Speakers

Robert Nioa the Group Chief Executive of NIOA, will  Address the National Press Club of Australia on 'Developing Australia’s defence industrial base – a time for urgency, optimism and action'

Rob Nioa is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the NIOA Group.

The NIOA Group of companies includes NIOA Australia, NIOA New Zealand, the Australian Missile Corporation, Barrett (USA) and joint venture company, Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions.

NIOA is the largest Australian-owned supplier of firearms, weapons and munitions to the Australian and New Zealand defence forces, law enforcement community and licensed firearms dealer network.

The group’s Barrett operation is the primary supplier of long-range weapons systems to the US military and exports to 75 US Department of State approved countries around the world.

Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, the NIOA Group has offices and operations in Canberra, Melbourne and Benalla, in regional Victoria, Lithgow, in regional New South Wales, Maryborough, in regional Queensland, as well as New Zealand and the United States.

Rob began his working life in the family’s fuel stations in regional Queensland where, in 1973, they also started a small gun shop which was the forerunner of the modern company.

His early career included time in the satellite communications industry contracting to Westinghouse Electronics Systems group of Baltimore and Australian telecommunications company Telstra.

In 1994 he became a Director of NIOA Trading, which by then had expanded into Brisbane as a sporting firearms wholesaler, before eventually stepping up to run the business in 2002.

As Group CEO, Rob is responsible for the company’s strategic direction, with a focus on creating and developing opportunities while building the company’s capabilities, expertise and culture.

Under Rob’s leadership, the company has experienced extraordinary growth to become Australia’s global munitions company. Significant milestones over the past decade include

• In 2014, having outgrown its former home of 15 years, NIOA moves to a new state-of-the-art 8000sqm (86,000 sq. ft) specialist facility at Brisbane Airport. By 2021 as the Brisbane workforce doubled, the building was expanded to include an additional five-storey tower
• Awarded the Major Munitions Contract (MMC) and crowned Telstra Queensland Business Awards Medium Business of the Year in 2017
• In 2015, NIOA is awarded the Defence prime contract for supply of the MK47 Lightweight Automatic Grenade Launcher to the ADF
• In 2017, NIOA is selected to supply a suite of advanced 155mm projectiles to the Australian Defence Force under the LAND 17-1C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition program
• NIOA is named Australian defence industry Defence Connect Land Business of the Year and Prime Contractor of the Year in 2020 and 2021
• In 2022, NIOA is formally selected to deliver the next-generation soldier systems in Tranche 1 of the LAND 159 Lethality Systems Program while also expanding its presence in New Zealand with the acquisition of Sportways Distributors
• The Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions (RNM) plant in Maryborough, Queensland is commissioned in 2022, producing key munitions for allied nations
• In 2020, NIOA is appointed to lead Stage 1 of Tranche 1 of the ADF’s LAND 159 Lethality Systems Project, as well as taking up a 10-year co-tenancy at the Australian Government-owned munitions factory in Benalla, Victoria
• In 2023, NIOA extends its global reach, announcing the purchase of world-leading rifle design and manufacturing company, Barrett Firearms (USA
• In 2021, NIOA launches the Australian Missile Corporation in response to the Australian Government’s plan to establish a sovereign guided missile enterprise

Rob is Chairman of Barrett and is also a Director and Deputy Chairman of joint venture company Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions (RNM).

Rob is a strong advocate for industry leadership of community safety. He is actively involved in the Australian firearms community and spends considerable time furthering the industry’s interests at a state and national level.

He is a member of the Queensland Ministerial Weapons Advisory Panel, providing advice to the Queensland Government on a wide range of firearms issues. He is the president of the National Firearm Dealers Association, and vice president of the Queensland Firearm Dealers Association. He is a director of the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia and has been a regular contributor to national working groups on firearm related issues in Australia for more than 20 years.

Rob is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently completing the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program.

He and wife Eliza are passionate about rural communities and also own the NIOA Pastoral Co. located in Queensland’s Southern Downs region.

Rob is a keen shooter and hunter.