Biography: Corporate Governance

John is a partner in Australian law firm Gilbert + Tobin, in the corporate advisory group and has been with the firm since 1995.

John has advised on many of Australia's high profile transactions. He has been recognised as a leading lawyer in corporate governance, capital markets, in mergers and acquisitions and in private equity in a range of industry guides. He has advised on transactions which were, at the time: Australia's largest successful merger – the merger of Westpac and St George Bank; Australia's largest private equity deal – KKR's acquisition of Brambles Australia; and Australia's largest float – the IPO of Qantas.

He regularly advises on mergers and acquisition transactions, private equity deals and capital markets issues. He also regularly advises on corporate governance issues. Recent transactions include: Westpac – the A$47 billion merger of Westpac with St George Bank; NSW government – the privatisation of the state lotteries; GrainCorp – the proposed US$2 billion merger with AWB Ltd; Alinta: the US$2.7 billion lender led de-leveraging solution.

John is former chair of the corporate and M&A committee of the International Bar Association (the world's leading organisation of international lawyers) and a member of the investment committee of the private equity fund, Crescent Capital Partners. He was also listed in IFLR 1000 2010 edition as a leading lawyer in the area of mergers and acquisitions. In 2011 John was listed in Best Lawyers as a leading lawyer in financial institutions, equity capital markets, leveraged buyouts and private equity.