Chairman and Non-Executive Director
Ian Wightwick
Executive Directors
Brendan Morris
Non-Executive Directors
John Durston
Gordon Merchant
Bronwyn Constance
Ian Wightwick: Chairman of the board of directors, member of the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee
Ian Wightwick was appointed to the board as an independent non-executive director and elected chairman in October 2006. Mr. Wightwick has had a 50-year career spanning technical, marketing, production, consulting, general management and chief executive roles in the oil, chemical, food and paper and packaging industries. Aside from his role at Plantic, his current activities include investment management, consulting and mentoring (both at national and international level), as well as non-executive board positions including Promentum Ltd (Australia's largest commercial sheet printer) and The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Ltd (one of Australia's leading research centers oncology, arthritis and diseases associated with failures of the immune system).
Until February 2003 Mr. Wightwick was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PaperlinX Ltd, which went public under his stewardship in 2000 and became a top 100 public company in Australia. PaperlinX became the largest international paper merchant, with substantial paper manufacturing operations in Australia, with around A$8 billion sales, 10,000 employees and marketing paper in 40 countries, predominantly in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, Canada, USA and SE Asia.
Mr. Wightwick has graduate qualifications in Chemistry and Economics and a Masters degree in Business Administration.
John Durston: Chairperson of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
Mr. Durston was appointed to the Plantic board as an independent non-executive director in 2006. He has extensive experience within the packaging industry across the globe in both Executive and Director roles.
Mr. Durston is the former Deputy Chief Executive of Amcor, the largest flexible packaging group in Europe with revenues of around £1bn. Currently based in the UK, Mr. Durston is a fellow of the Institute of Packaging.
Mr. Durston held executive positions with Lawson Mardon Group Ltd (LMG) and was appointed Chairman in 1991. LMG was sold to Alusuisse Lonza in a £600m deal in 1993. In 1995, Mr. Durston joined the then loss-making, London Stock Exchange listed Sidlaw Group as CEO, which he returned to profitability before selling the company to Danisco in 1999. In 2000 Mr. Durston returned to Danisco as President and CEO of the packaging division, subsequently selling the business to Amcor in 2001.
Mr. Durston is currently a Director of Amcor Europe, and President of the Flexible Packaging Association Europe. In between his executive roles at LMG and Sidlaw, Mr. Durston chaired a working group with representatives from raw material suppliers, packaging converters, food companies, retailers and government to device the Producer Responsibility regulations for packaging waste recycling which are now enshrined within the UK's Environment Act.
Gordon Merchant: Member of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee
Mr. Merchant is one of the early and core investors of Plantic, joining the board in 2005. Mr. Merchant founded Billabong in 1973 at the Gold Coast in Queensland. Billabong grew from a two-person business making surfboards and shorts into a group employing around 1,800 people with an extensive range of high-quality sports and leisure goods and clothing. Billabong has a market capitalisation of around A$3 billion and a turnover in the 2005/06 financial year of over A$1bn. Mr. Merchant remains a major shareholder in Billabong International Ltd.
Mr. Merchant has extensive experience in international expansion, brand management, manufacturing, promotion, marketing and design within the apparel industry, as well as a broad network of industry and business contacts.
Bronwyn Constance: Chairperson of the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
Ms. Constance has held senior executive positions with the ACI Group of companies, Kraft Foods Ltd Australia and Asia, Pasminco Ltd and Nylex Ltd. Ms. Constance currently chairs the finance and audit committee of the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology Ltd and is a Non-executive Director and a member of the audit committee of The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Ltd (an Australian research centre for oncology, arthritis and diseases associated with failures of the immune system).
