Ryan Stokes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ryan Kerry Stokes 1976 (age 49–50) Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Education | Curtin University (BCom) |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Title | Managing Director and CEO, SGH Ltd, CEO Australian Capital Equity |
Board member of | Chair: Southern Cross Media Group, Beach Energy, WesTrac, National Gallery of Australia (Council Chair) |
| Spouse | Claire Campbell |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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| Awards | Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) |
Ryan Kerry Stokes AO (born 1976) is an Australian business executive. He has served as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of SGH Ltd (formerly known as Seven Group Holdings) since July 2015. He has been chief executive of Australian Capital Equity, since April 2010.
He chairs Southern Cross Media Group, Beach Energy, Boral, WesTrac and Coates, and is chair of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia.
In 2020, Stokes was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen's birthday honours.
Stokes was born in Perth in 1976, and is the son of Australian businessman Kerry Stokes and his second wife, Denise Stokes. He grew up in Dalkeith, Western Australia and attended Christ Church Grammar School in Claremont. He later obtained a bachelor of commerce degree at Curtin University in 1997.
Stokes' early career was as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch in New York. He went on to hold senior executive and board roles including at Yahoo7, Consolidated Media Holdings, Pacific Magazines and WesTrac China.
Stokes became managing director and chief executive officer of Seven Group Holdings in 2015, after serving as Chief Operating Officer (2012–2015) and executive director (2010–2012). Under Stokes, SGH acquired the remaining 53 per cent of equipment hire company Coates in 2017 for $517 million, taking it to full ownership. In 2024, the Australian Financial Review reported that since Stokes became CEO, SGH had grown revenue three-and-a-half times and earnings four-and-a-half times.
He has chaired WesTrac since 2015 and Coates since 2016. He was appointed chair of Boral in July 2021, after SGH’s holding passed 69 per cent. He has been a director of Beach Energy, in which SGH holds about 30 per cent, since 2016 and was appointed chair in October 2024. Since September 2026, he has been non-executive chair of Southern Cross Media Group.
Stokes has been the Chair of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia since 2018. He was also the chair of the National Library of Australia from 2012 to 2018 and the National Youth Mental Health Foundation from 2005 to 2009 (operating as Headspace). Other appointments include chair of the Brain and Mind Research Institute from 2004 to 2005; a member of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council on Veteran Mental Health from its inception in 2014 until 2019; and a board member of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute from 2011 to 2014.
Stokes was appointed an officer in the general division of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen's birthday honours on 8 June 2020, for service to business, particularly in the media, mining and construction sectors, to cultural institutions, and to mental health and sporting groups.
Stokes was named as one of Australia's business people of the year in 2024 and top 10 most powerful people in corporate Australia in 2026 by the Australian Financial Review, as well as Western Australian Business Leader of the Year 2025 at the Australian Institute of Management (WA) Pinnacle Awards.
Stokes married Claire Campbell in 2016. The couple live in Sydney, Australia with their three children.