|
June/July 2001 |
|
PESA President |
|
"It is a great honour and I feel very proud", John said following his appointment in April at the PESA AGM, held at the APPEA Conference in Hobart. As co-founder and Managing Director of Mosaic Oil for 12 years, John devoted this time to building up the company to its current position, however, he recently left Mosaic to pursue other interests. Originally a country boy, John grew up on a property near Gunnedah in NSW's northwest. "It was a mixed farm - wheat, sheep and cattle. I went to primary school in a tiny, one teacher bush school, then went to boarding school in Sydney", John said. In 1972, John enrolled in a Bachelor of Science degree at Sydney University. Having always excelled in mathematics, the discipline was a natural choice as his first major, but he had trouble deciding on the second major for his double degree. "I'm still not sure why I enrolled in geology. Options like psychology didn't appeal to me at all, but I think I ultimately chose geology because of my farming background plus most of my friends were doing it. Anyway, I liked it and continued it as my second major subject." John said. "I graduated just after the Poseidon boom which was followed by a subsequent market collapse. I applied for positions as a geologist in mining, but couldn't get a job. I'd been on a NSW Education Department teacher scholarship, so decided to go school teaching instead", he continued. John worked as a mathematics and science teacher for five years in the late 1970s. "I wasn't terribly fond of teaching", he admitted, "But I'd given up hope of ever getting a job as a geologist, so I went back to do another degree." Returning to his known skills, John completed a Masters degree in mathematics, with the hope of finding work as a computer programmer. "Because I had a Masters in mathematics, I ended up with a job as a petroleum geologist", John said, recalling the irony. He explained: "I had been coaching a student for the HSC. His name was Barry Mollan and he now works for Woodside. His father, Graham Mollan, was the General Manager of Ampol Exploration and he found me – a geologist with a Masters degree in maths – and hired me to do some work on risk analysis which was just coming into vogue. I attended a number of courses, and risk analysis became my forte at Ampol Exploration." John's first encounter with PESA occurred on his first day at Ampol Exploration in 1980, when he attended a lunchtime meeting with Graham Mollan. "I was working away and Graham popped his head into my office and said, 'Come on John, we're going to PESA'. I said, 'What's that?' He explained it was a luncheon with a guest speaker talking on a technical subject. It sounded great, but also expensive. However, I soon cheered up when he told me the company would be paying." John explained his first impression of the PESA tradition: "My lunches when I was a school teacher consisted of standing in the playground, trying to eat a sandwich with one hand and breaking up fights with the other. Graham and I went along to the function room, a lovely meal was put in front of us and the waiter asked if we'd like a glass of wine. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!" John signed up as a PESA member on the spot and has been a member ever since. While he remained a passive member for a number of years, he happily accepted an invitation to join the NSW committee in mid-1990, the first step in a progression that today sees him in PESA's top position. "I was invited to be Vice-President of the NSW committee in 1997, became President of the NSW committee in 1999, and joined the Federal Executive in 1999 when I was elected Vice-President." Although John remains on the NSW committee in the role of immediate Past President, he will not take on any additional activities within the state branch, preferring instead to concentrate on his federal role. In stepping into the role of President, John has applauded the contribution of Ahmad Tabassi over the past two years. "He has done a tremendous job, particularly in organising improved educational courses for PESA, which I will certainly by doing my utmost to continue. It's a tremendous PESA initiative, and I am extremely impressed with the new Vice-President's work in this regard (South Australia based Barry Goldstein – also Chairman of the Federal Education Sub-committee)", John said. Another initiative started under Ahmad Tabassi will continue under John, which is raising PESA's international profile. Demon-strating his commitment to the promotion of PESA at a federal and international level, John was the driving force behind the construction of the PESA website after his election to the Federal Executive. "I'd started Mosaic Oil's website, and I felt that PESA also needed a website as a basis for contact with the rest of the world. The technology means that you can be anywhere in the world and still be up-to-date with what's happening in PESA", he said. "I suggested the idea to the Federal Executive and, after they agreed, the idea went out to tender which RESolutions won. I am very pleased with the way the idea progressed, and with the professional look of the website." John hopes the website (www.pesa.com.au) and other initiatives will assist PESA to develop closer links with similar international associations, including the AAPG and PESGB. "As part of raising PESA's profile, we need to be in closer contact with other societies. Barry Goldstein, raised a valid point, saying "We need to liaise more closely with these groups (particularly Australian based) so we don't have clashes of speakers." John believes that the recently completed Industry Events Database (situated on the PESA web site) is an excellent means of keeping all of the societies and industry aware of what each society is doing. "It is a significant investment by PESA and fits in well with the Federal Education initiative", John commented. "Other societies have recognised the importance of the Industry Events Database, and recently requested that it be further developed to include on-line booking and payment facilities. The Publications Sub-committee, under the leadership of Grant Ellis, has been quick to pick up on this request and, with assistance from RESolutions, is investigating the requirements of the various societies before putting a proposal to the Federal Executive." John is pleased with the standard of the PESA publications, PESA News and the PESA Journal, but he will focus on raising the profile of the latter. "The Federal Executive has come up with several ideas on how to give the journal a higher profile", John continued. "The journal is the prime technical journal in Australia and is respected around the world." Another of John's initiatives will be to solve the problem of insufficient feedback from members. "We'd like to see more feedback from members", John said. "I think the key is that the feedback has to come via the individual states – it's something that I'll be working on to ensure PESA continues to meet the needs of its members." By the time his presidency concludes in two years, John said that he would like to see PESA have a stronger profile both nationally and worldwide. "I would also like to see a more extensive membership, where existing members have encouraged new people to join." John is married with two daughters, and lives in Manly, Sydney. Both daughters are following in his mathematics tracks; the eldest is a mathematics graduate and the youngest is in her final year of a mathematics degree (neither wanted to be a geologist – John has no idea why not!). He met his then wife to be Cheryl at Sydney University, where they had a chemistry course in common, 28 years ago. "Our eyes met across a set of test-tubes and there was instant chemistry between us", John said with that ever-playful glint in his eyes. John is currently working on plans to establish a new oil company, and we wish him every success in this endeavour. |