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John W.H. Denton

Partner & Chief Executive Officer
Melbourne

John has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most progressive legal CEOs.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is one of Australia's top ten law firms. The firm’s history spans over 150 years. Corrs has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Corrs represents a wide range of corporate, commercial and government clients. From global leaders to emerging start-ups, Corrs counts among its major clients some of Australia's largest privately owned and listed companies, foreign owned companies based in Asia, as well as a number of the top ASX 200, Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies.

John also leads the firm’s trade and labour law practice. John has represented major companies across a range of industries including energy, aviation, finance, telecommunications, hospitality, manufacturing and food processing.

John is a former diplomat, with extensive international negotiating experience in East Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and the United Nations. His duties have included economic and political analysis, trade and treaty negotiations in Moscow, work on aid policy, trade promotion and policy and protection in South Asia and evacuation of Australian hostages, personnel and property in Baghdad during the Gulf crisis. John was a specialist adviser on public international law in the Foreign Affairs’ Legal Division and worked specifically at the United Nations New York on the development of the Law of the Sea Convention, and participated extensively in UNCTAD related activities.

In demand both for his legal and commercial experience, John is active in leadership roles for a number of commercial, government and humanitarian groups including:

  • Chairman, ABAC's Sustainable Development Working Group
  • Board Member, Arts Centre Foundation
  • Member, APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
  • Asia Pacific Taskforce Chair and Australian representative, International Employment Law Alliance
  • Board Member, Asia Society Australasia Centre
  • Deputy Chair of Australia Council for the Arts
  • Chair, Australia for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency)
  • Councillor, Australian Business Arts Foundation
  • Participant, Australian American Leadership Dialogue
  • Board Member, Best Lawyers Advisory Board
  • Board Member, Business Council of Australia
  • Chairman, Global Engagement Taskforce, Business Council of Australia
  • Board Member, Centre for Australian and NZ Studies (Georgetown University)
  • Board Member, Commonwealth Business Council
  • Chairman, Experts Group on Trade and Investment in Indonesia
  • Alumnus, Harvard Business School
  • Member and Councillor, International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC)
  • Board Member, LEK Consulting Advisory Board
  • Deputy Chair, Melbourne International Arts Festival
  • Business Member, Trade Advisory Council




Contact John W.H. Denton

Tel +61 3 9672 3158

Click here to email John W.H. Denton

Expertise

Sector Focus

Recent Publications

Additional Information

  • G20 role needs greater clarification
  • Opinion piece by John Denton in the Australian Financial Review (22/02/2010) addresses the need for greater clarification of the G20’s role and responsibilities and how these changes may affect Australia.
  • Profile of John Denton and Lindsay Fox in The Age
  • Corrs CEO John Denton and trucking magnate Lindsay Fox are profiled together in The Age (13/02/10) on their long-standing business relationship and recent work at APEC’s Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting in Melbourne.
  • Real trade reform begins after Doha
  • Opinion piece by John Denton in the Australian Financial Review (6/10/2009) comments on the World Trade Organisation's Doha round and suggests that Australia needs a trade strategy that looks beyond Doha.
  • G20 the right body for economic leadership
  • Opinion piece by John Denton in The Age (29/9/2009) welcoming the decision by world leaders to make the G20 the primary global economic forum.
  • Speech at the ReGenerating Communities conference
  • Speech given by John Denton at the ReGenerating Communities conference in Melbourne on 2 September 2009 in his role as Deputy Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts.