“Accidental” 8-year CEO of Geoscience Australia retires, advocates deep time

“Accidental” CEO of Geoscience Australia retires, advocates deep time for leaders

“I feel privileged to have had a career that put me in touch with deep geological time,” reflects James Johnson, the retiring CEO of Geoscience Australia in comments made at his valedictory speech on Thursday, December 12th at Old Parliament House in Canberra.

“I think some familiarity with deep time brings a level of humility. Because of that perspective, you’re less inclined to think of yourself as super important. Your time in any given role, senior or not, is very short,” says Johnson.  

Johnson has served as the science agency’s CEO for eight years and announced his retirement in September. He will continue to serve until a successor is found.

In an often-humorous address to scientists, science communicators and public service members, Johnson recounted his unlikely journey to lead Geoscience Australia, the public sector organisation focused on Earth sciences.

People listening at the old parliament house venue
Dr James Johnson spoke to scientists, leaders, public sector members and science communicators. Credit: contentgroup

As a Canberra kid, he fell into a “dull public servant job” after high school at the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Office. “I processed the same yellow paper form – I can still see it – day in, day out for a year,” recalls Johnson.

At university, a “filler” class on geology suddenly had him hooked. He went on to work for 20 years in the mining and mineral exploration industry, where the immediate relevance – such as finding 30 million dollar’s worth of copper in a month – thrilled him.

In 2006, Johnson overcame his “phobia” of public service when a colleague successfully convinced him to apply for a leadership position at Geoscience Australia.  

“I never sought to solve mega scale problems. I always sort of played the ball in front of me,” says Johnson. “I always really just wanted to make the part that was within my sphere of influence a better place to be.”

“[Geoscience] is a field of work that is often behind the scenes and the impact of it touches every aspect of our lives.

“From the minerals that power our technology, to the water that we drink, the work we do at Geoscience Australia enables us to use these finite resources responsibly and sustainably.”

Johnson articulates several examples of geoscience “contextualising existential problems” – such as bush fires, drought and climate change – and offering solutions in the form of early warning systems, groundwater maps and mineral extraction for clean energy.

“Science offers the opportunity to put evidence at the center of decision making,” says Johnson. “It enables policies to be informed not by short termism, but by long term physical realities.”

People listening at the old parliament house venue, view from back of the room
The Institute of Public Administration Australia Valedictory speech occurred at Old Parliament House, Canberra. Credit: contentgroup

Near the end of his speech, Johnson outlines the work of the Geoscience Australia’s Space division using navigation satellites to improve GPS positioning, an innovation that supports everyday use of GPS by smart phone users as well as safer aviation and precision agriculture.

Johnson also celebrates Geoscience Australia’s recent involvement in Landsat Next satellite program, an international collaboration with NASA and the United States Geological Survey. The program will improve satellite-imagery maps of Earth’s surface and will support the “immensely powerful” ability to view georeferenced images in time series.

“It’s incredible stuff… with the satellite augmentation, it’s world leading and without the geodetic framework maintained by Geoscience Australia, none of it would work.” 

A people-centric legacy

Johnson mentioned cultural change Geoscience Australia has initiated in recent years, resulting in Geoscience Australia to be recognized by Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE), a program that helps Australian institutions achieve systemic change for diversity and inclusion.

“There’s no organizational imperative that is more important than people,” concludes Johnson. “Good leadership, whether you’re working in a mine or at a science agency, whether you’re leading just one person or an entire organization, is putting people at the centre and creating environments for them to thrive.”

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