Asian Investment Conference 2023

As Founder and Executive Chairman, Dr Andrew Forrest has led Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) from its inception 20 years ago to a US$60 billion listed natural resources company that’s invested US$40+ billion developing some of the world’s most efficient infrastructure.

In 2021, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) was established as a developer, financier, and operator of a global portfolio of renewable energy resources to produce green energy at a scale equal to the oil and gas super-majors.

FFI is leading the green industrial revolution, developing technology solutions for hard-to-decarbonise industries, while building a global portfolio of renewable green hydrogen, green ammonia, battery system and zero emission energy projects.

Dr Forrest is recognised as a global leader in the race to real zero, with Fortescue the only mining company to be a founding member of the First Movers Coalition, an ambitious climate initiative launched at COP26 by President of the United States, Joe Biden. Fortescue is also a member of the UN Race to Zero Coalition and a signatory to the Climate Pledge. It is the only heavy industry company in the world to detail a fully costed construction plan to completely remove fossil fuel from its operations.

In 2001, Dr Forrest co-founded Minderoo Foundation with his wife Nicola, and to date they have donated more than $2.7 billion supporting initiatives addressing modern slavery, ocean health, cancer, indigenous disparity, childhood development, artificial intelligence, disaster resilience, and plastic waste. In 2010, Dr Forrest and his daughter Grace created the Minderoo initiative Walk Free. Walk Free is an international human rights group focused on the eradication of modern slavery in all its forms and serves as the secretariat to the Bali Process Government and Business Forum.

Dr Forrest’s investment group, Tattarang, owns Squadron Energy, Australia’s largest renewable energy operator. Tattarang has also committed $500m USD seed funding to the Ukraine Green Growth Initiative, which will rebuild Ukraine with sustainable infrastructure, and is expanding sustainable and carbon- neutral practices within agri-food business Harvest Road.

Dr Forrest has a PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of Western Australia, and serves as an IUCN Patron of Nature, a World Economic Forum Friend of Ocean Action, and a member of the United Nations Environment Program’s Scientific Advisory Committee on the Assessment on Marine Litter and Microplastics.

Dr. Forrest is Co-Chair of the Australia-China Senior Business Leaders’ Forum, a Board Member for the prestigious Boao Forum, Global Patron of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and served as a

Councillor of the Global Citizen Commission charged by the United Nations in 2016 to modernise the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 2017, Dr Forrest was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to philanthropy, mining, employment, and sustainable foreign investment. He is also a recipient of the Australian Sports Medal and the Australian Centenary Medal.