Our People

John Langoulant AO, Chief Executive

John Langoulant is the Chief Executive of Oakajee Port and Rail. He was the Chief Executive of private investment group Australian Capital Equity between 2008 and 2010.

He has held the position of Chief Executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia and was Western Australia's Under Treasurer from 1995 to 2004.

John has additional board positions which include Senator at the University of Western Australia; Chairman of the Boards of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, the Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) and Leadership WA; Deputy Chair of the Board of The Western Australian Ballet; member of the Council of Australian Governments' Reform Council; member of the boards of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Committee for Perth.

With more than 35 years experience in government and the private sector, Mr Langoulant was appointed to lead OPR in January 2010. He was recognised as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 2010.

Jim Netterfield, Project and Operations Director

Jim Netterfield joined OPR in August 2009. As Project and Operations Director, he plays a vital role in completing OPR's Bankable Feasibility Study and ultimately ensuring the efficient operation of one of the largest greenfields port and rail projects in Western Australia.

Mr Netterfield has extensive experience in port and rail operations gained in his previous roles as Manager Port Operations and Vice President Rail and Ports with BHP Billiton, and Manager Operations, Dampier at Rio Tinto. In both roles, he oversaw increases in throughput and efficiencies across complex logistics chains.

Mr Netterfield's qualifications include a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Queensland, an Associate Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety Management and a Mine Manager's Certificate (NT).

Wayne Zekulich, Chief Financial Officer

Wayne Zekulich joined OPR in February 2011, and as Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the financial management of the development of the Oakajee deepwater port and heavy haulage rail line

Mr Zekulich spent four years with the Commonwealth Bank as Executive Vice President WA, SA and NT and brings to OPR broad experience in arranging and underwriting greenfields projects, major acquisitions and privatisations, and in providing strategic financial advice to government and statutory agencies. He is a member of the Finance and Treasury Association Ltd, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA Business Industry Forum and is on the council of Celebrate WA.

Mr Zekulich holds a Bachelor of Business from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University of Technology) and is a Chartered Accountant.

Ben Hayward, Commercial Director

Ben Hayward joined OPR in 2008. Mr Hayward has 10 years professional experience as a financial analyst involved in the evaluation, financing and execution of significant infrastructure and resource projects for Western Australian companies.

His role at OPR encompasses customer engagement, the development of supply chain agreements, the management of risk and insurances and all financial evaluation.

Mr Hayward has strong experience in the valuation and financing of regulated infrastructure assets in Australia and overseas. More recently he was involved in the financing of a several offshore oil production projects.

Mr Hayward holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons).

Phil McKeiver, General Counsel

Phil McKeiver joined OPR as General Counsel and Company Secretary in September 2009. Mr McKeiver has previously worked in government law, law firms in Australia and the UK, and as a senior infrastructure lawyer with Telstra Corporation.

Mr McKeiver has experience in advising, and negotiating with government departments and statutory authorities and in supporting complex network infrastructure projects, including key rail projects such as Melbourne's Southern Cross Redevelopment and Britain's Channel Tunnel Rail Link and large scale telecommunications infrastructure.

Mr McKeiver holds a Masters Degree in Law (Hons), University of Oxford, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Economics, University of Queensland.

Kim Pervan, FPRIA, General Manager Government and Community Relations 

Kim Pervan joined OPR in 2007 and had previously managed the communication strategy for several high risk projects with sound experience in both private enterprise and government.

Ms Pervan's role as Principal Community Relations for BHP Billiton placed her at the interface of site and the Port Hedland community where her experience included consultation for approvals, managing growth impacts and mitigation, and leadership of HSEC standard 7 across the Nelson Point site in WA's Pilbara. As Corporate Affairs Manager for the CBH Group of Companies, Ms Pervan led the CBH-Grain Pool communications team in the campaign to secure majority shareholder support to facilitate a merger between CBH and Grain Pool.

Ms Pervan's role at OPR is broad-based, and includes integrated communication strategy, community engagement, Government relations and consultation. Ms Pervan is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Eric Englund, Engineer Manager - Rail

Eric Englund joined OPR in 2007 having been Manager - Transport Systems with AECOM Maunsell. Mr Englund has over 25 years professional engineering experience, the majority being in planning, design and project management of railways, ports and industrial infrastructure, including numerous studies for the iron ore and coal industries.

Mr Englund is a highly skilled infrastructure engineer with extensive experience in the resources and bulk transport sectors, including the latest techniques for simulation of transport logistics and its use in value engineering and project optimisation. His experience ranges from planning to project implementation.

Mr Englund holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Western Australia and is a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Damien McAlinden, Senior Manager Approvals

Damien McAlinden joined OPR in April 2010 to lead a team that is responsible for obtaining environmental approvals and implementing the project's environmental management systems.

Mr McAlinden has more than ten years experience in the government and private sectors. He has a thorough knowledge of the various government approvals required for major projects and has led multi-disciplinary teams to manage and implement approvals strategies, budgets and environmental management systems to support major project development.

Prior to joining OPR Mr McAlinden was responsible for managing government approvals and environment for CITIC Pacific Mining's Cape Preston port and iron ore mine project in the Pilbara.

Mr McAlinden's qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Environmental Science from Murdoch University, WA.

Peter Spalding, Regional Manager

With 14 years experience in mining and exploration, Peter Spalding joined OPR in 2007, and is the company's mid-west regional manager, based at Geraldton.

Prior to working with OPR, Mr Spalding's previous project experience included major iron ore project developments in the Pilbara, oil and gas exploration, and brown fields mineral sands and gold operations. Roles included environmental and safety management.

Mr Spalding brings a broad skill base to his work at OPR, consulting with landowners, local communities and stakeholders about the project. With experience gained in mining, rail and port operations, overseeing contractors working in the mid-west is a key aspect of his role with OPR.

Mr Spalding holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Curtin University and returned to live in the mid-west 10 years ago.