{"id":18429,"date":"2021-12-07T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?p=18429"},"modified":"2025-07-25T10:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T02:07:59","slug":"from-occupational-therapy-to-mining-ceo-rio-tintos-kellie-parker-on-restoring-trust-and-a-new-way-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/from-occupational-therapy-to-mining-ceo-rio-tintos-kellie-parker-on-restoring-trust-and-a-new-way-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"From occupational therapy to mining CEO: Rio Tinto’s Kellie Parker on restoring trust and a new way forward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kellie Parker was appointed CEO of Rio Tinto in March 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author | Karen Green<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a degree in occupational therapy (1993) from Curtin, Kellie Parker began working in occupational health and safety at Rio Tinto\u2019s Pilbara operations before transitioning into management roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now based in Queensland as Rio Tinto\u2019s Chief Executive, Australia, Kellie shares her thoughts on leadership, mining industry culture, and rebuilding reputation and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yours is an unusual career journey – from health sciences professional to mining industry executive. Can you recall what attracted you to OT and then OHS?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When I started as an occupational therapist I wanted to improve people\u2019s lives and help to influence positive outcomes. It was the same philosophy when I took on OHS roles \u2013 I wanted to help people make better choices and to improve health and safety outcomes. And if people did get hurt, I wanted to help them manage their injuries, get rehabilitated and back on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was the career change a natural path created by opportunities at Rio Tinto, or did you realise you were more suited to management and leadership?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If I\u2019m not busy, I\u2019m disruptive. I went to my boss not long after I started at Rio Tinto and asked for more work, and this created opportunities for me to get involved in other aspects of the business. I really enjoyed working in the Pilbara, and having a willingness to give things a go meant I had the chance to adapt my skills to new challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are there any aspects of your leadership style you think are unusual in your industry?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My whole career path is unusual! I think we\u2019re seeing a growing realisation that it\u2019s not just the traditional \u2018hard\u2019 skills you need to be successful as a leader in the resources industry. I understand our business, the commercial and operational drivers, but I think my earlier career in health has helped me to understand people, and the combination of both served me well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia’s mining landscape is quite different to the booms we’ve enjoyed over the past 50 years. What are the positives you see in the industry’s future?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The minerals and metals we produce are essential for a decarbonised world, and that\u2019s really exciting. The opportunity for Rio and for the industry is twofold. Firstly, it\u2019s in how we drive technology to become more energy efficient as well as innovative in how we find and develop new mineral deposits. The second element is in how we partner – with communities, academia, other industry players, governments – to work together to capitalise on a bright future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you been witnessing a balance of the gender ratio in leadership in the mining industry in the past few years?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, but there\u2019s more to do. Women make up 50% of the population and we aren\u2019t 50% of the industry, but we also need to rebalance in other areas. We\u2019re a global company and we operate in so many countries across the world \u2013 we need to make sure we\u2019re bringing in talent that reflect and represent the communities we operate in. This will not only bring diversity of thinking and experience, but also will help us be more inclusive, and ultimately make better decisions for our business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone who grew up in the Pilbara, how did you feel when you learned about the blasting at Juukan Gorge?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I was devastated. I was in Brisbane running our Australasian aluminium operations and, from reading the news reports, I couldn\u2019t understand what had happened. I thought it was wrong, and it took a long time for me to process. It was a breach of both our values as a company and of the trust placed in us by the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and other Traditional Owners. The magnitude of what was lost by our actions and the hurt we have caused was immense and will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having worked in operations from the Pilbara to far north Queensland, I know first-hand how important strong relationships are for a company like ours to be respected and successful, and what the consequences are when we don\u2019t get it right. There is an absolute determination to learn the lessons from last year and to earn back the trust we lost with the Traditional Owners and Indigenous people. We know this will take time, consistent effort and a lot of hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have work ahead to better support our Indigenous employees who, as members and leaders of their own communities, were placed in a dreadful position as a result of our actions last year. My commitment to them, and our entire Australian workforce, is to do everything possible to make Rio Tinto a place where they will again be proud to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does restoring trust in the company involve addressing entrenched attitudes that sustain the kind of arrogance that enabled that blunder?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it\u2019s critical that we make changes to our culture. We recognise that we had some underlying issues well before the events at Juukan Gorge. We placed too much emphasis on business performance and didn\u2019t focus enough on relationships with our people, our partners and the communities in which we operate. Our cultural heritage management wasn\u2019t linked up strongly enough with our mine teams and there were shortcomings in how we managed some of our partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than a year now we\u2019ve been focused on rebuilding that trust by changing the way we do business and improving our culture. We\u2019re determined to get it right. We want to make sure that we have a workforce that is inclusive and representative of the communities we operate in. This year we established the Everyday Respect taskforce to listen to our people\u2019s experiences and eradicate disrespectful behaviour in all of its forms from our business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re also making positive progress with our Indigenous Leadership program, which is designed to attract, retain and develop Indigenous talent at Rio Tinto and improve the cultural competency of our leaders \u2013 which is critical to reshaping our culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s been a lot said about the damage that has been done to our reputation externally as a result of our actions last year, but what\u2019s perhaps not as widely recognised is the impact it had on our own people. What gives me hope for the future is that there are so many people in our company who are determined to help us to rebuild our lost reputation and to do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you seen a change in industry and organisational values as a result of the fallout from Juukan?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s definitely been a shift. We certainly recognise that we need our leaders and our people to have skills beyond the traditional technical and operational. We need to augment these foundational capabilities with strong cultural competency that will enable us to listen and partner genuinely in Australia and beyond. Understanding history and truth-telling are also key. I grew up in Australia and didn\u2019t learn about Aboriginal history until I was an adult. It wasn\u2019t taught in schools, and without a shared understanding we are all on the back foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other aspirations do you have for your current role?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Australia is of utmost importance to Rio Tinto and we have a lot of work ahead of us to rebuild relationships across the country. I\u2019m proud to have this opportunity \u2013 I care deeply about Rio, our people and the communities where we operate. My absolute objective will be to help restore trust and regain our standing in Australian society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want our people to once again be proud to put on the shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n\n \"Kellie\n \n

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Kellie Parker<\/h2>\n \n

CEO, Rio Tinto<\/span><\/p>\n

Kellie Parker graduated from Curtin with a Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy, 1993) and a Graduate Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety (2003).<\/span><\/p>\n

She joined Rio Tinto in 2001 as an injury management advisor and has been part of Rio Tinto iron ore’s executive team since 2014. She held a number of safety, operational and leadership roles across iron ore and was managing director of Pilbara assets and development and managing director of Pacific operations aluminium, before becoming chief executive of Australia in March 2021, where she will focus on rebuilding trust and strengthening external relationships across Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n<\/mimas-block>\n\n\n\n

Author | Karen Green<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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