Rod Hawthorne

Rod has over thirty years commercial and investment banking experience. For over 20 of those years Rod has been providing advice to Chinese companies, including CITIC and its subsidiaries in Australasia and Hong Kong.

In 1997, Rod joined Westpac Institutional Bank as a Consulting Director, Corporate and Project Advisory, working for a variety of corporate clients in the resource, resource processing and infrastructure industries.

In 1981, Rod joined Bankers Trust Australia with responsibility for establishing Bankers Trust’s project advisory and finance activities in Australia. During the next 12 years, Rod expanded these activities across a broad range of resource, resource processing and infrastructure projects. In 1993, Rod took early retirement in order to sail around the world with his family for almost four years.

Rod’s career began with four years at Bankers Trust Company in New York and then ten years with the Bankers Trust Group in London, where he was responsible for the Group’s project finance and advisory activities in Europe, Middle East and Africa

Rod holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and has completed his course subjects for the Master of International Service at American University, Washington, DC.

Chris Morley

Chris has over twenty five years commercial and investment banking experience covering the resource, transportation, and infrastructure industries.

In 2003, Chris began independently advising on resource infrastructure and property transactions. He has undertaken assignments for a number of clients including Gresham Investment House, AMP, and Landcom.

Chris joined National Australia Bank in 2000 as Director, Infrastructure and Project Finance where he worked on a number of acquisitions, developments and financings including power stations, railways, coal export ports and prisons.

In 1987, Chris migrated to Australia and joined Bankers Trust Australia where as Vice President, Infrastructure and Structured Finance he worked on resource, transportation, infrastructure, and property acquisitions, developments and financings ranging from export coal mines, oil fields, railways, gas pipelines, power stations through to water treatment.

His career started in South Africa where he worked for almost 10 years in the financial and investment sector focussing mainly on resource and resource processing projects. Companies he worked for included Price Waterhouse, stockbroker, Mathieson and Hollidge and Trust Bank

Chris holds an Honours Degree in Business Science (Finance) from the University of Cape Town and an Honours Degree in Accounting from the University of South Africa in Pretoria after having been awarded a University Actuarial Scholarship. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He has also been a member of the task force for the creation of the Project Finance Course for the new Securities Institute of Australia’s Applied Finance Masters Degree (1999 - 2003). Chris was also responsible for the project and structured finance components of the Institute’s Corporate Finance Course for the Applied Finance Post-graduate Diploma (1994 - 1999).

Paul Rintoule

Paul has over twenty year’s industry and investment banking experience in the infrastructure, resource and resource processing industries.

Paul joined Westpac Institutional Bank in 1996 as Director, Resources and Infrastructure where he worked on a number of acquisitions, developments and financings including aluminium, magnesium, power stations, coal, iron ore and steel.

Paul spent over ten years with Bankers Trust Australia as Vice President, Resources and Infrastructure. At Bankers Trust, he worked on resource and infrastructure acquisitions, developments and financings ranging from export iron ore and coal, alumina and aluminium processing through to power station and toll roads.

Paul moved into merchant banking, beginning with CitiNational, where he worked on the development and financing of tourism, resource and infrastructure projects including the Yulara Tourist Resort, Mereenie Gas Pipeline and Gateway Bridge project.

At CSR’s Minerals and Energy Division, Paul worked on the acquisition and development of numerous projects including coal, shale oil and uranium. Subsequently, he worked for Rio Tinto’s Pacific Coal group on the development and financing of their Queensland coal mines including Tarong and Blair Athol.

Paul holds a First Class Honours Degree in Economics from Adelaide University after having been awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and a CSR University Cadetship. He has a number of papers and presentations to his credit, and recently published a book on Project Finance and Financial Modelling in China co-authored by FuHu Zheng and Phil Breaden.