Patrick Tobin has been Director, Business Development Americas with Rio Tinto Alcan since May 2009. Before this, he was Director, Corporate and Government relations with Alcan Inc. (now Rio Tinto Alcan).

He has held the post of Chief of Staff in several departments within the Canadian government, namely the Department of Finance, Department of Human resources and Development as well as the Canadian International Development Agency. He was also Policy Advisor to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Between 1998 and 2003, he lived in the Czech Republic where he worked as Director of Business development, Europe, for a major wireless telecoms company.