of Fame in 2023. Her path from scientific research to elected office as a first-generation migrant has made her a visible advocate for diversity in both science and public leadership. She was a featured speaker at the Women Unlimited Leadership Summit Perth 2026, where she addressed the role of science and innovation in shaping inclusive policy.

Who Shapes Perth Universities and Research

Perth's four major universities collectively anchor one of Australia's most productive regional knowledge economies. The leaders of these institutions and attached research centres are shaping the workforce, the research agenda, and the policy thinking that will determine what Perth looks like in 2040 and beyond.

23. Diane Smith-Gander AO

Diane Smith-Gander became Chancellor of the University of Western Australia on 1 January 2025, the first woman to hold the role in UWA's history. She is a prominent Australian business leader, a UWA alumna, and an Officer of the Order of Australia with more than three decades of experience across corporate leadership, strategy consulting, and board governance in Australia, Asia, and the United States.

Smith-Gander chairs Zip Co, Perenti Limited, and HBF Health Limited. She is a past President of Chief Executive Women and an Adjunct Professor of Corporate Governance at UWA. Her LinkedIn activity in 2026 included commentary on the WA state budget through CEDA, reflecting her active engagement at the intersection of higher education governance, business leadership, and public policy.

24. Professor Amit Chakma

Professor Amit Chakma is the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Western Australia, reappointed to a second term commencing July 2025. Under his leadership since 2020, UWA has maintained its status as a world top 100 university in the QS rankings, with more than 28,000 students from over 100 countries enrolled across its programs.

Chakma has focused on strengthening UWA's research capabilities and fostering partnerships across academic, government, and industry sectors. His second term coincides with the incoming Chancellorship of Diane Smith-Gander and the continued development of the Perth City Deal, under which Perth universities received AU$923 million for city-centre expansion projects. The new ECU City campus won the top honour at the 2026 WA Architecture Awards, illustrating the scale of university investment reshaping Perth's CBD.

25. Professor Harlene Hayne

Professor Harlene Hayne is the Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University, reappointed to a second five-year term in May 2025. She has led Curtin since 2021 and oversees an institution with more than 61,000 students globally across campuses in Perth, Kalgoorlie, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, and Dubai, with a budget of more than AU$1.1 billion.

Under Hayne's leadership Curtin established the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quality Work in a Digital Age (QWiDA) in 2026, a seven-year research initiative led by Professor Sharon Parker. She also oversaw the inaugural appointment of Professor Jonathan Bullen as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous in 2026, embedding Indigenous leadership into Curtin's senior executive team. Her second term positions Curtin to continue expanding its global research profile.

26. Dr Vanessa Guthrie AO

Dr Vanessa Guthrie is the Chancellor of Curtin University, a role she has held since 1 April 2024, and Chair of IGO Limited, a Perth-based nickel and lithium company, a role she took up from 1 January 2026. Her broader portfolio of non-executive directorships has included Santos, Lynas Rare Earths, Orica, and Deputy Chair of Cricket Australia.

Guthrie was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2021 for her contribution to sustainability in the mining industry and as a role model for women in business. Her background spans operations, environment, community, Indigenous affairs, corporate development, and sustainability across the resources sector. As Chancellor of Curtin, she provides governance oversight for an institution of more than 61,000 students and a growing global research output.

27. Professor Clare Pollock

Professor Clare Pollock became Vice-Chancellor and President of Edith Cowan University in late 2024 and was formally invested at ECU's Joondalup campus in February 2025 by the Governor of Western Australia. She arrived from Western Sydney University, where she was Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, and has previously held leadership roles at Flinders University and Curtin University.

Pollock holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of London and has focused her career on equity, student success, and research excellence. She was recognised in Business News' 2026 Power 500. At ECU's February 2026 graduation ceremonies, more than 3,000 graduates were celebrated across eight ceremonies. Her tenure coincides with the construction of ECU's new city campus, which won the top design prize at the 2026 WA Architecture Awards.

28. Professor Jonathan Bullen

Professor Jonathan Bullen commenced in 2026 as Curtin University's inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous, a structural appointment that embeds Indigenous advancement at the centre of the university's institutional identity. A proud Wardandi Noongar and Yamatji man from Western Australia's south-west, Bullen played a foundational role in shaping Curtin's Indigenous strategic approaches and governance models.

His prior leadership at Curtin included serving as Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Indigenous Advancement, Chair of the Indigenous Leadership Group, Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the enAble Institute, and the first Indigenous academic appointed to the Curtin Medical School. His appointment to Deputy Vice-Chancellor level in 2026 marked a significant elevation of Indigenous leadership within one of Perth's largest universities.

29. Professor Peter Newman AO

Professor Peter Newman is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University's Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP) and one of Australia's most influential voices on sustainable cities, transport, and urban planning. He has authored more than 25 books and more than 420 papers on sustainable cities, and was awarded an Order of Australia in 2014 for contributions to urban design and sustainable transport, particularly for his role in saving and rebuilding Perth's metropolitan rail network.

Newman was a Lead Author for Transport in the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report and has advised governments at federal, state, and local level across Australia. His 2025 book Net Zero Cities with Sustainability: A Practitioner's Approach was published by Edward Elgar, and his regular articles in The Fifth Estate in 2025 and 2026 brought his research to practitioners and policymakers. From 2001 to 2003 he directed the production of Western Australia's Sustainability Strategy, the first state-based sustainability strategy in the world.

Who Shapes Perth Community, Health and Nonprofit Leadership

Perth's community sector serves a vast and diverse population across metropolitan and regional Western Australia. The leaders in this category have built organisations and contributed in ways that reach people the market and government often miss, from remote community healthcare to youth mental health, cultural leadership, and social innovation.

30. Ashlee Harrison

Ashlee Harrison is the CEO and Founder of zero2hero, the Perth-based youth mental health and suicide prevention charity she founded in 2013 following the loss of her stepfather to suicide. Over more than a decade, zero2hero has delivered programs to more than 220,000 young people, with 51,994 reached in 2024 alone across 255 Western Australian high schools.

The organisation's model focuses on prevention and early intervention, delivering programs that educate young people about mental health, reduce stigma, and empower them to support their peers. Harrison also serves as a Council Member at Curtin University since April 2024. In February 2026 the Western Force announced zero2hero as its charity partner for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, extending the charity's reach through sport into communities across Western Australia.

31. Judith Barker ASM

Judith Barker ASM is the CEO of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Western Operations), one of the most distinctive healthcare organisations serving Australia's remote and regional communities. The RFDS WA operates aeromedical retrievals, primary healthcare clinics, and mental health services across one of the world's largest geographic health authority catchment areas.

Barker was recognised in Business News' 2026 Power 500, and the Committee for Perth named her among its board members acknowledged in the publication. Her leadership connects the metropolitan leadership culture of Perth to the remote and regional communities whose health outcomes are shaped by decisions made in the capital. The RFDS WA serves a state spanning more than 2.5 million square kilometres.

32. Greg Hire

Greg Hire is the founder of A Stitch in Time, a Perth-based organisation delivering mental health awareness workshops to schools, sporting clubs, and corporate groups across Western Australia. Drawing on his own lived experience growing up amid domestic violence, depression, and substance use, Hire built an organisation that uses sport and authentic storytelling to reach audiences resistant to conventional mental health messaging.

A four-time NBL champion and former Vice-Captain of the Perth Wildcats, Hire received the WA Young Person of the Year Youth Award in 2018. A Stitch in Time focuses particularly on blue-collar and masculine-culture workplaces where mental health stigma remains highest. His credibility as a former elite athlete, combined with the honesty of his personal story, gives his programs a reach and resonance in those environments that few mental health communicators can match.

33. Jodi Graham

Jodi Graham is the Executive Director of Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group within the North Metropolitan Health Service, one of Perth's major metropolitan health networks. She was a featured speaker at the Women in Leadership Summit Perth in 2025, addressing the challenges of leading major healthcare organisations through increasing demand and systemic complexity.

The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital complex serves as a major tertiary referral centre for Western Australia and surrounding regions, and the North Metropolitan Health Service is one of the largest health service providers in the state. Graham's leadership involves managing delivery of highly specialised healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Western Australians each year, while navigating the workforce pressures, funding constraints, and operational complexity that define public health leadership nationally.

34. Kim Farmer

Kim Farmer is a Magistrate in the Children's Court of Western Australia, Patron and Vice Chair of the Polly Farmer Foundation, and was inducted into the 2025 WA Women's Hall of Fame. The Polly Farmer Foundation works to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal students in WA and is named for the legendary AFL footballer whose story connects sport, adversity, and human potential in the WA imagination.

Farmer was a featured speaker at the Women in Leadership Perth Summit in 2025, addressing how leaders can build legacies of strength and opportunity for the next generation. Her dual role, operating within the justice system while holding philanthropic leadership through the Polly Farmer Foundation, reflects a commitment to systemic change for Aboriginal children and young people that runs through both her professional and community life.

35. Denice Kickett

Denice Kickett is a Cultural Architect with Muminbulah Wilak Cultural Services, a Perth-based Indigenous cultural consultancy. Her work focuses on cultural leadership, the integration of Aboriginal knowledge systems into professional and organisational settings, and the mentoring of emerging Aboriginal leaders across sectors in Western Australia.

Kickett has contributed to advisory and committee work across multiple organisations working on Aboriginal family safety, women's leadership, and community engagement, including the Waali-Kwopertok Yorga Alumni Working Group, Relationships Australia's Aboriginal Family Safety Project, and the NAIDOC Perth Working Group Awards. Her speaker role at the Women in Leadership Perth 2025 Summit placed her in a cross-sector conversation about how cultural leadership drives lasting organisational transformation.

36. Nicole Cikarela

Nicole Cikarela became CEO of the Push for Better Foundation in January 2026, succeeding founder Nick Hudson who transitioned to a Founder and Board Advisor role. Cikarela came from HBF Health, where she held multiple senior leadership roles over six years, and has also held senior positions at RAC WA. She brings commercial leadership, marketing expertise, and organisational development experience to an organisation at a pivotal moment of international expansion.

The Push for Better Foundation now operates The Push-Up Challenge across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. More than one million participants have engaged with the challenge since 2017. Cikarela also serves on the board of Melanoma Patients Australia. She is building on the movement Nick Hudson created while extending its infrastructure and global reach.

Who Shapes Perth Arts, Culture and Sport

Arts, culture, and sport are the dimensions of Perth life that give the city character beyond its economic identity. The leaders in this category are building institutions, growing audiences, driving research, and creating the events and stories that define what it means to live in and belong to this city.

37. Anna Reece

Anna Reece is the Artistic Director of Perth Festival for the term 2025 to 2028, overseeing Australia's oldest international arts festival. Perth Festival, which began in 1953 under the University of Western Australia and now runs as a partnership between UWA and the state government, is the longest-running cultural festival in Australia and one of the most significant in the Asia Pacific.

Reece's programming encompasses contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, literature and ideas, visual arts, and large-scale public works across indoor and outdoor venues throughout Perth. Her tenure as Artistic Director spans a period of renewed ambition for the festival, positioning Perth as a city of genuine global cultural significance. The festival's reach into communities across metropolitan Perth and regional WA makes it one of the most important civic cultural institutions in the state.

38. Anthony De Ceglie

Anthony De Ceglie is the Chief Executive Officer of the Perth Bears, the NRL expansion club set to bring professional rugby league to Western Australia. Appointed in May 2025, he brings journalism and media leadership to the role, having previously served as editor-in-chief of The West Australian and Seven West Media's director of news and current affairs.

During his time leading The West Australian, De Ceglie oversaw significant growth in Sunday readership. His appointment as CEO of the Perth Bears places him at the centre of one of Perth's most significant sporting and commercial projects in decades, representing WA's entrance into the national rugby league competition. The role requires the community-building and institutional leadership that bridges sport, business, and civic life at scale.

39. Anthony Flannery

Anthony Flannery is the Chairman of the Western Force, the Perth-based Super Rugby Pacific franchise. He has provided board-level leadership and governance for the Force through its re-entry to Super Rugby Pacific in 2022 and the appointment of Niamh O'Connor as CEO in 2024, overseeing a period of strategic stabilisation and institutional renewal for Western Australian professional rugby.

As Chair, Flannery has supported the Force's community engagement strategy, including the 2026 charity partnership with zero2hero. When announcing O'Connor's permanent appointment as CEO, he described her as combining grassroots understanding of community rugby with the strategic vision to drive the organisation's long-term success. His governance of the Force reflects the commercial and community responsibility of leading WA's most prominent professional rugby organisation.

40. Professor Sharon Parker

Professor Sharon Parker is the Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, an ARC Laureate Fellow, and the 2024 WA Scientist of the Year. In 2026 she was appointed lead researcher for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quality Work in a Digital Age (QWiDA), a seven-year research initiative studying how to make digital work better and healthier for Australian workers.

Parker's research applies rigorous empirical social science to questions of how work is designed, monitored, and performed as AI and digital technologies reshape organisations. QWiDA, announced by Curtin Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne in 2026, represents the largest investment in work design research in Australian history. Her elevation to lead this nationally competitive initiative reflects both the quality of her research and Curtin's ambition in the future-of-work space.

41. Naomi Pigram-Mitchell

Naomi Pigram-Mitchell was appointed Associate Artistic Director of Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA in October 2025. A member of one of Western Australia's most celebrated performing families, her appointment brought Indigenous artistic leadership into Black Swan's senior creative team at a significant moment in the organisation's evolution.

The Pigram family's contribution to WA storytelling, music, and performance spans generations across the Broome region and beyond. Pigram-Mitchell's appointment within Black Swan represents both a continuation of that legacy and a new chapter for the state theatre company's commitment to Indigenous storytelling and creative identity. Her role as Associate Artistic Director sits alongside CEO Ian Booth in shaping the artistic direction of the organisation.

42. Shamsa Nasr

Shamsa Nasr is the Director of Innovation and Strategy at Anglicare WA, one of Western Australia's largest community services organisations. Her role sits at the intersection of social sector strategy, innovation, and the growing challenge of designing services for communities under sustained financial stress.

Anglicare WA provides housing support, emergency relief, disability services, family and domestic violence programs, mental health services, and aged care across the state. Nasr served as moderator for a panel discussion on building trust and upholding ethical standards at the Women in Leadership Perth 2025 Summit. Her strategic leadership in innovation reflects the sector's need to find new models of impact as demand grows faster than government and philanthropic funding.

43. Matthew Holcz

Matthew Holcz is the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive and Australia Country Head, appointed to the role in August 2025 when Rio Tinto restructured its global operating model. As Chief Executive Iron Ore, Holcz leads Rio Tinto's Western Australian Pilbara operations, the Iron Ore Company of Canada, and the Simandou project in Guinea.

His media releases in 2025 and 2026 include marking Rio Tinto's milestone of 8 billion tonnes of iron ore shipped from the Pilbara, confirming a AU$191 million feasibility study for the Rhodes Ridge project, and a joint announcement with BHP's Tim Day on a conceptual study to share Pilbara infrastructure for additional production capacity. Rio Tinto spent a record AU$19.7 billion with Australian suppliers in 2025, including AU$1.1 billion with Indigenous businesses. The Business News Power 500 2026 placed him among WA's most influential leaders.

Who Shapes Perth as Cross-Sector and Systems Leaders

Perth's cross-sector leaders operate across boundaries, building connections between government, industry, community, and academia that the city needs to realise its potential as a genuinely diverse, sustainable, and equitable place. Their work spans Indigenous community building, clean energy, economic policy, and the Indo-Pacific's strategic future.

44. Barry McGuire OAM

Barry McGuire OAM is the Co-Chair of the Spear Foundation, a Perth-based organisation that strengthens Indigenous communities through Elder leadership, cultural programs, and community development. McGuire was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2026 Australia Day Honours for his service to the Indigenous community of Western Australia.

The Spear Foundation's Everlasting Elders program, which McGuire has helped shape and lead, brings community together to honour and sustain Elder knowledge and cultural connection across Perth. His OAM recognises sustained community leadership that rarely attracts the same profile as corporate or political roles but is foundational to the health and cohesion of Perth's broader community. His contribution spans cultural preservation, mentoring, and the long work of building institutions that outlast any single leader.

45. Wadzi Katsidzira

Wadzi Katsidzira is the Head of Sustainability at Minderoo Foundation, the philanthropic organisation co-founded by Andrew and Nicola Forrest with an endowment exceeding AU$9 billion. She was featured at the Women in Leadership Perth 2025 Summit as a speaker on social impact leadership and the responsibilities of large-scale philanthropy.

Minderoo Foundation's sustainability work spans climate, oceanic health, plastics reduction, and the responsible stewardship of the natural environment. As Head of Sustainability, Katsidzira's role sits at the interface between Minderoo's philanthropic mission and the practical challenge of measuring and demonstrating impact at a scale commensurate with the foundation's resources. Her position at one of Australia's most significant philanthropic institutions makes her a substantive voice in how Perth's private wealth is directed toward long-term social and environmental outcomes.

46. Stephen Dawson

Stephen Dawson is the Minister for Regional Development, Ports, Science and Innovation in the Cook Labor Government, a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council with extensive experience in regional policy, infrastructure, and the governance of WA's port and transport networks across successive Labor governments.

His Science and Innovation portfolio aligns with the Cook government's economic diversification strategy, supporting research institutions and emerging technology companies to build a more diversified WA economy alongside the resources sector. At the Black Swan Summit 2026 on building the next economy, Dawson participated in discussions on the intersection of emerging technology, economic policy, and Western Australia's strategic position in the Indo-Pacific. His regional development mandate gives him particular influence over the communities that anchor WA's resources operations.

47. Ben Wyatt

Ben Wyatt is the 2024 WA Business Leader of the Year, as recognised by the AIM WA Pinnacle Awards, and serves as a Non-Executive Director of Rio Tinto, Woodside Energy, and West Coast Eagles. A Noongar man born in Western Australia, Wyatt served as WA Treasurer and Deputy Premier before retiring from politics in 2021.

As WA Treasurer he oversaw record iron ore royalties and directed them toward infrastructure, health, and education investment. His post-political career as a respected non-executive director across resources and sport reflects the standing he built as one of the most capable economic policy practitioners in WA's recent history. The AIM WA Business Leader of the Year recognition in 2024 affirmed that his contribution to WA business and public life continues well after his departure from parliament.

48. Nikhil Jayaraj

Nikhil Jayaraj is the Managing Director of Regen Power, a Perth-based renewable energy company that has grown to become one of the top solar installation providers in Western Australia by volume. He was named a winner of the Business News 40under40 Awards in 2024 for the second time and was a finalist in The CEO Magazine's Executive of the Year Awards in both 2023 and 2024.

Regen Power is recognised as the number one solar provider by volume of installations in WA and won the ProductReview.com.au Award in the Solar Installer Category for four consecutive years from 2021 to 2024. It was also a Telstra Best of Business WA finalist in the Promoting Sustainability category in 2024. Jayaraj's leadership represents Perth's growing clean energy economy, where private enterprise is driving renewable deployment at scale ahead of the infrastructure changes needed to support it systemically.

49. Dr Gordon Flake

Dr Gordon Flake is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Perth USAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia, a leading non-partisan policy institute focused on Australia-US relations, Indo-Pacific strategy, and the geopolitical dimensions of the region's economic transformation. He has led the Centre since its establishment, building it into one of the most significant policy platforms in the Asia Pacific.

Perth's location, closer to Jakarta, Singapore, and many Asian capitals than to Sydney or Melbourne, gives the Perth USAsia Centre a distinctive value as a convening platform for thinking about Australia's relationship with the Indo-Pacific. The Black Swan Summit 2026, with the theme of building the next economy across machines, money, and humanity, featured discussions anchored in this institutional context. Under Flake's leadership, the Centre has established Perth as a credible venue for serious dialogue about the strategic and commercial dimensions of Australia's most consequential region.

50. Professor Lorraine Hammond AM

Professor Lorraine Hammond AM is a researcher and educator at the University of Notre Dame Australia (Western Australia) whose work on evidence-based literacy instruction has had a documented impact on reading outcomes for children in WA's regional and remote communities. She led the Kimberley School Project, supporting structured literacy instruction in twenty-three regional and remote schools and achieving measurable literacy improvements in contexts where outcomes have historically been very poor.

Hammond's research has influenced both policy and practice in how reading is taught in Australian schools, particularly in Western Australia and remote Indigenous communities where literacy rates have been a persistent challenge. Her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia reflects national recognition of her contribution to literacy education and teacher professional development. She is among the most practically influential voices in the evidence-based literacy movement, one of the most significant education reforms in Australia over the past decade.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

Several leaders came close to the final list. Melanie Perkins, the Perth-born co-founder and CEO of Canva, is arguably Western Australia's most globally significant technology entrepreneur, having built Canva into a company valued at more than AU$40 billion. Her Perth origin and UWA education are central to her story, even as Canva now operates from Sydney. Mark McGowan AC, former Premier of WA, whose leadership through the pandemic cemented his legacy, has transitioned to the private sector since 2023. Kate Champion, who served as Artistic Director of Black Swan State Theatre Company from 2022 and whose tenure earned the 2025 Creative Australia Award for Theatre, is departing the role after five seasons of significant artistic achievement. Each of these figures has shaped Perth profoundly and deserves recognition alongside the fifty leaders in this directory.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Leading in Perth

The most persistent mistake Perth leaders make is underestimating the city's ambition. Perth is often positioned as a second-tier Australian city in the national conversation, and leaders who internalise that framing systematically aim lower than they should. The geographic isolation that can seem like a disadvantage has produced a leadership culture that is in many ways more direct, more entrepreneurial, and more willing to take long-term institutional bets than the east coast capitals.

A related mistake is over-relying on resources sector success as a proxy for leadership quality. WA's iron ore revenues have created extraordinary fiscal capacity, but they have also allowed institutions, governments, and businesses to avoid the harder work of building diversified, resilient organisations. The leaders on this list are notable in part because most of them are doing exactly that harder work, in arts, education, community services, and the emerging clean energy economy.

Perth leaders also underinvest in cross-sector relationships. The city's sectors, resources, government, education, arts, and community, are often remarkably siloed relative to their geographic proximity. The most influential leaders in Perth tend to be those who have built genuine relationships across those boundaries and can convene conversations that bring different perspectives to shared problems.

Engage Jonno White to facilitate a leadership development session or team offsite for your Perth or WA organisation. Jonno is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator and author of Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies sold). Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Implementation Guide: How to Engage with Perth's Leadership Community

The most effective way to build genuine relationships with Perth's leadership community is to invest time in Perth itself. The city rewards presence, and the leaders on this list are far more accessible than their counterparts in Sydney or Melbourne, partly because of the city's size and partly because of its culture of directness. Cold outreach through LinkedIn is more likely to receive a genuine response from a Perth leader than from a comparable figure on the east coast.

The Perth business community convenes around a small number of high-quality events and institutions. Business News WA events, the Committee for Perth forums, Leadership WA programs, and the Perth USAsia Centre's Black Swan Summit are among the most valuable. Attending these events with something substantive to contribute, rather than simply to collect contacts, is the fastest way to build credibility in Perth's leadership community.

For organisations looking to bring external perspectives to Perth leadership, the geographic remoteness that can seem like a barrier is often an advantage. Perth audiences are genuinely hungry for ideas and facilitation that connect them to global best practice, and they respond strongly to facilitators and speakers who treat their context with seriousness rather than generalisation.

To bring Jonno White in to facilitate a Working Genius session, leadership team offsite, or keynote for your Perth or WA organisation, email jonno@consultclarity.org. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the most influential leaders in Perth right now?

The most influential leaders in Perth as of June 2026 include Premier Roger Cook and Treasurer Rita Saffioti at the top of the state's political leadership, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart as dominant figures in the resources and philanthropic landscape, Liz Westcott as the newly appointed CEO of Woodside Energy, and Diane Smith-Gander as the first female Chancellor of UWA. Across the community sector, Ashlee Harrison of zero2hero and Judith Barker of the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA are among the most consequential leaders operating in Perth today.

What makes Perth's leadership community distinctive?

Perth's leadership community is shaped by the city's geographic isolation, its resource-based economy, and its proximity to Asia in ways that are unlike any other Australian city. Perth leaders operate at the intersection of extraordinary resource wealth and genuine diversification pressure in a city that is closer to Singapore than to Sydney. This context produces a leadership culture that is more direct, less hierarchical, and in many ways more entrepreneurial than the east coast capitals, with a particular emphasis on long-term institutional commitment and cross-sector engagement.

How can I connect with Perth's business and leadership community?

Connecting with Perth's business and leadership community is most effective through sustained presence and genuine contribution. Business News WA events, the Perth USAsia Centre's Black Swan Summit, Committee for Perth forums, and Leadership WA programs are among the most valuable convening points. LinkedIn is particularly active in Perth's professional community, with many leaders posting substantive content and engaging directly with comments. Direct outreach through LinkedIn or email tends to receive a warmer response in Perth than in larger east coast cities.

Final Thoughts

Perth is at a genuinely significant inflection point. The city is rich enough, skilled enough, and positioned well enough in the Indo-Pacific to become one of the world's most liveable, productive, and equitable regional capitals. Whether it realises that potential depends almost entirely on the quality and ambition of its leadership.

The fifty leaders in this directory represent a cross-section of what that leadership looks like today. They are not the entirety of Perth's leadership community. There are hundreds of others, in local government, in schools, in startups, in Aboriginal community organisations, and in the regional towns that do the hard work of extracting, processing, and shipping the resources that fund everything else, who are doing consequential work every day without ever appearing in a publication like this.

The best use of this list is not to treat it as definitive but to treat it as a starting point. Follow the people on it. Engage with their work. Look for the connections between their sectors that are not yet being made. And ask the question the best Perth leaders are always asking: what would it take to build something here that is genuinely world class?

To book Jonno White for a keynote, Working Genius facilitation session, or executive team offsite for your Perth or Western Australian organisation, email jonno@consultclarity.org. Jonno works with schools, corporates, and nonprofits and travels globally.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Sources

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Rio Tinto / BHP. (2026). Pilbara infrastructure conceptual study announcement, February 2026.

Business News WA. (2026). Power 500 publication, June 2026.

Department of Health Western Australia. (2024). Director General appointment announcement, April 2024.

Curtin University. (2026). Senior Executive Team and University Council biographies.

University of Western Australia. (2025). Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor announcements.

Edith Cowan University. (2025). Vice-Chancellor investiture ceremony, February 2025.

Edith Cowan University. (2026). February graduation 2026 ceremony report.

Woodside Energy. (2026). CEO appointment announcement, March 2026.

Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA. (2025). President appointment announcement, August 2025.

zero2hero. (2025). Impact report and anniversary summary.

Western Force. (2024). Niamh O'Connor CEO appointment, February 2024.

National Indigenous Times / Indigenous Business Review. (2026). Zak Kirkup profile, January and March 2026.

Government of Western Australia. (2025). Information Commissioner appointment, July 2025.

AIM WA. (2024). WA Business Leader of the Year: Ben Wyatt. AIM WA Pinnacle Awards.

Perth Festival. (2025). Artistic Director announcement, 2025-2028.

Wikipedia. (2026). Entries for Roger Cook, Rita Saffioti, Basil Zempilas, Bruce Reynolds, Harlene Hayne, Andrew Forrest, Gina Rinehart, Kerry Stokes, Richard Goyder, Vanessa Guthrie, Amber-Jade Sanderson, Anthony De Ceglie. Accessed June 2026.

Next Read

For Perth-based event planners and HR managers, the companion directory 50 Best Inspirational Speakers in Perth (2026) profiles fifty verified professional speakers across leadership, sport, mental health, business, and specialist topics.

See also: 21 Best Executive Team Offsite Facilitators Perth (2026) for organisations planning leadership retreats and strategy sessions in Western Australia.