Meet the leader: Katie Charuga, Director of Operations - Northern Hub (Port, Rail and Services), Fortescue

From a background in healthcare and communications to a mine operations leadership role, Katie Charuga has built a successful career leveraging her diverse skill set and sharing her passion for a positive and safe working culture.

We sat down with Katie in the lead up to our final Thought Leadership Series 2024 webinar on ‘Striking the balance between safety and productivity’. Katie shares insights into her professional achievements and offers advice for those interested in a career in resources.

Fortescue is a Signature Partner of the 2024 Thought Leadership Series.

Sign up for free to be among the first to access the final TLS 2024 webinar, which will be released online on 7 October.

Please tell us about your career journey – what drew you to a career in the resources sector?

I had never really planned for a career in the sector. My background is in project management and business improvement in healthcare in the UK. I also have a communications degree, so the last place I imagined I would have a fulfilling and diverse career path was the resources industry!

After moving back to WA from working abroad I was attracted to the resources sector for its diverse range of careers on offer. I joined Fortescue almost 15 years ago in the Risk and Safety team. With my healthcare and communications background, it was a good fit as I had a passion for the health and safety of people. From corporate safety, I transitioned to the role of site-based Safety Manager at our Port and Rail Operations. At the time I was the youngest female manager in operations, a title I took seriously in growing the diversity of our operations.

I moved into an operations role and became Rail Operations Manager. I loved running our rail operations and working with the team to embed a positive and safe culture in an efficient operating environment.

After seven years in leadership roles at our Hedland Operations, I became General Manager of Hedland and later Eliwana, our brand new mine, where the team and I built a successful operations environment from the ground up. From there I moved to General Manager at our Solomon mine and after a break to welcome my daughter, I returned to work as the Director of Operations for the Northern Hub. I have a wide and diverse portfolio here, including being back overseeing our Port and Rail Operations, as well as Drilling, Energy Operations and Villages and Aerodromes across our mine sites.

With your experience working in health services in the UK, what learnings have you taken from that sector into mining?

My experience in business improvement in the health sector in the UK has been really helpful in my mining career, particularly in areas of safety, risk management, coaching and influencing and, believe it or not, efficiencies in operations! Working in the National Health Service we had to squeeze every ounce of efficiency and capacity with little capital funding.

It provided a good foundation for overseeing process improvement across the business to improve output. My passion for the health and safety of our teams has translated into a commitment to maintaining high safety standards and efficient operations in every team I’ve worked with.

This cross-sector experience has enabled me to lead with a unique perspective that prioritises the wellbeing and positive culture of my team to drive excellence in operations.

How did you make the leap from a safety expert into a leadership role?

I’ve had some really great mentors along the way. They’ve encouraged me to grow consistently and grab every opportunity that came along.

From leading the Health and Safety team on site at our Port and Rail, I got a passion for our operations, so I got involved and supported where there were opportunities and grew my knowledge and understanding.

When I made the move into Rail Operations, I was no rail expert – but nor is this necessary to be the leader; you shouldn’t be the smartest person in the room! I did seek to close my knowledge gap by completing a Rail Shunting Course (I am a now a qualified rail shunter!).

Having great leaders supporting me and recognising my potential to make the next step towards more senior roles gave me the confidence in myself. The fundamentals of safety and recognising the need for nurturing a good culture have been crucial in my journey into leadership.

You mentioned you also have a degree in communications. How has this helped you as a leader?

Well, I often get asked to host or chair livestreams across the business and at external events! In all seriousness, these skills have been incredibly helpful despite not being a traditional skill set in a pathway to running mine sites.

The building blocks from both my healthcare and communications experience have helped me to focus on keeping my teams safe, both physically and mentally, while being able to understand the importance of clear messaging to allow smooth operation of complex logistics. As a leader, I’ve been able to foster a culture of safety and efficiency, which is critical in the high-stakes environment of mining operations. My communication skills have also played a key role in managing diverse teams and executing strategic plans effectively.

Tell us more about establishing the Eliwana Operations in Western Australia – it must have been rewarding?

It was a real privilege to be the first General Manager of Eliwana. I was able to build the team from the ground up, ensuring we built the right culture from its inception. You don’t often get a blank canvas to work from and that’s what made it really special. I was able to interview all of our leaders and ensure a great culture fit right from the start. To sit down with a small team and map out how you want to build your operations was really exciting and then achieving all the milestones as we worked through our operational readiness plan.

It was a challenging time building teams and our operations during the COVID pandemic, but the success of Eliwana is down to the amazing leaders and teams and was a very rewarding experience.

How might we encourage more people into careers in the resources sector? Do you have any words of advice for those looking to grow their career in mining?

We are in an exciting time in the resources industry and especially at Fortescue as we transition to a green energy future. The career paths are endless. My advice would be stay adaptable and open to change!

Embrace every opportunity for growth, whether it's a lateral move to learn a new aspect of the business, or a promotion to a more challenging role. This can be scary at times and you may have doubts but the only person standing in the way of your success is yourself – so get out of your own way.

Above all, always balance your professional aspirations with your personal wellbeing. Nothing is more important than family and at the end of the day, that’s why we want to get home safely, every day.