About Us
BOARD
Steve Hedges
Appointed 14 March 2016
Steve is currently Senior Vice President Operations – Open Cut. Steve is accountable for the Joint Venture operations of Coppabella, Moorvale, Middlemount & RMIJV, along with Peabody Energy’s Millennium and Wilpinjong mines.
Steve rejoined Peabody in 2008 in the role of Chief Operating Officer for NSW, followed by Chief Operation Officer – Underground, before taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer - Macarthur Coal to lead the transition into the Peabody portfolio.
Prior to rejoining Peabody Steve was General Manager for Open Cut Operations for Anglo Coal in Australia. Before Anglo, Steve held a series of technical and management positions over an 11 year period with Peabody at Warkworth and Moura mines. Steve has formal qualifications in Mining and Surveying, as well as statutory qualifications in Surveying, Open Cut and Underground Coal Mine Management.
Reinhold Schmidt
Appointed 20 September 2013
Reinhold Schmidt was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Yancoal Australia in August 2013. He has over 20 years' experience in the mining industry and was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Xstrata Coal Queensland. Prior to this role, Reinhold was Executive General Manager for the Wandoan project and prior to this, President of the Colombian coal assets of Glencore.
Reinhold is a mining engineer with a Masters degree in Mining Engineering.
Chris Woodward
Appointed 6 March 2013
Chris Woodward has more than 30 years experience in senior financial positions with a number of major engineering, building services and mining businesses.
He started his career with ALSTOM and over 23 years with the company he served in a number of general management and senior finance roles in Europe, Asia, and, most recently in Australia and New Zealand.
Chris currently heads the Corporate Risk Management team at ASX listed Yancoal Australia Limited; as EGM Risk Management and Audit.
Mark Salem
Appointed 1 September 2014
Mark Salem joined Yancoal Australia in April 2014 as General Manager Marketing and Logistics. Mark was appointed as Director of Middlemount in September 2014 and brings to the board an understanding of the various cycles and markets within the international coal seaborne trade environment.
He has over 27 years’ experience in coal marketing and related logistic and commercial functions. Before joining Yancoal, Mark worked for Xstrata for 14 years, his last position being responsible for internationally marketing 14 million tonnes of South African thermal. Prior to that, he held various marketing and commercial positions responsible for the marketing and logistic co-ordination of Xstrata’s Australian coking and thermal coals. In his career he has also worked at BP, Rio Tinto and Savage Resources.
Brock Haas
Appointed 19 December 2019
Brock is currently Vice President – Mine Finance for Peabody’s Australia Business Unit. In this role, he is responsible for the development and execution of the platform’s financial strategy. Key responsibilities include financial analysis, cost analysis, forecasting, budgeting, strategy, JV oversight, capital allocation and M&A.
Brock joined Peabody in 2002 and has held roles in corporate accounting, operations accounting, financial planning & analysis, operations planning and strategy. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant and Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis. Brock holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern Indiana.
Christopher Walker
Appointed 23 July 2019
Christopher S. Walker is Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing Australia for Peabody. He is responsible for Peabody’s marketing functions across the Australia platform as well as U.S. metallurgical export sales.
Mr. Walker joined Peabody in 2007. He has also held roles in Strategy and Global Energy Analytics, Sales and Trade Support, Corporate Treasury, Investor Relations and Supply Chain Management. Prior to joining Peabody, Mr. Walker held finance and accounting positions with Emerson Electric, Georgia Power, KMPG and Arthur Andersen.
Mr. Walker holds a Bachelor of Science degree and master’s degree in Accounting from Clemson University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Peabody is the leading global pure-play company and a member of the Fortune 500, serving power and steel customers in more than 25 countries on six continents. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the iconic ticker symbol BTU. Peabody is guided by seven core values: safety, customer focus, leadership, people, excellence, integrity and sustainability.