Vanessa Forster is a seasoned mining executive and strategic enabler with 30 years of experience delivering complex projects across mine, rail, and port operations. Her career is defined by a “boots on the ground” ethos and a commitment to translating complexity into clarity through stakeholder engagement.

She brings board level value in strategy, risk, finance, and governance, having stewarded multibillion dollar portfolios, led autonomous transitions, designed decarbonisation roadmaps, and uplifted safety and performance cultures across diverse teams. Vanessa’s leadership style is purpose driven, inclusive and anchored in long term sustainability.

Vanessa offers diversity of thought and lived experience, shaped by her upbringing in the remote Kimberley Region of Western Australia and her journey navigating senior leadership responsibilities alongside family life, including FIFO demands. This background informs a generational mindset focused on systemic optimisation and resilience. She integrates her unique upbringing with deep resource industry expertise to ensure both financial and nonfinancial risks are identified and managed.

• Recipient Executive Women in Resources Scholarship (EWIR)

• Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)

• Bachelor of Science and Engineering (Mining) – University of Ballarat 2006

• Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geology – University of Western Australia 2001

• Senior Site Executive Western Australia – cert 176545-1366085

• Open Cut Manager of Mining Engineering NSW (SSE equivalent) – No. 149