Rick Crabb was recognised for his contribution to business and John Atkins won an award for leadership in the not-for-profit sector at an Australian Institute of Company Directors award ceremony on Friday night.
Mr Crabb, a board director and former solicitor, was awarded the 2021 WA Gold Medal Award.
He is chair of explorers Eagle Mountain Mining and Ora and a director of WarpForge.
Mr Crabb and his wife Carol are part-owners of the Odyssea Beach Café at City Beach.
In the past, he has been a founding director and shareholder of WA gold producer Gascoyne Gold Mines, property developer Port Bouvard and oil producer Otto Energy.
In Perth, Mr Crabb is well-known as the former chair of ASX and TSX listed uranium miner Paladin Energy where he was a director since it listed in 1994.
He practiced as a solicitor from 1980 to 2004 specialising in mining, corporate and commercial law on projects in Australia, Africa and Asia.
Mr Crabb was a member of the ASX Corporate Governance Implementation Committee in 2006-7 when the guidelines were first developed and was from 2007 to 2017 a WA councillor of AICD.
He is involved with the UWA Business School and previously served as a member of the advisory board of the UWA Centre for Mining, Energy and Natural Resources Law.
AICD WA state manager Carl Cockerham said Mr Crabb was a worthy recipient of the award which recognised the significant contribution of a director to corporate life in the state.
Fellow businessman Mr Atkins was the recipient of the PwC Director Award for Excellence in the WA Not-for-Profit Sector.
He holds chair positions at Anglicare WA, Linear Clinical Research and Gold Estates Holdings and is a board member at Screenwest.
In January 2019, Mr Atkins was made an officer of the Order of Australia for service to the business and financial sectors, the legal profession, and the community.
Previously, Mr Atkins was chair of Lotterywest for five years, spent ten years on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA board and nine years as deputy chair of Committee for Perth.
He has also ben on the board of Foodbank and Asialink.
Mr Atkins began his career in Perth as a lawyer and then partner in what is now called Herbert Smith Freehills.
Over the three decades he was involved with the firm, he held senior positions including as a board member and managing partner.
Mr Atkins is a former WA Agent General to the UK and Europe.
Mr Cockerham said the award acknowledged a director who had shown leadership and promoted excellent governance to have a positive impact on society.
Mr Atkins said it had been rewarding to work in the both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors.
“I have been very fortunate to have been able to play a role in some great organisations with so many wonderful people who dedicate themselves, with purpose, to making a real difference in the lives of many in our communities,” he said.
