Born in England, son of a mining engineer, and educated in Portugal and England, John Willson attained a BSc in mining engineering at the Royal School of Mines London in 1962. 

He worked in Ghana, Butte Montana, and Kimberley BC, and was later instrumental in bringing the Black Angel Mine into production on Greenland’s west coast in 1973. He then led an aerial tramway manufacturing company for seven years before returning to mining as VP Northern Group of Cominco out of Yellowknife, which included the new Polaris Mine in the high arctic. Following an MSc at RSM London, he was made CEO of Western Canada Steel based in Vancouver.  

After selling this entity in 1988 Willson became president and CEO of Pegasus Gold Inc based in Spokane where he led the company for four years. He then moved back to Vancouver on becoming CEO of Placer Dome Inc, leading the company for seven years prior to retirement in 2000. 

Willson served as chairman of the World Gold Council from 1999 to 2001. He also served on a number of public company boards until final retirement in 2013. He was active at the local level of CIM while in Kimberley, and was honoured to be general chairman of CIM 2002 in Vancouver.