Senior Leadership Team
To ensure global co-ordination of operations, research and development, and manufacturing, the management of James Hardie is overseen by a Senior Leadership Team. Its members cover the key areas of fibre cement research and development, production, manufacturing, sales, human resources, investor relations, finance and legal. Team members (in alphabetical order) are:

• Peter Baker, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific
• Russell Chenu, Chief Financial Officer 
• Robert Cox, General Counsel and Company Secretary
• Mark Fisher, Vice President - Research & Development
• Louis Gries, Chief Executive Officer
• Grant Gustafson, Vice President - Interiors & Business Development
• Brian Holte, Vice President - General Manager Western Division
• Nigel Rigby, Vice President - General Manager Eastern Division

Peter W Baker  BSc, MSc, MBA, FAICD
Executive Vice President Asia Pacific
Age 57


Peter Baker joined James Hardie in October 2004 as General Manager External Affairs, was made Executive Vice President Australia in September 2005 and promoted to Executive Vice President Asia Pacific in February 2008. In May 2008, he assumed interim responsibility for the company's Investor and Media Relations. Mr Baker has been Chairman of the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund Limited (Trustee of AICF) since January 2006.

He has been involved in various aspects of the resolution of James Hardie’s asbestos compensation matters and his current role includes overseeing James Hardie's operations in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

Mr Baker is an experienced corporate executive who has held a number of senior positions in Australian public and private companies, including the MIA Group, the Tenix Group and TNT Ltd. In a number of these senior roles he was responsible for formulating corporate strategy, new market expansions in Australia and overseas and mergers and acquisitions. 

He has a Bachelor of Science with first class honours from the University of Leicester, UK; a Master of Science in Operational Research with distinction from the London School of Economics, UK; and an MBA from the University of Chicago, USA, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Russell Chenu  BCom, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Age 58


Russell Chenu joined James Hardie as Interim CFO in October 2004 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in February 2005. He was elected to the company's Managing Board by CUFS holders at the 2005 AGM held in Amsterdam on 22 August 2005.

Mr Chenu is an experienced corporate and finance executive who has held senior finance and management positions with a number of Australian publicly-listed companies.

In a number of these senior roles, he has been engaged in significant strategic business planning and business change, including several turnarounds, new market expansions and management leadership initiatives.

Mr Chenu has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australia. 

Robert Cox BA, MA, JD
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Age 54


Robert Cox commenced as James Hardie's General Counsel in January 2008. He joined the company’s Managing Board as an Executive Director and as Company Secretary effective 7 May 2008.

Before joining James Hardie, Mr Cox was Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary with PepsiCo Inc. During his five years with PepsiCo, Mr Cox was responsible for corporate governance and Sarbanes-Oxley/New York Stock Exchange compliance, and managed the corporate law group and the office of Corporate Secretary for the Board of Directors.

His experience also includes 10 years as a partner of the international law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP, at offices in Asia and California, where he led the business and transactions practice group in corporate governance, corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, financial services, real estate, tax and strategic technology transactions.

Mr Cox has a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, California; and a Master of Arts from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, specialising in International Economics, European Studies, and American Foreign Policy.

Mark Fisher  BSc, MBA
Vice President - Research & Development
Age 38


Mark Fisher joined James Hardie in 1993 as a Production Engineer. Since then, he has worked for the company as Finishing Manager, Production Manager and Product Manager at various locations; Sales and Marketing Manager; and as General Manager of our Europe Fibre Cement business. Mr Fisher was appointed Vice President - Specialty Products in November 2004, then Vice President Research & Development in December 2005. In February 2008, his role was expanded to cover Engineering & Process Development, Pipes and XLD^TM Trim.

Before joining James Hardie, Mr Fisher worked in engineering for Chevron Corporation. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Southern California, USA. 

Louis Gries  BSc, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Age 54


Louis Gries joined James Hardie as Manager of the Fontana fibre cement plant in California in February 1991 and was appointed President of James Hardie Building Products (Inc) in December 1993. Mr Gries became Executive Vice President Operations in January 2003, responsible for operations, sales and marketing in our pipes and fibre cement businesses in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.

He was appointed Interim CEO in October 2004 and was made CEO in February 2005. Mr Gries was elected to the company's Managing Board by CUFS holders at the 2005 AGM held in Amsterdam on 22 August 2005.

Before he joined James Hardie, Mr Gries worked for 13 years for USG Corp, in a variety of roles in Research, Plant Quality and Production, Product and Plant Management. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, USA and an MBA from California State University in Long Beach, California USA. 

Grant Gustafson  BA, MBA
Vice President - Interiors and Business Development 
Age 46

Grant Gustafson joined James Hardie as Vice President of Interiors and Business Development in April 2006. During fiscal year 2008, his role was expanded to cover Marketing, Europe and IT.

Before joining James Hardie, Mr Gustafson held various consulting and consulting management positions with Bain & Company and Arthur D Little. In addition, Mr Gustafson held senior management positions in the commercial building products sector with American Buildings Company and Varco-Pruden. He has lived and worked in the US, Australia and Asia. 

Mr Gustafson has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara, USA, and an MBA from the University of Chicago, USA. 

Brian Holte BS, MBA
Vice President - General Manager Western Division 
Age 42

Brian Holte joined James Hardie as Vice President - General Manager Western Division in March 2007. Prior to joining James Hardie, Brian spent 17 years with Rockwell Automation, a global leader in power, control, and information solutions for the manufacturing and infrastructure business sectors.  During his time at Rockwell Automation, Brian gained extensive experience in sales, industry marketing, business development, sales leadership and regional management.  

Brian holds a  Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Wisconsin,Stout, USA and an MBA from the University of Southern California, USA.  

Nigel Rigby
Vice President - General Manager Eastern Division
Age 41
 

Nigel Rigby joined James Hardie in 1998 as a Planning Manager for our New Zealand business. He has worked as Sales and Marketing Manager and Product Development Manager for the New Zealand business; Strategic Marketing Manager for our Australian business; and Business Development Manager and Vice President Exterior Sales - Emerging Markets. In November 2004, Mr Rigby was appointed Vice President - Emerging Markets, and in 2006 he was named Vice President - General Manager Northern Division. In November 2008, he became Vice President - General Manager of the newly-formed Eastern Division, which incorporates the former Northern and Southern Division markets and plants. 

Before joining James Hardie, Mr Rigby held various management positions at Fletcher Challenge, a New Zealand-based company involved in energy, pulp and paper, forestry and building materials.