Dr Rob McDonald
Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Advisory Council
Rob is an experienced, senior health and safety resource sector executive, board director and occupational and environmental physician.
Rob was Vice President Health and Hygiene with BHP for more than 11 years until his retirement in December 2022.
In that role Rob was responsible for the development of the company health strategy, providing advice to the Executive Leadership team and Board and was the company representative on the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM), Health and Safety Committee.
He was also a member of the inaugural steering committee for the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health.
Rob counts amongst his key achievements establishing BHP’s mental health strategy. In 2022 BHP was ranked in the top 4 of 100 of the world’s largest companies for its approach to workplace mental health by the CCLA (UK’s largest charity fund manager)
He also led the company’s global response to the COVID pandemic and contributed to global public health policy through BHP funding and co-authoring several publications, including a paper on testing and quarantining in Nature Communications.
Rob’s commitment to occupational and environmental safety for the resource sector workforce resulted in a commitment from the membership of ICMM to address the health effects of diesel exhaust through the establishment of the Initiative for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles, a partnership with original equipment manufacturers that has the ultimate goal of eliminating diesel use in underground mines that will benefit mine workers globally.
Rob was Vice President Health and Hygiene with BHP for more than 11 years until his retirement in December 2022.
In that role Rob was responsible for the development of the company health strategy, providing advice to the Executive Leadership team and Board and was the company representative on the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM), Health and Safety Committee.
He was also a member of the inaugural steering committee for the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health.
Rob counts amongst his key achievements establishing BHP’s mental health strategy. In 2022 BHP was ranked in the top 4 of 100 of the world’s largest companies for its approach to workplace mental health by the CCLA (UK’s largest charity fund manager)
He also led the company’s global response to the COVID pandemic and contributed to global public health policy through BHP funding and co-authoring several publications, including a paper on testing and quarantining in Nature Communications.
Rob’s commitment to occupational and environmental safety for the resource sector workforce resulted in a commitment from the membership of ICMM to address the health effects of diesel exhaust through the establishment of the Initiative for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles, a partnership with original equipment manufacturers that has the ultimate goal of eliminating diesel use in underground mines that will benefit mine workers globally.