Ian Kemish

Kemish joined the private sector in 2013, taking on different leadership roles in the internationally focused resource sector, located in Washington and then Melbourne. In March 2020 he retired from the position of Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Newcrest Mining Limited where he had global accountability for sustainability, government and community relations, communications and human resources across Newcrest's jurisdictions in Australia, the Asia Pacific and the Americas. He oversaw Newcrest's adoption of an overarching sustainability framework, greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and new biodiversity protection standards [1].

Kemish's 25-year diplomatic career included service as Head of the Australian Prime Minister's International Division from 2004 to 2005, Australian Ambassador to Germany and Switzerland from 2006 to 2009, and Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea from February 2010 to March 2013.

Kemish was awarded membership of the Order of Australia for his leadership of Australia's emergency response to the 2002 Bali bombings, in his capacity as head of the Australian consular service and chair of the Inter-Departmental Emergency Task Force. His time as head of the consular service also included the September 11 attacks in the United States and a range of other high profile crises and individual cases. </ref>

Kemish was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his leading role in the Australian government's international task force that responded to the 2002 Bali bombings.

He served earlier as Head of the Southeast Asia and Consular Divisions at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and in several other embassies in the Indo Pacific and Europe. Ian Kemish worked as a diplomat in Bosnia and other countries of former Yugoslavia during the conflict of the mid-1990s.

Ian Kemish, AM (born 1961) is an Australian author, international relations specialist and not-for-profit chair. He is a former senior diplomat and business executive. During his career with the Australian Government he served as Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Australian ambassador to Germany, head of the consular and Southeast Asia Divisions of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and head of the Prime Minister's International Division. As of 2022 he is adjunct professor in History at the University of Queensland and co-founder of international strategic advisory firm Forridel. His book The Consul, released in July 2022, provides an insider account on more than 20 years of international crisis management by the Australian consular service.