Our leaders

Tetsu Murayama is Managing Director, Country Chair Australia after taking up the position in April 2023.

Tetsu joined INPEX in 2005 and moved to Australia in June 2019 to take the role of Vice President Corporate before being promoted to Senior Vice President Corporate in September 2020.

Prior to his role in Australia, Tetsu was General Manager Corporate Strategy and Planning at INPEX headquarters in Tokyo.

From 2008 to 2013, Tetsu was the Business Development Manager who delivered several upstream project transactions including the Ichthys LNG Project strategic divestment. He was seconded to Exxon Neftegas Limited, the Operator of the Sakhalin-1 Project, from 2001 to 2007 and based in Houston, Texas.

Tetsu graduated from Waseda University, Tokyo, with a Bachelor of Economics in 1991. In 1997, he received a Master of Science (Management) from the Arthur D. Little School of Management, Cambridge, Massachusetts, currently known as Hult International Business School.

Tetsu is a member of the Japanese Association of Western Australia.

Chris Wilson was appointed Executive Vice President Operations at INPEX in 2023 after joining the company in 2020 as Vice President Operations. 

In this role, Chris leads a large team responsible for managing the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG asset, along with the company’s subsurface, drilling, development projects and supply chain activities.  

Beginning his career as a reservoir engineer, Chris entered the oil and gas industry in 1991 and has three decades’ experience with ConocoPhillips in technical, supervision and leadership roles in Aberdeen, London, Dubai, Anchorage, Houston and Australia. Key roles include leading the organisation’s Corporate Strategy and Planning group and, from 2015, leading its Australia-West business.

Chris holds a Master of Science (Distinction) in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London and a Bachelor of Engineering (first-class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Aberdeen.

Chris is a Director of the INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd Board.

Bill Townsend is Senior Vice President Corporate after taking up the position in 2023. He has held various roles at INPEX, including Joint Venture Manager, General Manager External Affairs, and Vice President Corporate.

In his current role, Bill oversees Corporate Affairs, Finance, Treasury and Technology, and Joint Venture Management functions in Australia, as well as INPEX’s corporate interests in the Northern Territory.

Before joining INPEX in 2006, Bill was a US Navy submarine officer and later worked as a Business Advisor to BP Russia in Moscow. He also held roles with BP in Azerbaijan and Georgia, and was Joint Venture Coordination Manager for the North West Shelf Venture at Woodside Energy.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration from Dartmouth College.

He serves on the boards of the Australian Energy Producers, and the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association. He is also on the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia’s Council of Governors, the executive council of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia and advisory boards of the Starlight Children’s Foundation (WA/NT) and the WA Maritime Museum. Bill actively supports the Committee for Perth.

Takuya Sugawara serves as the Vice President Strategic Planning and Managing Director’s Office, Chief of Staff, supporting the Managing Director and the executive team in developing growth strategies and driving key initiatives. He took on this role in 2025.

Previously, Takuya was General Manager Upstream Business Development at INPEX CORPORATION in Tokyo, focusing on new investment opportunities and mergers and acquisitions in the hydrocarbon sector.

From 2012 to 2024, Takuya held various roles at INPEX Australia, including General Manager Contracts and Procurement, Vice President Supply Chain, Deputy Vice President Growth and Vice President in the Director’s Office.

Before joining INPEX in 2009, he worked at several Japanese government agencies, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with assignments in Tokyo, Paris, and Dhaka.

Takuya graduated from Sophia University Japan with a Bachelor of Law in 1998 and has more than 25 years of project management experience, including 15 years in the energy sector.

Valarie was appointed Vice President HSEQ, Risk and Assurance in 2023. In this role, Valarie leads teams responsible for process and occupational safety, health and hygiene, environment, security, emergency and crisis management, quality, and enterprise risk and assurance.

Valarie has been with INPEX Australia since 2012 in a number of leadership positions including General Manager HSE and Ichthys Operations Performance Development Manager.

Valarie began her career in the resources sector in 1998. She has worked for different organisations in the capacity of owner operator and contractor. From roles at mature multinationals to mid-size companies, Valarie’s experience spans delivering greenfield projects through to working at the front line of operational sites. The diversity of previous roles allows Valarie to lead teams in providing agile and right fit solutions.

Valarie holds a Bachelor of Science in Environment with First Class Honours in microbiology from Murdoch University.

Ian Gordon joined INPEX in 2019 as General Counsel and General Manager Legal and was promoted to General Counsel and Vice President Legal in January 2023.

With more than 25 years of experience in the energy and resources sector, Ian has worked at various top-tier law firms in Australia and Japan such as Hogan Lovells, King and Wood Mallesons, and Baker McKenzie, including as partner. He has also worked in the legal departments of various international corporations and has spent time at the Metal Mining Agency of Japan (now JOGMEC).

In his capacity as a lawyer, Ian has been involved in numerous Australian oil and gas projects, including Pluto, Gorgon, Queensland Curtis LNG, North West Shelf, Browse, and Ichthys LNG and has international experience on projects in Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Mozambique, Thailand, and New Zealand.

He graduated from the Australian National University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Japanese Studies and also received a Graduate Diploma in Energy and Resources Law from the University of Melbourne in 2006. 

Ian is fluent in Japanese and is an active member of both the Energy and Resources Law Association (former WA Branch President) and the Association of International Energy Negotiators.

Chad Calvert is the Vice President of People and Collaboration at INPEX, a role he has held since 2023. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s people strategies, fostering a collaborative culture, and driving initiatives that enhance organisational performance.

Joining INPEX in 2011, Chad has held various leadership positions throughout the development of Ichthys LNG including leading various functions such as Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Global Mobility, Business Services and Integrated Services.

Chad has more than 14 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and six years in the finance sector. He has honed his leadership skills in roles based in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Chad holds a Bachelor of Business and is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association’s People and Culture Advisory Board.

Steve was appointed Vice President Commercial and Energy Transition in January 2025. He is responsible for INPEX’s growth-related business development, decarbonisation and new energy business activities in Australia.

Prior to joining INPEX in August 2022, Steve was Vice President Western Australia for Santos where he was responsible for Santos’ Upstream Business in the state. Prior to that, Steve spent close to 20 years with ConocoPhillips, where he held various roles across Australia and the USA, with responsibility in engineering, operations, commercial, strategy and planning and asset management. He was named interim President of the Australia-West Business Unit in 2020, prior to transferring to Santos as part of the sale by ConocoPhillips of their Australia-West assets to Santos.

Steve holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Curtin University.

Joe was appointed Vice President Operations in 2023 and is responsible for leading the Ichthys LNG Operations team.

Joe has been with INPEX since 2013 and has held a number of leadership roles including Deputy Vice President Operations, General Manager Operations Support and Onshore Engineering Manager.

Prior to joining INPEX, Joe worked for Woodside Energy for nine years in engineering and operations leadership roles within Karratha Gas Plant, Pluto LNG and on floating production offloading facilities. Joe started his career in operational engineering roles in large-scale power generation with Stanwell Corporation and Western Power.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Engineering (first-class Honours) in mechanical engineering and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ken was appointed Vice President Finance, Treasury and Technology in 2022. Prior to this, he was Manager Finance Services and General Manager Treasury.

In his current role, Ken oversees the work of the many functional teams working within INPEX’s finance, treasury and technology departments.

Ken started his career at Japan Bank for International Cooperation before joining INPEX in 2006. In his career at INPEX, he has been involved with oil and gas accounting and tax for INPEX projects primarily in Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi before being in charge of Ichthys LNG and Australia in Tokyo from 2012.

Ken holds a Bachelor of Management and Commerce from Hitotsubashi University and a Master of Finance from London Business School. He also completed a Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law from the Australian Tax Institute.

Ken volunteered as a board member for both the Japanese School in Perth and the Weekend Japanese School in Perth between 2022 and 2024.

Davinder was appointed Vice President Development Projects in January 2023. Prior to that Davinder was Deputy Vice President Development and General Manager for the Ichthys LNG Phase 2a project, joining INPEX in 2017.

In his current role, Davinder overseas the pre-development and development phases (execution and handover to Operations) of INPEX Australia’s development projects. 

Davinder brings 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry having worked with major contractors, consultants and various operators in the North Sea, deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Australia such as Cameron, Halliburton KBR, IntecSea, BP, Shell, Nexen Petroleum, Chevron Australia, Apache Energy and Woodside.

Davinder holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Jodi Huebert is Vice President Supply Chain and is responsible for contracting, procurement, logistics operations, aviation and marine functions.

Jodi commenced at INPEX as General Manager Contracts and Procurement in 2021, transitioning into her current role in 2023.

Prior to joining INPEX, Jodi held strategy and business planning roles at Bombardier Aerospace in Toronto, as well as transformation and procurement leadership roles at downstream oil and gas company Ampol and Pacific National, an Australian national freight rail company.

Originally from Canada, Jodi holds a Bachelor of Mathematics (Honours) from the University of Waterloo, Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master of Business Administration from CIMBA/University of Kansas.

Jack is Vice President Subsurface after taking up the role in 2024.

He joined INPEX in 2022 as General Manager Exploration and Subsurface Evaluation, where he is responsible for INPEX Australia’s exploration programs and subsurface evaluations.

Beginning his career as a geologist, Jack entered the oil and gas industry in 1995 and has since held leadership and senior leadership roles in Australia and internationally, for both Origin Energy and ConocoPhillips. 

During his career, Jack has led exploration, appraisal and early development teams in Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, Turkmenistan and Timor. 

Additionally, he has worked in corporate roles in the USA including leading the Planning and Portfolio Management team for ConocoPhillips’ Global Exploration Group.

He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in geology and has undertaken master’s studies in geophysics from Curtin University. 

Simon was appointed Vice President Drilling in 2024.  Prior to this, he served as INPEX General Manager Drilling from 2020.

In his current role, Simon leads teams responsible for drilling and completion engineering and operations for all exploration, appraisal and development projects in Australia.

Simon entered the oil and gas industry in Scotland in 1990. He has worked for Enterprise Oil, BHP Billiton Premier Oil, Japan Energy, Rialto Energy and Murphy Oil in which he held drilling technical, supervision and leadership roles in Aberdeen, Romania, Italy, Brazil, various parts of West Africa, Vietnam and Australia. 

Simon holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) from Aberdeen University and a Master of Petroleum Engineering from Heriot Watt University.