The Perth Mint's staff in a meeting room.

Board and Executive

Gold Corporation was created by the Gold Corporation Act 1987 to oversee the operations of The Perth Mint.

Board

Sam Walsh

 

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 - The Perth Mint CEO

 

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.

John O'Connor

 

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

 

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

 

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, MMA Offshore, 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

 

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

 

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.

Melanie Brown


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.

Executive

James Sawyer

 

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

 

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 2023

 

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 from The Perth Mint

 

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

 

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 from The Perth Mint

 

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.

Why choose The Perth Mint

We’ve been refining gold for 125 years

Global Icon at The Perth Mint.
Global
Renowned for creating and serving global markets
Trusted Icon at The Perth Mint.
Trusted

Transparent across our diverse business operations

Innovation icon the Perth Mint.
Innovative

At the forefront of refinery process technology

Ethical Icon at The Perth Mint.
Ethical
Dedicated to ethically sourced precious metals