Board of Directors

Ryan Stokes

Chairman

Mr Ryan Stokes is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Seven Group Holdings (SGH) and has been an Executive Director of the Company since 2010. He was previously Chief Operating Officer of SGH. Mr Stokes is Chairman of WesTrac, Chairman of Coates, Director of Beach Energy since July 2016, Director of Seven West Media since August 2012. He is Chairman of Boral and a Director since 2020.
Mr Stokes is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Capital Equity Pty Limited. ACE is a private company with its primary investment being an interest in SGH. He was appointed Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia in 2018 and is a member of the IOC Olympic Education Commission.

Mr Stokes was Chairman of the National Library of Australia from 2012 to 2018. He was a member of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council on Veterans Mental Health from 2014 to 2019.
Mr Stokes holds a BCom from Curtin University and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. He was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday honours.

Murray Vitlich

Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director

Murray joined Seven Group Holdings (SGH) in June 2017 as Chief Operating Officer for the Group, working across the portfolio of industrial businesses within SGH.

In this capacity, Murray’s focus is on driving the operational and financial performance of the businesses across the Group portfolio, contributing to the development and delivery of key strategic initiatives for SGH, and supporting Group level relationships with key partners and customers. Murray is a member of the Board of Directors of WesTrac Australia, Coates, SGH Energy and AllightSykes, and previously held senior operational roles at Asciano Limited, UGL Limited and Wesfarmers Limited.

Murray holds a Bachelor of Business, Financial Management and Economics, from the Western Australia Institute of Technology.

Jeff Proctor

Chief Financial Officer

Jeff was appointed Chief Financial Officer in January 2020 and is a member of the Coates Board.

Prior to joining Coates, Jeff has held senior commercial and finance executive roles at large Australian and European listed groups in the industrial and media sectors. Most recently Jeff held the position of Executive General Manager Commercial for Cleanaway Waste Limited, Australia’s leading waste management company. His roles have overseen large investment and business change programs in companies such as Asciano Limited, Brambles Limited, PBL media and Emap plc (UK), with a focus on business growth, strategy, financial and commercial performance. Jeff has also worked in the private equity sector.

Jeff is a chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience and has a Bachelor of Accountancy having started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Richard Richards

Non-Executive Director

Richard Richards is Chief Financial Officer of Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH) since October 2013. He is responsible for Finance across diversified conglomerate (equipment manufacture, sales and service, equipment hire, investments, property, media and oil and gas). Richard 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 and is a member of their Audit and Risk and Safety Committees, he is also a Director of Beach and is a member of their Audit and Risk, Safety and Remuneration Committees and he is also a Director of Flagship Property Holdings. Richard is also a Director of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and a member of their 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 CFO for the Family Operations of LFG, the private investment and philanthropic vehicle of the Lowy Family for two years. Prior to LFG, Mr Richards held senior finance roles at Qantas for over 10 years.

Mr Richards has a Bachelor of Commerce/ Laws (Hons) from Bond University, a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University; and is both a Chartered Accountant and admitted solicitor in NSW. Mr Richards is also 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 child care providers in Australia; and a former member of the Marcia Burgess Foundation Committee (DGR).

Gitanjali Bhalla

Non–Executive Director

Gitanjali Bhalla is an accomplished Business Services and Human Resources leader with over 19 years’ experience across global and Australian professional services firms and corporates.

She has delivered strategic, high-impact solutions in complex and fast paced environments to increase shareholder value in organisations varying in size from 100 to over 50,000 people across up to 70 countries. Currently a Group Executive at Seven Group Holdings Limited, she had a long standing career in consulting at Ernst & Young and more recently held senior businesses services roles at Cushman & Wakefield and UGL Limited. She is Director of the WesTrac Group.

Gitanjali is an Ambassador for Good Return, a not for profit organization committed to empowering women through microfinance.

Robert Cotterill

Non–Executive Director

Robert Cotterill joined Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH) in March 2024 as Chief Operating Officer for the Group, working across the portfolio of businesses within Seven Group Holdings. In this capacity, Robert’s focus is on driving the operational and financial performance of the businesses across the SGH portfolio, driving the development and delivery of key strategic initiatives for SGH, and supporting Group-level relationships with key partners and customers.

Robert is a member of the Board of Directors of WesTrac, Coates and SGH Energy. Prior to joining SGH, Robert was the Executive General Manager Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions at CIMIC. During his time at CIMIC, he held various board director roles overseeing the operational performance and strategic direction, including Director roles at Ventia, Thiess, Nextgen and Metronode.

Robert holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and a Master of Commerce from the University of NSW.