John is a geophysicist (PhD Univ of Wisconsin) with 40 years of experience in leading and managing teams of scientists, engineers and social scientists in natural hazard risk assessment projects and programs. He is currently Senior Advisor at the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, previously serving as GEM Secretary General from 2016 to 2023. From 2000 to 2014 he led the development of an urban risk assessment capability for the Australian government, which evolved to include bush fire, terrorism, tsunami, volcanic eruption, tropical cyclone wind, flooding and sea level rise, and included capacity building programs in multi-hazard risk assessment in partnership with developing countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.