John is currently a Senior Advisor at the GEM Foundation. He was GEM’s Secretary General from February 2016 to July 2023. He previously represented Australia on the GEM Governing Board from 2010 to 2015, serving as Chair from 2013 to 2015. John also served as a member of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Science & Technology Advisory Group from 2012 to 2016. He represents GEM in a number of forums including the Insurance Development Forum, the Resilient Planet Hub, and on global disaster risk reduction initiatives such as with the World Community of Geological Surveys and the UNDRR. John received a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Wisconsin (USA) and subsequently held positions in academia and private industry in the US. In 2000, John relocated with his family to Australia to lead the development of an urban risk assessment capability for the Australian government, which evolved to include bush fire, terrorism, tsunami, volcanic eruption, tropical cyclone wind, flooding and sea level rise. Later, he initiated capacity building programs in multi-hazard risk assessment in partnership with developing countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He has been based in Italy since February 2016, collaborating with GEM.