Board and Executive
Gold Corporation was created by the Gold Corporation Act 1987 to oversee the operations of The Perth Mint.
Board
Sam Walsh AO
Chair
BCom, FAICD, FCIPS, FAusIMM, FIOD, FATSE
Appointed January 2019. Sam has held leadership roles in the mining and automotive industries including Rio Tinto (25 years), General Motors and Nissan Australia (20 years combined).
He is Chair of the Perth Diocesan Trust, THEATRE 180 and the Royal Flying Doctor Service (WA Ops) and is a non-executive director of Mitsui & Co (Japan) and the Anglican Community Fund (WA). He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Melbourne University) and an Overseas Fellowship (Kettering University, Michigan).
In recognition of his distinguished service to the mining industry and to the community of Western Australia, Sam was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010, was Western Australian Citizen of the Year (Industry and Commerce) in 2007 and awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan in 2021.
Paul Graham
Chief Executive Officer
BCom, MBA, GAICD
Paul was appointed Chief Executive Officer in November 2023. He is the fifth CEO of Gold Corporation and 16th leader since The Perth Mint opened in 1899.
Paul is an accomplished executive leader and company director with more than 30 years’ experience in financial and commodity markets. He has a broad range of experience in government.
Before joining The Perth Mint, Paul was CEO of Keystart, an initiative of the Western Australian Government, which provides low-cost pathways to help Western Australians into home ownership. He previously held senior management roles with ANZ Banking Group and National Australia Bank in Australia and overseas.
Melanie Brown
Chief Risk Officer, Deputy CEO
LLB (Hons), BCom, GAICD, FGIA, FCIS
Melanie was appointed Chief Risk Officer and Deputy CEO in March 2024. She is an executive with more than 20 years’ experience in international, domestic and government corporations, particularly in the resources and energy sectors.
Before joining The Perth Mint, Melanie spent four years at Synergy as executive general manager trading and governance. She led Synergy’s wholesale activities including the optimisation of its wholesale electricity and fuel portfolios and the provision of legal, regulatory compliance, risk management and internal audit services to the business. She previously spent 15 years at Alcoa of Australia, including 10 years as general counsel and company secretary.
John O’Connor
BSc (Hons) FICA, FICAEW, FAICD
Appointed January 2016. John is a former partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he spent 34 years, including 24 years as an audit partner, before retiring in 2013.
John’s leadership roles at PwC in Perth included being managing partner and also head of the assurance practice. He has extensive audit experience in the resources sector in Australia and globally.
John holds a number of non-executive director roles. He is a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand; Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; and Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Melanie Cave
LLB BA, GAICD, FLWA
Appointed in June 2019, Melanie’s executive career was as a lawyer with Herbert Smith Freehills for more than 20 years, including 11 as a partner. In that role, she advised on the delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects in the mining, water and natural resources and health industries, both in Australia and globally.
Melanie has held positions as a non-executive director for more than 15 years and is currently the Chair of Workpower Inc and Chair of Pilbara ISOCo Ltd.
Sally Langer
BCom, CA, GAICD
Appointed February 2021. Sally has more than 25 years’ experience in professional services across multiple sectors with substantial experience in the resources sector, particularly in WA.
She has been responsible for management functions including strategy, business development, budgeting and human resources.
Originally a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen, Sally transitioned to executive search, working closely with boards and CEOs to advise on talent, culture and organisational structure.
She is a non-executive director of Northern Star Resources, Sandfire Resources, Federation Mining, Hale School and Ronald McDonald House. Sally is Chair of Northern Star’s Environmental, Social and Safety committee and is a member of the company’s Audit and Risk, and Remuneration and Nomination committees. She is Chair of the Audit committee and member of the People and Performance committee for Sandfire Resources.
Richard Watson
BEc (Hons), MPhil
Appointed in February 2019, Richard is the Assistant Under Treasurer, Agency Budgeting and Governance in the Department of Treasury and is responsible for overseeing the budgeting and governance of general government agencies and government trading enterprises within the Government of Western Australia. He supports the State’s financial management framework, legislative and accounting standards.
Prior to starting this role in 2018, he was executive director of the Economic Business Unit in the Department of Treasury from 2014.
Neil Roberts
Appointed in August 2021. Neil has worked as a key member of leadership teams in a diverse range of government, commercial, representative and charitable organisations.
He has served as chief of staff to state and federal government ministers with responsibility for the resources and electricity sectors.
Neil has extensive experience in the resources sector, including as a director of gold producer Endeavour Resources Limited (now St Barbara Limited) and as a corporate counsel and company secretary of several listed companies.
Dean Nalder
BBus, GradDip(AppFin)
Appointed January 2024. Dean Nalder served in the WA Parliament from 2013 until 2021. He held ministerial portfolios including transport, finance and agriculture. Prior to serving in public office, Dean held executive positions at ANZ Bank and Australia Post.
Dean holds a Bachelor of Business with a major in economics and financial management from Curtin University and a graduate diploma in applied finance and investments from the Securities Institute of Australia. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Julie Harris
BSc (Hons) Computer Science, MBA
Appointed in November 2024, Julie has over 25 years’ business consulting experience in the technology industry. She is a senior organisational change manager, who has managed the human side of large-scale corporate technology projects covering both the public and private sectors. Julie has extensive experience with client and stakeholder relationship management and technical expertise across a broad variety of sectors including mining, education and police.
Julie has recently been appointed as the WA Operations Director for Tech Consulting company Akkodis. Julie has an honours degree in Computer Science, an MBA and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Melissa Aldus
Company Secretary
LLB, BCom, GAICD
Melissa was appointed Company Secretary of Gold Corporation and its subsidiaries in September 2023.
Prior to joining the Corporation, Melissa was a senior associate in the litigation and dispute resolution team of Grondal Bruining, a commercial law and litigation firm focussed on energy, natural resources, infrastructure and industrials. She previously worked at Jackson McDonald and Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration) in London.
Melissa is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
James Sawyer
Chief Financial Officer
BCom, CA
James joined the finance team at Gold Corporation in June 2014 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in March 2023.
Prior to joining The Perth Mint, James held various roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked within the Financial Assurance and Private Client teams with a focus on external audit. James is also a non-executive director and member of the audit and risk committee at Scitech.
Edwina Dwyer
Chief People and Reputation Officer
GradCert (HRM), MAHRI
Edwina joined Gold Corporation in 2016 and was appointed Chief People and Reputation Officer in February 2024.
Edwina has extensive experience in human resource management, having worked in a range of industries including oil and gas, engineering consulting and manufacturing within government-owned and private enterprises in both Australia and overseas.
In partnership with senior leaders, Edwina puts health, safety and employee wellbeing at the forefront of decision making. She is passionate about developing constructive leadership capabilities in others so they may better empower, engage and enhance performance in their own team members.
Justin Kees
Chief Commercial Officer
Justin was appointed Chief Commercial Officer for Gold Corporation in February 2024. He served three years as chief operating officer where he was responsible for the Perth Mint Refinery, sales and manufacturing of minted products.
Prior to returning to the corporation in 2021, Justin held various executive vice president roles at the world’s largest silver blank manufacturing facility, Sunshine Minting, in North America. Before moving to the USA, Justin worked at Gold Corporation for 19 years, including as the coining division’s general manager operations.
Justin has been involved in the precious metals industry for more than 35 years, starting his career at Implats, South Africa.
Dion Paunich
Chief Operating Officer
MBA, MPH
Dion was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Gold Corporation in February 2024. He joined the corporation in 2022 and served as chief safety, security and sustainability officer. He has more than two decades of experience in executive and management roles at companies including Synergy, Westrac and BHP and has expertise in maintenance, operations, health, safety and environment.
Prior to joining the corporation, Dion served in leadership roles at Synergy including general manager generation and head of health and safety. With a people first leadership style, Dion has more than 20 years’ experience as an accredited Six Sigma Black Belt (business improvement) and holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Health (WHS).
Sawan Tanna
Treasurer
CA
Sawan joined the commercial division in March 2016. He has 16 years’ experience in investment and commercial banking and precious metals industry.
Sawan’s previous role was manager of bullion front office support at ANZ Banking Group Limited. He has also held middle management positions at the Royal Bank of Canada in London and UBS Investment Bank in London.
He has also worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in London. Sawan was awarded the title of a Chartered Accountant (CA) from The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, after attaining a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance with First Class Honours from Lancaster University.
Nigel Elders
Chief Information Officer
Nigel has worked with The Perth Mint since December 2020 and has led the Business Technology department since April 2021, with a focus on meeting the needs of the organisation’s ongoing digital transformation and business modernisation.
He has had an extensive career in information technology across corporate organisations, not-for-profits and in IT consulting businesses in Australia and Ireland.
