Signature 2026 heads north for the Pilbara Field Trip

Leadership can look very different depending on where you are, who you are serving and the challenges in front of you.

That is one of the reasons field trips are such an important part of Leadership WA’s Signature Leadership Program. They take learning beyond the classroom and give participants the opportunity to experience leadership in context, hear perspectives they may not otherwise encounter and build a deeper understanding of the people and issues shaping our State.

For Experience 12, our 2026 Signature cohort travelled north for three days of learning across Karratha, Leramugadu (Roebourne), Cape Lambert, 7 Mile Rail, Murujuga and the surrounding region.

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Day 1: Karratha and community

After a very early start in Perth, the cohort landed in Karratha and began with a tour of the town centre led by City of Karratha Mayor Daniel Scott.

From there, the group continued to the Red Earth Arts Precinct, where City of Karratha CEO Virginia Miltrup shared her perspective on adaptable leadership and community engagement in a regional context.

At Empowering People in Communities (EPIC), participants heard from Anne Hallam (Signature 2025), Regional Operations Manager, West Pilbara, and CEO Stephanie Soter (Signature 2022), gaining insight into disability, mental health and community services across the region.

The day also included perspectives from Tracey from The Salvation Army and a resource sector panel featuring current Signature 2026 participants:

• Kyle Maher, Rio Tinto
• Clarissa Clark, Rio Tinto
• Rebecca Lewis, Woodside Energy
• Ben Thomas, Woodside Energy
• Karis Laird, BHP

Together, the sessions offered a broad view of the people, organisations and sectors contributing to life in the Pilbara.

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Day 2: Country, community and industry

Day 2 began in Leramugadu (Roebourne), with a focus on place, history and Traditional Owner-led community solutions.

The cohort spent time with the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation and joined a Bush Tucker Tour with Ngarluma woman Kylie Mowarin and other local women, who shared knowledge about Country, native flora and the environment.

They also spoke about a new community hub due to open later this year, offering another example of locally led approaches to culture, connection and wellbeing.

From Leramugadu, the cohort travelled to Rio Tinto’s Cape Lambert operations, where participants were given firsthand access to one of the Pilbara’s major port and export operations and heard from leaders across maintenance, safety, operations and planning.

The cohort heard from:

• Bruce Fitzpatrick, Manager Maintenance, Rio Tinto
• Liam Geissmann, Manager HSEC, Port Operations & Dampier Salt, Rio Tinto
• Simon Forwood, Manager CLB, Rio Tinto
• Dylan Cross, Superintendent Scheduling, Rio Tinto

The day then continued at 7 Mile Rail, where participants gained another perspective on the scale, coordination and leadership behind Rio Tinto’s Pilbara rail network, with contributions from:

• Toby Ellis, General Manager Rail, Rio Tinto
• Kyle Maher, Manager Rail Maintenance Integration, Rio Tinto and current Signature 2026 participant
• Mel Cribb, Rolling Stock Maintenance Manager, Rio Tinto

Across both visits, participants were able to see major resources infrastructure up close and hear directly from the people leading within complex operational environments.

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Day 3: Murujuga and St John WA

The final day began at Nganjarli on Murujuga, where Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation rangers Sarah, Riley and Richard led the cohort through a Rock Art Tour.

The experience gave participants the chance to learn more about the cultural significance of Murujuga, its rock art and stories, and the importance of caring for Country.

The group then visited Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, where they heard from Kim Wood, CEO of the organisation representing the Ngarda-Ngarli, the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Murujuga.

An impromptu stop at Woodside Energy’s North West Shelf Project lookout offered another industry perspective, with cohort members Ben Thomas and Rebecca Lewis talking the group through the processing operations visible from the lookout.

The field trip concluded at the St John WA Karratha Sub Centre, where participants heard about emergency services, volunteering and supporting communities across regional Western Australia.

The cohort heard from Craig Spencer OAM (Signature 2013), Head of Volunteer Engagement, Sammy Scott, Administration Officer at the Karratha Sub Centre, and Pauline, a St John WA volunteer. Janice Wong, Manager, Psychology & Wellbeing Services, was also at the sub centre and joined the conversation.

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A broader view of leadership

What made the Pilbara Field Trip valuable was not any one visit in isolation.

Across the three days, participants moved between conversations about Country, community, local government, services, volunteering and major industry. Together, those experiences gave them a more complete picture of how leadership operates across a region that plays such an important role in Western Australia.

That is a key part of Signature. It creates opportunities to learn in context, hear directly from people working across different sectors and communities, and build a broader understanding of the State beyond the environments participants work in every day.

 

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Acknowledgements

A big thank you to Rio Tinto for their generous support of the field trip, and to Kate Bach, Lijana Galas, Kyle Maher and Clarissa Clark for their coordination and support.

We are also grateful to the speakers, hosts and organisations who welcomed the cohort and shared their time, knowledge and perspectives across the three days, including City of Karratha, Red Earth Arts Precinct, EPIC, The Salvation Army, Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation, Rio Tinto, Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and St John WA.

Signature 2027 registrations close Friday 25 September.

Learn more about the Signature Leadership Program and apply before registrations close.