Chair - Mr James McMahon DSC, AM, DSM
James is currently the Managing Director of consulting company, JFM Global. Prior to this he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Australian Capital Equity, Commissioner for Corrective Services WA and COO of the corporate advisory firm, Azure Capital. He completed 24 years full time service and subsequently 10 years as a standby reservist with the Australian Defence Force, the majority of this time within Special Operations, at the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR).
Starting as an Infantry Soldier, he went on to become an Officer and command an Australian SAS Squadron. As the Officer Commanding in Timor Leste the sub-unit was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for exemplary operational performance. As the Commanding Officer of the SAS Regiment, equivalent to a Chief Executive Officer, the Unit was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation and Gallantry Citation for their operational performance in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) for leadership and command in action in Timor-Leste, Afghanistan and Iraq. He was named Western Australian of the Year in 2019 for his service to the Community and was subsequently appointed Member of the Order of Australia.
He has been a Board member of the Australian War Memorial, Board member and Deputy Chairman of the West Coast Eagles Football Club and a Board advisor to RSL WA and Legacy WA. James is currently the Chairman of the SAS Resources Fund and a Board member of St John of God Health Care. Also, he is an ambassador for The Fathering Project and Disaster Relief Australia.
His education qualifications include a Masters in Management (Defence), Graduate Diploma in Management and a Masters in Business Administration.
Deputy Chair - Mr Alan Cransberg
Alan Cransberg recently retired from a 37 year career with Alcoa. Alcoa is the world's largest producer of alumina and bauxite and has refineries in Australia, Brazil, Spain, Suriname, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
His final role was President, Alcoa Refining & Chairman and Managing Director for the Australia Region. In this role, he was responsible for Commercial, Operational and Research and Development activities for all of Alcoa's global refineries. He was also on the Board of the Alcoa Foundation.
Alan is a former Chairman of the West Coast Eagles Football Club, and on the Boards of John Swire and Sons, the Black Swan State Theatre Company, UWA Business School and the SAS Resources Trust. He was a founding member of the Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and Their Children, as well as being a founding member of the CEO’s for Gender Equity in West Australia. He has recently joined the Peel Development Commission as it’s Deputy Chairman.
Alan was appointed as a Trustee to the SAS Resources Fund Board on 3rd February 2016.
Treasurer - Mr Nick Henry, B.Comm, FCA, MAICD
Nick Henry is a highly experienced audit and assurance professional and is currently a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Perth, Western Australia. With over 35 years of expertise in the resources sector, he has built a distinguished career specializing in auditing large ASX and US listed companies and global corporations. His extensive international experience includes a stint in PwC’s San Francisco office and leadership roles within PwC’s global network.
Nick’s commitment to governance and philanthropy is reflected in his various board roles and leadership positions. He is Chairman of the Feilman Foundation, a public ancillary fund that donates its earnings to various charitable causes. He is a former Chairman of Methodist Ladies College, a leading girls' school in Western Australia, demonstrating a strong dedication to educational governance. His other past roles include serving as a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of Youth Focus Inc., State Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, and a long-term member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Benevolent Foundation Grant Advisory Committee.
Nick’s professional qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia, and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (FCA) and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also a registered company auditor.
Nick was appointed as a Trustee of the Board of the SAS Resources Fund in January 2024 and as Treasurer in April 2024.
Commanding Officer - SAS Regiment
The Commanding Officer, Special Air Service Regiment automatically becomes a Trustee of the SAS Resources Fund during his two-year term at Campbell Barracks.
Hon Chris Ellison, B.Juris., LLB (UWA)
Chris represented Western Australia in the Senate from 1993 to 2009. Prior to that he was a partner in his law firm Williams Ellison for thirteen years.
Chris served in the outer ministry and Cabinet of the Howard Government from 1997 to 2007. His portfolios included Assistant Attorney General, Minister for Schools and Training, Special Minister of State, Minister for Justice and Customs and Minister for Human Services. To this date he remains Australia’s longest serving Minister for Justice and has a current legal practising certificate, which he has held for forty years.
In the private sector, since leaving the Senate, Chris is currently Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame Austalia and is also a Director of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation. He was formerly a Director of Doric Construction, Chair of Australia’s North West Tourism and Chair of the Board of Trinity College Perth.
Chris was appointed as a Trustee to the SAS Resources Fund Board in 2020 and has been the Chairman of the Fund’s Dinner Committee since 2014.
Dr Andrew Forrest AO
Dr Andrew Forrest AO is a global business and philanthropic leader dedicated to ending the use of fossil fuels, creating green energy solutions and tackling global challenges like climate change, conflict response, modern slavery and oceanic destruction through overfishing and plastic pollution.
In 2003, Dr Forrest founded the iron ore miner Fortescue in Western Australia. 22 years later, Fortescue is one of the world's largest iron ore producers and a global green technology, energy and mining group.
As founder of Australia’s largest philanthropy Minderoo Foundation, Dr. Forrest has pledged to give away his wealth over his lifetime. With an endowment exceeding AU$9 billion, Minderoo tackles global challenges, such as climate change, urgent humanitarian responses, modern slavery, Indigenous empowerment, and early childhood development.
Dr Forrest holds a PhD in Marine Ecology and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to philanthropy, mining, employment, and sustainable foreign investment.
Dr Forrest is a member of Harvard’s Salata Institute Advisory Board (SIAB), the Giving Pledge and was listed on TIME's 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action.
Ms Michelle Hawksley, LLB Hons BEcon
Michelle Hawksley is a partner of Solomon Brothers, the Fund solicitors since 1996, and has been a Trustee and acted as the Fund Solicitor since 7th October 2014.
Ms Hawksley was admitted to practice in 1998 and practises in general front-end commercial law, with a particular focus on property transactions and corporate law.
Mr Michael Levitt AM FRACS
Michael is a General and Colorectal Surgeon who has been in uninterrupted clinical practice in Perth for over 35 years. He has also undertaken numerous non-clinical roles including periods of time as the Director of Medical Services at St John of God Subiaco Hospital, Chief Medical Officer in the WA Department of Health and Medical Co-Director at Osborne Park Hospital and, now, at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. He has previously been a Clinician Member of the Medical Board of Western Australia and of St John of God Health Care. Since January 2025, Michael has been Chair of the Postgraduate Medical Council of WA, based once again in the Department of Health.
Outside of Health, Michael has been active in the WA Jewish Community over many years, as President of Carmel School, President of the Perth Hebrew Congregation and, now, President of the Jewish Community Council of WA. He is the author of three non-fiction books about bowel health written for the general public and two works of fiction which stories have been set in the Australian Fine Art world. In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to public education about colorectal cancer, and in 2022 was awarded an AM for services to professional organisations.
Mr Stephen Pearce
Stephen has more than 20 years’ experience as a director of public companies and over 30 years of financial and commercial experience in the mining, oil and gas, and utilities industries. He has held a range of leadership roles including Finance Director of Anglo American plc, a position he held for nearly 7 years. He previously served as CFO and as an executive director of Fortescue Metals Group Limited from 2010 to 2016.
Stephen is currently an independent Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems, South32 and Ampol.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Caron Sugars
Caron Sugars is a Partner within KPMG Perth’s Risk Consulting Division who has over 20 years professional experience in commerce, assurance and risk advisory.
Caron re-joined KPMG in 2007 after spending five years in senior finance and company secretarial roles with one private and two listed entities. Caron is currently the Partner in Charge of KPMG Perth’s Internal Audit division as well as leading their Board Advisory Services nationally.
Caron has been a Course Director for the Governance Institute of Australia since 2007 lecturing on the Corporate Governance module of the Post Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance and also sits on the Subject Advisory Board for the Post Graduate Diploma in Risk Management. In 2016 Caron joined the WA State Council to further contribute to governance in WA. In addition, Caron is a regular guest lecturer for Curtin University on Governance.
Caron holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honours) and a Diploma in Auditing, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (South Africa), a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Course.
Caron is the Chair of the Governance Committee for the Special Air Services Resources Fund, an appointment she held prior to becoming a Trustee.
Caron was appointed as a Trustee of the Board of the SAS Resources Fund in 2018 and as Deputy Chair of the SAS Resources Fund in April 2021.
Ms Meneesha Michalka LLB (Hons)
Meneesha Michalka is an experienced barrister and solicitor. She began her early legal career as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills in insolvency and insurance litigation before commencing as a State Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2005. For a decade she prosecuted matters on behalf of the State in the Magistrates, District, Supreme and Children's courts, as well as the High Court of Australia. In 2015 Meneesha left the DPP to open private legal practice.
Meneesha is an experienced trial lawyer and has both prosecuted and defended the full spectrum of criminal offences.
Meneesha is a Governor of the University of Notre Dame Australia and sits on the University's Law Advisory Board. She is a sitting member of the Medical Board of Australia and is a Federally appointed member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Remuneration Tribunal. She sits on a number of charity and community boards and has served on public health ethics and research committees. Meneesha is a highly sought after public speaker and mental health advocate and has presented at health symposiums both locally and overseas.
Meneesha was appointed as a Trustee of the SAS Resources Fund in 2024.