John Bennison

John Bennison AM OBE (3 July 1924 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian businessman known for his long involvement with Wesfarmers Limited. He began work at the company in 1954, and as managing director from 1974 to 1984 oversaw its transition from a farmers' cooperative to a publicly listed industrial conglomerate.

Bennison was born in Mandalay, Burma, to Arthur and Doris Bennison. He lived in Burma until he was a teenager, when he was sent to Perth, Western Australia, to board at Hale School. Bennison completed his secondary education in 1941, and then went on to Perth Technical College. In 1943, however, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He trained as a pilot at the No. 4 Service Flying Training School in Geraldton, and during the war flew Avro Lancasters. At his discharge in 1946, he held the rank of flying officer.

After the war's end, Bennison and his new wife initially settled in Armidale, New South Wales, where he studied agriculture at the New England University College. They later moved to Melbourne, where he got a job with Wrigley's, the chewing gum manufacturer. In 1953, Bennison returned to Perth to work for Kraft.

In 1954, at the suggestion of his father-in-law, Bennison placed an advertisement in The West Australian offering his services to "any suitable employer". Keith Edwards, the assistant general manager of Wesfarmers, saw his notice, and after a brief interview offered him a job as a "one-man budgetary control department". Bennison's contributions impressed the company's management, and in 1958 he was put in charge of the company's new Kleenheat Gas division. In that capacity, he helped negotiate a partnership with Air Liquide.

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