Leigh Staines
Industry Professor - Commercialisation
Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland
As an Environmental and Chemical Engineer, Leigh has held a range of operational, commercial, project and strategy roles across the international resources sector, including ExxonMobil, Santos and Rio Tinto. She is a passionate advocate towards future-proofing Australian heavy industry and manufacturing and has held tenures as the Manager of the Port Bonython Refinery in South Australia and more recently as the Site General Manager of the Boyne Aluminium Smelters in Gladstone. Leigh sees the energy transition as a foundation for regional economic redevelopment and an increased approach to resource recovery of our critical minerals and metals.Â
Having completed assignments across Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK, Singapore and PNG, Leigh applies a truly global perspective to her work. She particularly enjoys leading teams to execute strategic plans into the delivery of tangible business outcomes. After representing Australia in 2001 at the Youth Environmental Summit in Switzerland, she is excited to see, 20 years on, that evolving society expectations combined with government regulatory changes may be the catalyst for achieving a ‘green’ economy at scale.