Equipment for Hire
Equipment for Hire
Engineering Solutions
Engineering Solutions
Industrial Solutions
Industrial Solutions
Power & HVAC
Power & HVAC
Board of Directors
Ryan Stokes
Chairman
Murray Vitlich
Chief Executive Officer,
Executive Director
Jeff Proctor
Chief Financial Officer,
Executive Director
Richard Richards
Non-Executive Director
Gitanjali Bhalla
Non-Executive Director
Robert Cotterill
Non-Executive Director
Ryan Stokes
Chairman
Ryan Stokes AO is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Seven Group Holdings (SGH) and has been an Executive Director of the Company since 2010. He was previously Chief Operating Officer of SGH from 2012 until 2015.
Mr Stokes is Chairman of Coates, WesTrac and Boral, and Director of Beach Energy and Seven West Media. He was a Director of Seven Network Limited from 2005 and Executive Director and then Chairman of Pacific Magazines from 2004 until 2008. He was previously a Director of Yahoo7 from 2006 until 2013.
Mr Stokes is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Capital Equity Pty Limited, a private company with its primary investment being an interest in SGH.
Mr Stokes is Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia and was Chairman of the National Library of Australia. He was a member of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council on Veterans’ Mental Health and was a member of the IOC Olympic Education Commission.
Mr Stokes holds a BCom from Curtin University and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management (FAIM). He was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2020.
Murray Vitlich
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director
Murray Vitlich joined Seven Group Holdings (SGH) in June 2017 as Chief Operating Officer, working across the portfolio of industrial businesses. In July 2019, Mr Vitlich was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Coates. He is a Director of Coates and was formerly a Director of SGH Energy, WesTrac and AllightSykes.
Prior to joining SGH, Mr Vitlich held senior executive operational roles at Asciano Limited, where he was initially the Director, Business Development & Strategy before being made the Managing Director of Patrick Ltd, one of Australia’s leading stevedoring and terminal operators.
From 2007 to 2008, Mr Vitlich was the Chief Operating Officer at UGL Limited and spent 15 years with Wesfarmers Limited, where he worked in a variety of operational areas including railroads, forestry and hardware retailing, as well as spending time in Wesfarmers Business Development group covering corporate strategy and mergers & acquisitions.
Mr Vitlich holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance).
Jeff Proctor
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Proctor was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Coates in January 2020 and is a Director of Coates.
Prior to joining Coates, Mr Proctor held senior commercial and finance executive roles at large Australian and European listed groups in the industrial and media sectors. Most recently, Mr Proctor held the position of Executive General Manager Commercial for Cleanaway Waste Limited, Australia’s leading waste management company.
His roles have overseen large investment and business change programs in companies such as Asciano Limited, Brambles Limited, PBL media and Emap plc (UK), with a focus on business growth, strategy, financial and commercial performance. Mr Proctor has also worked in the private equity sector.
Mr Proctor is a chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience and has a Bachelor of Accountancy, having started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Richard Richards
Non-Executive Director
Richard Richards is Chief Financial Officer of SGH .
Mr Richards is a Director of SGH Energy and is a Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of WesTrac and Coates. He is a Director of Boral and is a member of their Audit and Risk and Safety Committees, a Director of Beach and a member of their Audit and Risk, Safety and Remuneration Committees, and a Director of Flagship Property Holdings.
Mr Richards joined SGH in 2013 from Downer EDI, where he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer responsible for group finance across the company for three years. Prior to joining Downer EDI, Mr Richards was CFO for the Family Operations of LFG, the private investment and philanthropic vehicle of the Lowy Family for two years. Prior to that, Mr Richards held senior finance roles at Qantas for over 10 years.
Mr Richards holds a Bachelor of Commerce/Law (Hons), a Master of Laws (Hons) and a Master of Applied Finance (Hons). He is a Chartered Accountant and an Admitted Solicitor.
Gitanjali Bhalla
Non–Executive Director
Gitanjali Bhalla joined SGH in October 2017 and is Chief People Officer responsible for human resources, culture and safety across the Group. Ms Bhalla is also a Director of Coates and WesTrac.
Ms Bhalla has significant experience leading and delivering strategy and business transformational change in large organisations. Prior to joining SGH, Ms Bhalla spent a number of years consulting to private and publicly listed companies at Ernst & Young, both in Australia and overseas, before holding senior executive roles at UGL and Cushman & Wakefield.
Ms Bhalla is an Ambassador for Good Return, a not-for-profit organisation committed to empowering women through microfinance. Ms Bhalla is also on the Board of Carriageworks.
Ms Bhalla holds a BA, LL.B. (Hons) and has a Master of International Business (MIB). She is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Robert Cotterill
Non–Executive Director
Robert Cotterill joined SGH in March 2024 as Chief Operating Officer for the Group, working across the portfolio of businesses within Seven Group Holdings.
In this capacity, Mr Cotterill’s focus is on driving the operational and financial performance of the businesses across the SGH portfolio, driving the development and delivery of key strategic initiatives for SGH, and supporting Group-level relationships with key partners and customers.
Mr Cotterill is a member of the Board of Directors of Coates, WesTrac and SGH Energy.
Prior to joining SGH, Mr Cotterill was the Executive General Manager Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions at CIMIC. During his time at CIMIC, he held various board director roles overseeing the operational performance and strategic direction, including Director roles at Ventia, Thiess, Nextgen and Metronode.
Mr Cotterill holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and a Master of Commerce from the University of NSW.