John Doolan

Executive Committee (Director, Cyclone Testing Station, College of Science and Engineering)

John Doolan is currently the Director and Business Development Manager for the Cyclone Testing Station at James Cook University, a role he took up in 2019. John has held executive and board positions over 30 years across a wide range of industries including process technology, logistics and commodities, manufacturing, energy, and business consulting. Much of that time involved operating internationally leading operations and commercial teams developing businesses, establishing markets and in-country manufacturing operations, establishing joint ventures, and undertaking corporate integration and restructuring programs.

John is an Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduate of James Cook University and initially worked in industrial electronics, power and distribution engineering in Tasmania and Queensland before being invited to join an international management consultancy, PA Consulting Group. At PA he consulted to a wide variety of organisations including mining, government, services, manufacturing and capital intensive enterprises.

John returned to operations management with the MIM group in 1997, managing a number of ancillary businesses including port operations (500ktpa metals and concentrates), and logistics and shipping for the Mount Isa and McArthur River operations ($1.2b product value, $80m logistics budget).  A significant achievement was the integration of the product supply chain into a single mine to market function and cost centre. During this time John, in addition, also managed the Bowen Coke Works (producing 40ktpa of Metallurgical Coke)  the commercial team processing all concentrate and metals sales contracts.

On takeover by Xstrata, John moved to the newly formed Xstrata Technology, as one of three executive directors charged with integrating MIM’s metals and minerals processing technologies into an independent business. From 2004 to 2013, the business experienced rapid expansion (over 700%) across Australia, Asia, China, South America, India, Africa, Europe and Japan with annual revenue peaking over $300m. During his time with Xstrata Technology John sat on the board of the Australian operating company, and subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, China and South Africa.  He held joint executive positions of General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Xstrata Technology. John retains an interest in a private technology consulting firm, predominantly operating in China.

John leads the Cyclone Testing Station (CTS) an independent research and testing authority on the response and performance of the built environment to severe weather events. The CTS has a long successful history of research and investigation into severe weather events and the development of building codes and standards based on that research.  As the understanding of resilience broadens to include not just structural, but community, economic and natural aspects, the CTS is vitally interested to join the centre, and work with experience and expertise across JCU to progress resilience across the built, social and natural environments in which we live.