About John
BA, LLB
John W.H. Denton AO is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He is a global business leader and international advisor on policy and a legal expert on international trade and investment.
In 2022, John was appointed by United Nations Secretary General to represent the global private sector on the newly formed Steering Committee of the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance.
John is the Co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) finance and infrastructure taskforce, as well as a founding member of the B20, and Co-founder of the Australia–China CEO Roundtable and Patron of UNHCR in Australia. He is also Chair of the Moeller Institute Advisory Board at the University of Cambridge, and Chair of the Advisory Board of Veracity, a global advisory group. John is also Chair of the ICC Merchants of Peace Foundation and the UN Business and Human Security Initiative.
In addition, John serves on the Board of the UN Development Programme’s Impact Investing Steering Group and UNICEF’s global education initiative, GenU, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of the African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank (AfGIIB) and the G7 Working Group on Impact Investment. John is also an Ex-Officio member of the WTO Business Advisory Group; member of the QUAD Fellowship Advisory Council and member of the COP 28 steering committee.
A former diplomat, John co-led the Australian Government’s 2012 White Paper on “Australia in the Asian Century” and previously chaired the APEC Finance and Economics Working Group. Prior to joining ICC, he served for two decades as Partner and CEO of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm.
In 2015, John was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his services to the business community, the arts and the rights of refugees, including as a founder of Human Rights Watch (Australia) and Teach for Australia.
John is a member of the IFM Board Responsible Investment and Sustainability Committee.