Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) has paid tribute to its beloved CEO Johnny Patterson Auna who passed away suddenly in Port Moresby on the evening of 11 August.
The company's chairman Sir Melchior Togolo said Mr Auna's passing came as a terrible shock to all at BCL and it is an extremely difficult time for everybody who knew and loved him. "Johnny was highly regarded by all of us. He was a smart, hardworking, and decent man with terrific values and integrity. He was not only a respected leader, but also a reliable friend who adored his family," Sir Mel said.
Mr Auna was appointed as CEO of BCL in January this year having acted in the role since July 2024, after first joining the company in March 2024 as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary. On his appointment, Mr Auna, who was a proud Bougainvillean, described the role as "the opportunity of a lifetime" given the enormous potential of BCL's Panguna project to transform Bougainville's economy and create opportunities for its people.
Sir Mel said Mr Auna was very optimistic about Bougainville's future and considered it an honour and privilege to be able to lead BCL at such a pivotal time for Bougainville. In serving as CEO, Mr Auna continued a proud family legacy with his late father Joseph Lawrence Auna having served as BCL's first Papua New Guinean and Bougainvillean general manager back in 1989.
While Johnny Auna had only been in the CEO role for a relatively short time, Sir Mel said he was already having a significant, positive impact across the business. He was for example pleased to see the transfer of shares in BCL from the PNG National Government to the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and its people, recently finalised. For the first time in BCL's history, the ABG and Bougainville now hold a majority 72.9 per cent share in the company.
Mr Auna brought to BCL more than 35 years of experience in finance and accounting, strategic planning, senior management, and corporate operations in both the public and private sectors. He also served on several boards as both a director and chairman and was a certified practising accountant. Prior to joining BCL, Mr Auna was the Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance with the ABG.
Sir Mel said the outpouring of grief and many tributes online in the days since Mr Auna's passing from former colleagues, family members, old school friends and many others showed the wide regard in which he was held. Mr Auna is survived by his mother, wife, daughter, two sons and three grandchildren. He was 59.
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