Meet our Board of Directors
Ryan Stokes AO
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CHAIR
BComm, FAIM
Mr Stokes is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SGH. SGH is a leading Australian diversified operating and investment group with market leading businesses and investments in industrial services, media and energy. This includes WesTrac, Coates, Boral, Seven West Media (40%), and Beach (30%) He has extensive experience leading large private and public organisations, including experience with corporate transactions, operational discipline, and performance.
Mr Stokes is Chair of WesTrac, Chair of Coates, Chair of Boral, and a non-executive director of Seven West Media. Mr Stokes is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Capital Equity (ACE). ACE is a private company holding a major interest in SGH.
Mr Stokes is Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia and is an Officer of the Order of Australia. Mr Stokes is an executive director of SGH (since 2010) and a non-executive director of Seven West Media (since 2012) and Boral Limited (since September 2020).
Mr Stokes’ special responsibilities include membership of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Mr Stokes was appointed to the Board on 20 July 2016 and ceased to be a director in November 2021. He was then appointed an alternate director for Margaret Hall on 1 December 2021 and ceased to be an alternate director on 23 July 2023.
Mr Stokes was re-appointed a non-executive director on 23 July 2023 and elected to the Board on 14 November 2023. Mr Stokes was also appointed Interim Chair effective 14 November 2023 and then Chair effective 17 October 2024.
Ryan Stokes – Beach Energy Director
Brett Woods
MANAGING DIRECTOR &
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
BSc (Hons) Geology and Geophysics, AMP Harvard
Mr Woods is a leading senior executive in the energy sector with over 25 years of professional experience.
He has an outstanding record of delivering major energy projects, cost and operational discipline and growing businesses in the UK, Africa, Australasia and North America.
Mr Woods began his career with Woodside Energy and has held senior technical roles in Australia and Africa. In 2007, Mr Woods became Managing Director and CEO of African start-up Rialto Energy. He was responsible for growing Rialto’s business through acquiring new exploration licences in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, raising capital and commencing 2 large drilling campaigns in the highly prospective Transform Margin.
In 2013 Mr Woods joined Santos and quickly moved into the executive leadership team assuming leadership of the Western Australia and Northern Territory Operating Division. Mr Woods led the successful transformation of the Cooper Basin and Gladstone LNG assets and played key roles in the successful acquisitions by Santos of Quadrant Energy, ConocoPhillips’ Northern Australian business and Oil Search.
More recently Mr Woods assumed control of the Santos operated Infrastructure (LNG, Domestic Gas, Oil Fractionation facilities and Pipelines) and developed decarbonisation, Clean Fuels and CCS opportunities through leading Santos Energy Solutions business.
Mr Woods commenced as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Beach Energy in January 2024, where he has led a transformation of the company by engaging employees to take an owner’s mindset throughout the business. Mr Woods has had significant success lowering the operational costs of the business and has built a platform for Beach to become one of Australia’s leading domestic energy providers through a high-quality asset and infrastructure base which is delivering much-needed supply during a time of strong demand.
Brett Woods – Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Richard Richards
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BComs/Law (Hons), LLM, MAppFin, CA, Admitted Solicitor
Mr Richards has been Chief Financial Officer of SGH since October 2013. He is a director of SGH Energy and is a director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of WesTrac and Coates.
He is a director of Boral Limited and is a member of its Audit and Risk Committee and its Safety Committee. He is a director of Flagship Property Holdings and is also a director of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Chair of its Audit and Risk Committee.
Mr Richards joined SGH from the diverse industrial group, Downer EDI, where he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer responsible for group finance across the company for three years. Prior to joining Downer EDI, Mr Richards was Chief Financial Officer for the Family Operations of LFG, the private investment and philanthropic vehicle of the Lowy Family for two years. Prior to that, Richard held senior finance roles at Qantas for over 10 years.
Mr Richards is a former director and the Chair of Audit and Risk Management Committee of KU – established in 1895 as the Kindergarten Union of New South Wales, KU is one of the most respected childcare providers in Australia. He was also a member of the Marcia Burgess Foundation Committee.
Mr Richards is both a Chartered Accountant and admitted solicitor with over 30 years of experience in business and complex financial structures, corporate governance, risk management and audit.
Mr Richards is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Technical Committee. He was appointed to the Board on 4 February 2017 and was last re-elected to the Board on 14 November 2023.
Richard Richards – Beach Energy Director
Dr Peter Moore
LEAD INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
PhD, BSc (Hons), MBA, GAICD
Dr Moore has over 40 years of oil and gas industry experience. His career commenced at the Geological Survey of Western Australia, with subsequent appointments at Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd, Esso Australia, ExxonMobil and Woodside. Dr Moore joined Woodside as Geological Manager in 1998 and progressed through the roles of Head of Evaluation, Exploration Manager Gulf of Mexico, Manager Geoscience Technology Organisation and Vice President Exploration Australia.
From 2009 to 2013, Dr Moore led Woodside’s global exploration efforts as Executive Vice President Exploration. In this capacity, he was a member of Woodside’s Executive Committee and Opportunities Management Committee, a leader of its Crisis Management Team, Head of the Geoscience function and a director of ten subsidiary companies.
From 2014 to 2018, Dr Moore was a Professor and Executive Director of Strategic Engagement at Curtin University’s Business School. He has his own consulting company, Norris Strategic Investments Pty Ltd.
Dr Moore is recognised by the Australian Geoscience Council as a National Geoscience Champion.
Dr Moore is Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and a member of the Technical Committee.
He is also Lead Independent Non-Executive Director. Dr Moore was appointed by the Board on 1 July 2017 and last re-elected to the Board on 16 November 2022.
Dr Peter Moore – Beach Energy Director
Sally-Anne Layman
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
B Eng (Mining) Hon, B Com, CPA, MAICD
Ms Layman is a company director with diverse international experience in the resources sector and financial markets. Previously, Ms Layman held a range of senior positions with Macquarie Group Limited, including as Division Director and Joint Head of the Perth office of the Metals, Mining & Agriculture Division.
Prior to moving into finance, Ms Layman undertook various roles with resource companies including Mount Isa Mines, Great Central Mines and Normandy Yandal. Ms Layman holds a WA First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate of Competency.
Ms Layman is a non-executive director of Imdex Ltd, Chair of the Imdex Ltd Sustainability Committee and Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Ms Layman is also a non-executive director and Chair of the Sustainability Committee and member of the Audit and Risk Committee at PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals Ltd) and a non-executive director and member of the Safety and Sustainability Committee at Newmont Corporation.
Ms Layman holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) Hon from Curtin University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Southern Queensland. Ms Layman is a Certified Practicing Accountant and is a member of CPA Australia Ltd, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chief Executive Women.
Ms Layman is Chair of the Beach Energy Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee. She was appointed to the Board in February 2019 and re-elected to the Board on 16 November 2022.
Sally-Anne Layman – Beach Energy Director
Bruce Clement
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BEng (Civil) Hons, BSc, MBA
Mr Clement has over 40 years of domestic and international energy industry experience. He has managed oil and gas exploration, development and production operations in Australia and Asia and has delivered key projects across these regions and in the UK and US. He also has extensive experience and knowledge of the Perth Basin, including overseeing the discovery of the Waitsia gas field as Managing Director of AWE.
Mr Clement previously held engineering, senior management, and board positions with several companies including Santos, Norwest Energy, AWE, ExxonMobil and Roc Oil. He is currently a non-executive director of Horizon Oil.
Mr Clement holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) Hons and a Bachelor of Science (Maths & Computer Science) from Sydney University and a Masters of Business Administration from Macquarie University.
He was appointed a non-executive director of Beach Energy Limited on 8 May 2023 and elected to the board on 14 November 2023. Mr Clement was appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer from 9 August 2023 to 28 January 2024. He is Chair of the Technical Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Bruce Clement – Beach Energy Director
Sally Martin
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BE (Elec), GAICD
Ms Martin is a former senior executive who held various roles at Shell over a 34-year career. She has extensive operational and business team leadership experience in complex industrial environments including refining and trading.
Ms Martin has strong ESG credentials, including in energy transition strategy development as Vice President Health, Safety, Security, Environment & Social Performance at Shell.
Ms Martin is an independent non-executive director of copper mining company Sandfire Resources and is the senior independent non-executive director of Porvair Plc, a specialist filtration and environmental technology company.
She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from University College Cork, Ireland and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Martin was appointed to the Board on 11 March 2024 and is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Technical Committee.
Sally Martin – Beach Energy Director