Mitch Hooke has been Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) since April 2002.  The MCA is one of the nation’s most significant industry bodies and represents minerals exploration, production and processing companies nationally and internationally which produce around 90 percent of Australian’s annual mineral output and exports.

The companies account for nearly 40 per cent of Australian goods exports and one-tenth of annual national output.

In this role he recently chaired the first APEC Mining Industry Forum held in conjunction with the Ministers Responsible for Mining meeting in Perth. This gave the minerals industry an unprecedented opportunity to make recommendations to APEC ministers on issues critical to further expanding the resources sector.

He has reinvigorated and restructured the MCA, lifting its profile and engaging in debate about important issues facing the industry and Australia including climate change, energy security, skills and labour shortages, trade, constraints to growth and the need for continued economic reform.

Mr Hooke’s current appointment is the latest in a range of industry leadership roles he has held over the past two decades. Before joining the MCA, Mr Hooke served as inaugural Chief Executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council from 1995 to 2002.  Earlier, he was Executive Director of the Grains Council of Australia. Mr Hooke began his career as an Agricultural Adviser on Queensland’s Darling Downs where he pioneered zero-tillage ecological farming systems.

Over the past two decades, Mr Hooke has made a prominent contribution to the development of Australia’s trade, economic and industry policy and as a leader in ‘change management’.  He has played a prominent role on the Australian Trade Minister’s World Trade Organisation Advisory Council and Free Trade  (FTA) Agreement Export Advisory Panel and has been a member of the official Australian delegation to every Ministerial Meeting since the WTO’s formation in 1994. He is an emeritus member of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council and chairs China Business Focus – a multi sector industry grouping established to promote an FTA between Australia and China, and chairs the Trade Policy Group of the International Council of Mining and Metals.

Mr Hooke is a past chairman of the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network, was part of Australia’s official delegation to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, and a former Governor of the Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research. He has been a member of the Executive of the Business Coalition for Tax Reform since its inception in 1996.

Dr Rory Sullivan is responsible for leading the team's thematic research and engagement activities on social, ethical and environmental issues. He has specific responsibility for investment research and engagement relating to climate change and human rights.

Rory joined Insight in 2002. He has over 15 years of experience in environmental management and public policy, having worked for the private sector and government agencies in Australia, South-East Asia, Africa and Europe. His experience includes advising organisations on greenhouse, energy and environmental management issues, and advising Environmental Australia and the OECD on the development and implementation of pollutant release and transfer registers.

He also has extensive experience in human rights – he chaired the Amnesty International (Australia) Business Group for three years and subsequently worked for Amnesty International (UK) - with a particular focus on trade and investment policy, and multinational enterprises and the law. He has contributed to various working groups and other bodies on issues such as mining and human rights, and the role of companies in conflict zones. He is the editor of Business and Human Rights: Dilemmas and Solutions (2003).

Rory has written over 200 articles, book chapters and papers on environmental and energy policy, corporate responsibility, and related business issues. He is the author/editor of five books on these issues including Rethinking Voluntary Approaches in Public Environmental Policy (2005) and Responsible Investment (edited with Craig Mackenzie, 2006).

Dr Bart Follink was appointed Chief of  CSIRO's Minerals Division in September 2004.    Dr Follink’s role is to guide CSIRO’s research in mineral processing and metal production.

CSIRO Minerals employs 320 staff across five Australian sites. Its mission is to double Australia’s wealth from world-class minerals processing expertise by 2020 while drastically reducing environmental impact.

Prior to taking up his current position, Dr Follink was Senior Director, Advanced Technology for Royal Philips Electronics based in Japan. Early in his career Dr Follink was awarded a Research Fellowship with the Ian Wark Research Institute at the University of South Australia, where he investigated  mineral processing topics.

Dr Follink studied at Wageningen University in the Netherlands where he completed a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in physical and colloid chemistry.

He has credit for a range of patents, technical reports, invited conference papers and has produced more than 40 publications.