He is the CEO and President of The Nickel Institute, based in Brussels, Belgium. The Nickel Institute is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of 24 nickel companies that together produce more than 90 percent of the world’s annual nickel output.

The Nickel Institute provides information for a gamut of industries such as architecture, automotive, chemical, energy, food and beverage as well as human health, environment and water, to name just a few. Barnett said during an interview with The Suit: "The primary use of nickel in stainless steel accounts for some 60 percent of nickel use. Stainless steel can be used for thousands of different applications worldwide, such as chemical processing, food processing and transport, and is valued for both its physical properties and its aesthetic values, as seen in structures such as the Chrysler building in New York City and the Twin Towers of Malaysia." Over 75 percent of stainless steel is recycled at the end of its long, useful life.

Barnett is a nickel specialist. "Nickel demand continues to grow with new applications continually being developed – seven percent of all US patents feature nickel every year." "New uses of nickel in particular are low-carbon technologies such as fuel cells, gas and wind turbines and batteries for hybrid cars,” he said. According to Barnett, nickel is the 7th most abundant element on the planet, and 90 per cent of the world’s nickel production comes from, Australia, Japan, Russia, Brazil and Canada. Although 1.4 million tons of nickel is used globally every year, it is responsible for only 0.1 percent of CO2 emissions.
“Nickel is corrosion-resistant and plays an important role in structures and materials such as alloys, plated coins and magnets, which last a long time, or even forever”, he explains. “Increasing demand for stainless steel will drive the nickel market to continue to expand into the 21st century.”

"The Nickel Institute provides a global voice, a medium where companies and international metals associations, as well as other stainless steel development associations, can support the safe use of nickel around the world," Barnett concludes.