Executive Leadership Team

Stephen Gobby

Stephen is leading and supporting GMA as it pursues significant business growth through the full development of its international garnet resources and expands it’s market footprint globally.

Appointed as CEO in 2015, Stephen brought his wealth of business and leadership experience to the job. This allows him to maintain strong relationships with our current valued customers and stakeholders while leading GMA’s future growth and global business development.  He works to meet these goals while maintaining the caring culture GMA has fostered as an entrepreneurial, private business enterprise.

Prior to GMA, Stephen has been a senior executive for Emeco Group in Australia for more than 10 years. He has experience across mining, mining services, energy and infrastructure, operating in markets including Australia, North America, South East Asia, and South America.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia.  He has attended the Breakthrough Programme for Senior Executives by IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Grant Cox

Grant is responsible for the ongoing stewardship of GMA’s financial performance and position as well as the management of day-to-day operations within the finance division.

Grant oversees the management of the Group’s treasury function, management reporting, financial reporting, taxation and business systems, and works to improve decision support systems through analytics that inform business initiatives.

Prior to joining GMA in 2015, he worked in the Corporate Finance and Restructuring divisions of Ernst & Young on a wide range of clients and industries. Grant’s analytical, commercial, and financial experience gained during his time in corporate advisory is invaluable for GMA as the Group pursues its growth strategy.

Grant holds a Masters in Professional Accounting degree with high distinction and two Graduate Diplomas for Applied Finance and Chartered Accounting. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA).

Andreas Höfner

Andreas heads up a team of 31 sales, marketing, purchasing and logistics professionals focused on serving GMA’s European market for waterjet cutting and surface preparation industry.

In addition, he manages customer accounts and maintains close business relations with members of GMA’s worldwide supply chain.

As one of the pioneer GMA employees in Europe, Andreas joined the Group in 1991 and has more than 30 years of experience in blasting, coating, sales and overall operational management to his role. He began his career at Hempel Paints in Germany, where he apprenticed and later served as Sales Manager, with a focus on shipyard and marine new-build accounts.

Giresh Raghoowanshi

Giresh leads the team that supports GMA’s business in the Middle East. He oversees all aspects of customer and supplier relationships, and provides management to ensure excellence in all aspects of GMA’s operations in the region.

Giresh has been with GMA for over 18 years. In 1999, he began work with GMA as an Administration Manager in Dubai. Since 2006, he has served as General Manager, responsible for sales, business development, supplier relationships, and plant operation activities.

After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree at RJ College, Bombay, Giresh began his career as Accounts Assistant with British Home Store (BHS), the largest British chain of departmental stores in Abu Dhabi in 1989. He was soon promoted to Branch Manager.

Two years later, Giresh joined the Operations Management team in Omarzay Group, an Afghan-based trading company based in Dubai. While there, he was responsible for all aspects of sales, marketing, and the development and maintenance of customer and supplier relationships.

Iain Simpson

Iain is responsible for leading GMA's Sales and business development activities across all markets in the Asia Pacific region. He joined the Group in 2017 and brings a wealth of experience in sales, marketing and business development across a range of industrial sectors.

Prior to joining GMA, Iain worked for Orica - the world’s largest explosives supplier to the mining industry for six years.  As a Regional Manager, he was responsible for the delivery of explosives, cyanide, and related services to mining companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue Metals, and Newmont and Mining Contractors - MACA and Barminco.

Additionally, he has also held senior positions in Corporate Strategy, General Management, and Sales & Marketing for nine years with global paint and coating manufacturer Dulux.

Iain holds a Master of Business Administration degree and Graduate Diploma in Business and Marketing. He has also completed an Executive Development Program at INSEAD in Singapore.

Michael Kirkpatrick

Michael oversees three core functions of the Group; namely, Human Resources (HR), Safety, and Legal.  He is an experienced executive in the areas of HR and Safety and is also a corporate lawyer. Michael came on board in 2015.

Prior to GMA, Michael was employed as Company Secretary and Legal Counsel at Matrix Composites & Engineering - a company that manufactures advanced composite and polymer materials and provides integrated engineering services to the oil & gas industry.  He has also served as Executive General Manager, Corporate Services for Emeco – a company that provides mining equipment in Australia, Indonesia, Chile and North America.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Economics from The University of Western Australia, and Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Murdoch University. He is admitted to practice as a lawyer in Western Australia.

Paul Ferguson

Paul joined the Group in early 2019 and is responsible for our global mining operations – including Australia and North America, and resource planning and development for GMA.

Prior to GMA, Paul has worked in various management and senior roles in mining, technical, oil and gas and commercial for Exxon Coal Minerals Australia, Mobil Oil Australia, Exxon Mobil in Singapore and Thailand, and Imperial Oil – Canada. He was instrumental in establishing the mining operations for the Kearl Oil Sands project  in Alberta, Canada.

In his early career, Paul was with BHP Iron Ore and BHP Coal in large scale mining operations in Australia for six years. A mining engineer with over 30 years of experience, Paul brings a wealth of mining and commercial experience across technical and operations disciplines covering mines, oil refineries, crude oil supply operations, project management and commercial operations.

Paul holds an engineering degree from the University of Ballarat and a post graduate diploma in applied finance and investment through the Securities Institute of Australia. He also holds executive qualifications from INSEAD in Singapore and the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, USA.

Peta Thompson

Peta leads our global marketing, branding, and communications initiatives across the Group. She is a highly experienced professional who specialises in the development of marketing strategy. She joined GMA in 2016.

Prior to GMA, Peta worked with BP for 18 years, where her most recent position was Marketing Manager for BP Turkey. She was responsible for consumer and business marketing to drive sales across 800 service stations.  Peta also led developments to leverage BP’s sponsorship for global events and assessed new marketing opportunities and strategic partnerships to enhance and differentiate BP’s customer experience.

Peta began her career as a Mechanical Engineer at BP’s Kwinana Refinery.  She worked in various professional roles before being appointed UK Fuels Marketing Manager. Next, she spent seven years as Global Brand and Communications Manager for BP Fuels.  During this time, she led the initiation of the company’s global fuel strategy, developing key product scenarios to focus strategy and technology developments.

Peta holds a MBA, a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and a Bachelor of Engineering. She has also completed Executive Development programs at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in the USA and Cranfield University School of Management in the United Kingdom.

Rod Liebeck

Rod oversees all aspects of management, supervision, and leadership of GMA’s processing, distribution and sales in Americas.  

In 1992, he joined GMA as Commercial Manager. Six years later, Rod left his position at GMA to pursue his own business interests in Pemberton, Western Australia. Thirteen years later, he returned to GMA as Group Commercial Manager to provide commercial leadership and support to the Group’s operations worldwide.

In his various roles, he has built capacity, across operations, finance, sales & business development that allow him to lead the business in the Americas.

Rod holds a double major in Accounting & Finance and was the Group Accountant for Ashton Mining Corporation prior to joining GMA.

Soni John

Soni joined GMA in 2005, and was promoted to General Manager at Garnet Arabia Company – a GMA joint venture – in 2009. Today, he heads the operation of the leading garnet abrasive supplier in the Saudi region.

Soni began his career in 1998, working in Marketing & Sales for Al Kaabi Contracting & Trading Company, a civil contracting and trading company in Doha. During that time, GMA abrasives were part of his product portfolio, as his employer was the sole distributor for GMA in the state of Qatar.  

Seven years later, in 2005, Soni joined GMA Garnet Middle East as a Sales Manager in Jebel Ali, Dubai.  In 2007, he was promoted to the position of Business Development Manager at the newly-formed Garnet Arabia Company. In 2009, Soni was promoted to General Manager.

Soni holds an MBA in International Business, a Masters Diploma in Business Administration majoring in Marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.