Royal Australian Mint CEO steps down after ten years

Ross MacDiarmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Australian Mint (the Mint), today announced that
after ten years at the helm he will be leaving the Mint on 4 December 2020.

As the first Mint CEO with a private sector background, the transformation the Mint has gone through under Ross’ leadership has been extraordinary. Drawing on his experiences in leading a number of corporate transformations in Melbourne and his work in the Public Sector, in both tourism and business development in Canberra, have given Ross the experience needed to transform the Mint into a high performing business and a well-recognised National Cultural Institution.

RAM’s CEO leaving – ROSS MACDIARMID

Excellent results of RAM under MacDiarmid’s leadership

Under his leadership the Mint has become a substantial commercial enterprise, with a RONA of > 28% and a very strong balance sheet. International and domestic sales revenue has grown from $25 million in 2010 to $100 million in 2019, successfully offsetting slowing demand for circulating coins.

As an important cultural and tourism destination, visitation has grown from 180,000 to over 360,000 under Ross’ leadership. In that time, the Mint has won multiple awards including; national engineering, export awards, international product awards, as well as tourism and safety awards.

In commenting on his time at the Mint Ross said:

“It has been an absolute privilege to lead the Mint through such a transformative program. I want to thank the staff for trusting me that we could deliver, and in fact have delivered on a shared vision of becoming a world class leader in the minting world. I also want to thank The Treasury and the Federal Government for trusting that we could adopt the private sector modus operandi by focusing on optimising shareholder value while still significantly enhancing the reputation and the brand of the Royal Australian Mint, now reflected in very positive national awareness and a net promotor score that would be the envy of many organisations”. 

The Chair of the Advisory Board, Russell Miller AM, said on that purpose:

“Under Ross’ leadership, all of the complex challenges faced by the Mint as a Commonwealth manufacturing enterprise with a strong cultural and tourism role have been successfully met. The Mint has also developed new market opportunities. Ross has significantly enhanced the Mint’s reputation internationally. It is a much stronger organisation and institution today thanks to Ross’ leadership. We thank him and wish him well for the next chapter in his career”. 

A search to find a replacement will commence in the coming days.

Sources: RAM and NUMISMAG.