John is an experienced defence industry executive, having worked with Australian and international defence businesses as a consultant, program manager, general manager, business development director and managing director. A former naval officer with nearly three decades of combined military and defence industry experience, he is a board member of Military and Emergency Services Health Australia, former chair of the South Australian Veterans’ Advisory Council, and former member of the Veterans Health Advisory Council. During his Royal Australian Navy career, John served as a weapons electrical engineer and completed a range of engineering and operational sea and shore postings, and deployed overseas on operations and exercises, including to the Middle East area of operations in 2004 in HMAS Stuart. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from UNSW and is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy.