Rod Barnett

Rod Barnett has experience in management, education, training and organizational change in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ghana, Indonesia, U.S.A. and Brazil. After working in student leadership training in Brazil in 1982, he returned to South Africa and taught in a secondary school for three years. Rod then spent three years setting up and managing a change and development program with students and young adults in a troubled Black township outside Johannesburg. During the 1980's and early 1990's he was involved in other development work with people from disadvantaged communities in South Africa. This included work with anti-apartheid organizations and liaison with international embassies and businesses. For seven years Rod was the Human Resources Development Manager for all the South African operations of a multi-national pharmaceutical company. This role included accountabilities related to training, industrial relations, personnel issues, and social justice. He was seconded to a project team that led major changes across the whole organization during a year long productivity improvement program. During this time he also worked extensively with non-profit and non-government organisations. Following this he established Salient Consulting which has provided services to a wide range of organizations in numerous countries. In seeking to bring about changes in organizations, and in various parts of South African society during a crucial period, he gained experiences that have been widely applicable in organizations seeking to make significant changes as they create the right environment to develop more effective teams. Rod holds degrees and post-graduate qualifications in the Arts, Education and Theology from the University of Witwatersrand and the University of South Africa. He also holds an honours degree in Organisational Psychology. He has worked in association with a number of local and international consultancies. Rod is an associate of longstanding with Macdonald Associates Consultancy (U.K.) and makes use of the M.A.C. Systems Leadership models in his work with organisations. Clients have included: Rio Tinto Coal Australia, Pacific National, Phillips Fox, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Palabora Copper (South Africa), Hamersley Iron (W.A.), Queensland Alumina, Centre for Appropriate Technology (Alice Springs), Desert Knowledge CRC, McDermott Aboriginal Foundation, Kaiser Aluminium (U.S.A.), Auscott (Cotton farmers NSW), Kaltim Prima Coal (Indonesia), Very Special Kids (Victoria), Northparkes Mine (NSW), Caltex NSW, Tomago Aluminium (NSW), U.S.Borax (California), Douglas Project (BHPB Illawarra Coal) Valco Aluminium (Ghana), Dept of Education Training and Arts (FNQ), Port Kembla Coal Terminal, One Steel, CSR Sugar, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.