Meet the Panel

Mr John Fullerton, Chair

Mr Fullerton has over 35 years of experience in the transport industry across Australia and has held Senior Executive and Board Member positions in both the private and public sectors. At the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), John led the $6.5 billion upgrade and expansion of the Hunter Valley coal network and the interstate rail freight network as well as a large contribution to the planning and commencement of construction of the $10 billion Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project. He is former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ARTC and retired in May of 2020. He has held previous roles at FreightLink, National Rail Corporation and Pacific National and is a leading figure in Australia's infrastructure and rail industry.

Ms Nicole Lockwood

Ms. Lockwood’s background in infrastructure, economic development and community engagement provides her with a unique insight into the complexity of planning and delivering large infrastructure projects in an environment of ever-changing social expectations. Nicole provides strategic advice to government, overseeing major infrastructure and integrated planning initiatives, including the Future Fremantle Planning Committee and Westport Taskforce which developed a 50-year freight and trade plan for the SW of WA. She has worked throughout regional WA as well as on national and metropolitan economic and infrastructure initiatives. She is the Chair of Infrastructure WA and Deputy Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia.

Ms Sophie Finemore

Ms Finemore is currently the Director for Government and Regulatory Affairs at KPMG. She is an experienced economist and government relations specialist with a demonstrated history working in public policy specializing in transport, freight and logistics. She is skilled in stakeholder management, government, economic policy and policy analysis. She is formerly the Senior Manager of Government Relations at Toll and Principal Economist for the Australian Automobile Association. Ms Finemore has worked for the Commonwealth, Victorian and Queensland State Governments and holds a Master's degree in Economics.

Mr Michael Byrne

Mr Byrne was appointed International Freight Coordinator General, Austrade on 31 March 2020 in an interim role to assist with the Federal Government’s COVID-19 response. This role finished in September 2022, though Michael is continuing to support the Federal Government on Export Supply Chain and the Simplified Trade System taskforce. Michael’s appointment followed a distinguished 30-year career in executive positions both in Australia and internationally in the logistics, supply chain, retail and property sectors. Previous roles include Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Toll Group Holdings; Chief Executive Officer of Coates Hire; Linfox and Westgate Holdings, as well as Non-Executive Director of Australia Post.

Michael currently serves on the Boards of Ausgrid, NSW Ports and Peel Ports UK. In more recent times, Michael has been appointed to the Boards of Sydney Airport, CBH Group and National Intermodal Corporation

Ms Heather Bone

Heather Bone has more than 25 years’ experience in transport and logistics, renewable energy, alternative fuels and environmental sustainability in Australia and internationally. Heather is currently the Director of ESG for Team Global Express and has held similar roles at Downer Group, Veolia, Volvo and Mack Trucks. Heather holds an Honours in Law (specifically Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development) along with numerous other qualifications in Politics, History, Marketing, Communications, Finance and Economics. Heather is the Chair of the Australian Logistics Council’s Sustainability Committee and was the Deputy Chair of Bioenergy Australia for six years. Heather was Australia’s representative for Climate Change and Renewable Energy for the US State Department’s International Visitor’s Leadership Program (IVLP) at the invitation of US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

Mr Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan graduated from UNSW in 1977 with degrees in Commerce (Industrial Relations) and Law. Since then, Paul has worked in the freight and logistics industry for over 35 years. During that period, he has advocated on behalf of the industry across all facets, and with all levels of Government.

In 1992, Paul represented Australian transport employers at the Inland Transport Committee, part of the International Labour Organization in Geneva. Paul was an Industry Member of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal from 2012 to 2016.

Currently, Paul is the Chair of the Transport Education Audit Compliance and Health Organisation (TEACHO), a not-for-profit tri-partite body set up within the transport industry to conduct research into health, safety and related issues across all sectors of the industry, especially focused on supply chain issues.

He is also on the Board of Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (HHTS) which was established in 2020 to improve mental health outcomes for workers in the transport and warehousing space.