After growing up in the cosy riverside beach town of Ulverstone, Tasmania in the 1990s I find myself drawn back to the beach. This time however it’s in Tugun on the Gold Coast and the weather is a little more on the sunny side. But what brought me here?
After finishing Year 12 I was awarded a Rotary Student Exchange to France where I studied for a year in the industrial-chic town of Mulhouse, Alsace. Among other things, thanks to visits to the Hague and the European Parliament I enrolled to study law and international relations with a focus on pursing something diplomatically flavoured.
Along the way, whilst at uni, my love for music and the creative led me to deviate from the plan slightly; managing and playing in a number bands touring up and down the east coast. I traded summer internships for playing gigs, a few decent festivals and a little bit of airtime.
I finished my undergraduate degree in 2008, got admitted as a solicitor and have had the great opportunity and pleasure to work in a number of unique roles in the last decade. From intellectual property to property development, mobile app development to TV production and public events.
I was brought into the Global-Mark family through some Legal Technical Expert work through my Dad (Wayne Tibbits). Adding to my eclectic CV I had worked during my five years at uni running a seasonal forestry services business in Tasmania – measuring seed trials, collecting seed, fertilising etc. Little did I know at the time, but this ended up becoming my foiré into forestry and chain of custody auditing.
About half my time is spent at home and inter-state with Global-Mark auditing (QMS, EMS, OHS, PEFC and Responsible Wood). I am also a member of the GM Compliance Team and work as a management consultant on other projects. I’ve still got creative interests in digital media and music, having met my lovely wife Topaz producing a series for E! News in Southbank a number of years ago. Life is never dull in the Tibbits household and no two weeks are the same.
If you’re still reading, I probably should have started with the best bit as 2019 has probably been my favourite year yet. We got married in Fiji in February with close friends and family joining us for a week on the Coral Coast. Our cute little townhouse is holding up well considering the staggering influx of friends and family taking us up on staying in our spare room. I guess they have their right to make the most of it though, as we are super excited to announce that Topaz and I are expecting our first child in December this year.
Jonathan Tibbits, Client Manager
