Christopher Lynch (businessman)

Christopher James Lynch is an Australian businessman who is currently a director of Westpac. He is a former chief financial officer and board member of Anglo-Australian resources companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, and a CEO of Transurban. Lynch was a member of the AFL Commission between 2008 and 2014. He played five matches for Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL, now AFL).

Chris Lynch
Born
Christopher James Lynch

(1953-09-23) 23 September 1953
Broken Hill, New South Wales[1]
EducationDeakin University (BCom, MBA)
Board member of
Australian rules football career
Personal information
Original team(s) North Broken Hill[2]
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 89 kg (196 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1972–1974 Geelong 5 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1974.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and education

Lynch was born in Broken Hill in Western New South Wales (NSW) in 1953.[3][4] His grandfather, Paddy O'Neill, was a notable union leader in Broken Hill.[5][6]

Lynch completed a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree at the Gordon Institute of Technology (later known as Deakin University). He later completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Deakin University. He is member of CPA Australia.[7][8]

Lynch was a keen cricketer, representing Geelong against several international touring teams. He played three matches in Victorian Premier Cricket for Essendon Cricket Club during the 1982–83 season.[9][10][11][12]

Australian rules football career

After moving from Broken Hill, where he played for the North Broken Hill Football Club, Lynch played for Geelong Football Club, making his debut in the Victorian Football League (VFL, now AFL) in 1972. He played twice in 1972 and a further three times in 1974. He was a member of the Geelong team that won the VFL reserves premiership in 1975.[13][14][15][16][17]

Business life

Lynch joined Alcoa in 1979, where he rose through the levels, becoming chief financial officer, Alcoa Europe, in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was also managing director of KAAL Australia Ltd, a joint venture company formed by Alcoa and Kobe Steel.[18] In 1999, Lynch was appointed vice president and chief information officer.[19][20]

In 2000, Lynch was head-hunted by BHP Billiton as chief financial officer of the company's Minerals Group.[21][22] He became chief financial officer of the group in September 2001.[23] Lynch was appointed an executive director of BHP Billiton and member of its board in January 2006.[24][25] He was subsequently appointed as group president of BHP Billiton's Carbon Steel Materials division in April 2006. After being passed over for the BHP Billiton CEO role, Lynch retired from the company in June 2007.[26][27][28][29]

Lynch became CEO of Transurban in 2008, serving in the role until 2012.[30][31][32][33]

He was elected a member of the AFL Commission at the end of 2007, retiring from the role in 2014.[34][35]

In 2011, Lynch was appointed to the Rio Tinto board as a non-executive director.[27] He was the chief financial officer of Rio Tinto from April 2013 to September 2018.[32][36][37][38][39][13][40]

In 2020, Lynch joined the board of Australian bank Westpac.[8]

References
  1. Williams, Felicity (26 October 2007). "Lynch takes the leap". The Age. p. 84. Broken Hill-born Mr Lynch, who has worked in the mining industry for 30 years
  2. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  3. Fitzgerald, Barry (7 June 2007). "Time out from the cycle of success". The Age. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. Dagge, John (28 February 2013). "Rio brings Lynch off the bench". news.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. Dagge, John (25 September 2014). "Honour for king of Broken Hill". Herald Sun.
  6. "BHP financial officer reflects on Broken Hill ties". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. Durie, John (13 August 2018). "Disrupters shape economic agenda: Rio's Lynch". The Australian.
  8. "Appointment of Chris Lynch to the Westpac Board" (Press release). Westpac. 17 August 2020.
  9. Slattery, Geoff (7 January 1981). "Police escort fiery Hadlee from field". The Age. p. 22. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. "Register of V.C.A. 1st XI Pennant, District & Premier Cricketers: 1889-90 to 2019-20" (PDF). Victorian Premier Cricket. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. "Victoria Premier Cricket Matches played by Christopher Lynch". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. "Miscellaneous Matches played by Christopher Lynch". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. Gray, Darren (12 August 2018). "A pillow case of cash, a broken jaw and an outgoing executive". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. Stevens, Matthew (17 September 2017). "Rio Tinto digs a hole as chief financial officier Chris confirm retirement". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  15. Green, Warwick (5 March 2013). "The back room boys". Perth Now. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  16. "Australian Football — Chris Lynch — Player Bio". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  17. "Reserves prem Geelong". afl.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  18. "Kobe Steel and Alcoa to acquire Comalco aluminum rolling mill in Australia". Kobe Steel & Aluminum Company of America. 19 December 1995. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  19. Fitzgerald, Barry (1 September 2011). "Lynch to 'Hill' and back". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  20. "Strict vegetarian, steely footballer eye mining prize". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  21. Minder, Raphael (7 June 2007). "Spurned Lynch to quit BHP". Financial Times. p. 25.
  22. "BHP Billiton's Lynch to Retire; Rumor at Alcoa". Wall Street Journal. 7 June 2007.
  23. Fitzgerald, Barry (15 September 2001). "BHP names Lynch as new CFO". The Age. p. 3.
  24. Walters, Kath (2 May 2002). "Back home boy". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  25. "New Board Appointments" (Press release). BHP Billiton. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  26. "Chris Lynch To Retire From BHP Billiton" (Press release). BHP Billiton. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  27. Fitzgerald, Barry (1 September 2011). "Rio turns to ex-BHP boss for help with aluminium arm". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. Rolfe, John (5 June 2007). "Broken Hill's Lynch quits BHP". Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  29. Freed, Jamie (1 June 2007). "Globalisation thwarts the boy from the Hill". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 17.
  30. Murphy, Mathew (26 October 2007). "'World-class' Lynch gets top job at Transurban". The Age. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  31. Kitney, Damien (31 January 2012). "Long and winding road for Transurban chief". The Australian. p. 22.
  32. O'sullivan, Paddy; Manning, Matthew (28 February 2013). "Rio Tinto hires former Transurban CEO". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  33. Frith, Bryan (19 June 2008). "The outsider who left BHP to work wonders for Transurban". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  34. Barrett, Damian (15 December 2012). "AFL not bothered over Pratt". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  35. Keane, Patrick (17 February 2014). "Chris Lynch Retires From AFL Commission / Kim Williams to Stand At March AGM". afl.com.au (Press release). Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  36. "Christopher Lynch". riotinto.com. 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  37. "Chris Lynch, Rio Tinto PLC: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  38. Aston, Joe (18 September 2017). "Chris Lynch deception says sun setting on Rio Tinto's glory years". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  39. Stevens, Matthew (12 August 2018). "The boy from Broken Hill: Rio Tinto CFO Chris Lynch leaves miner in better shape". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  40. Dagge, John; Byrne, Fiona (3 January 2021). "AFL Rich List: Some of the players who have made their fortune off the field". The Australian.
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