David Paterson

David Paterson has extensive experience in corporate affairs, having spent 25 years working for Rio Tinto in locations as diverse as Melbourne, London, Darwin, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Lusaka (Zambia). He is an expert in managing social and political risk to help create shareholder value.

David started his career as an economist and business analyst, where he gained significant experience in mining operations, commercial negotiations and project evaluation. He spent three years working in Rio Tinto’s M&A team in London.

During the past 15 years, David has held a range of senior corporate affairs roles with responsibility for government, media and community relations in businesses with significant controversy associated with them. He championed a range of innovative local economic development initiatives in the Northern Territory, Mongolia and Zambia as a pathway to building trust and engagement with key stakeholders.

David has an MBA from the Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University.

David is married to Veronique and has three grown children. He is a keen photographer and enjoys hiking and bird watching. He is a long-suffering Carlton supporter and would prefer the topic of football not be discussed with him.