Our leaders

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

Developing the Commercial, Performance and Strategy team that will support and enable all the infrastructure and place-making projects across our Division, and finding better ways to deliver great outcomes for our projects! We’ve never before seen this level of investment in transport projects across NSW. Although it brings challenges, it also presents us with an amazing opportunity to make a very tangible and lasting positive contribution to how people move around NSW and their experiences of the places we will create. I want to be part of that.

What’s your biggest career achievement to date?

Over the last 18 months or so, I have been very fortunate to be part of the opening of three new motorways for Sydney– the new M4 East and the new M8 (the first and second tunnel sections of WestConnex) and NorthConnex. Although I have spent most of my career developing, financing and delivering infrastructure, seeing the opened product always inspires me. I reflect on the vision, the design decisions, the planning, the community, environmental and safety considerations and the thousands of people hours that go into the build – a huge amount of human effort which combines to produce infrastructure for communities.

What was your last job?

I was acting Executive Director, Finance and Commercial for Infrastructure & Place for about 10 months before my current role, and prior to that I was the Executive Director, Motorways for the former RMS for just over 2 years. In that role, I was responsible for managing the development, delivery, and operations of Sydney's Motorway network, including running the E-Toll tolling services business. This portfolio included the WestConnex, NorthConnex, M6, Sydney Gateway, Western Harbour Tunnel, Beaches Link and the Warringah Freeway Upgrade projects, plus all operating motorways in Sydney.

Prior to joining government, I worked for a major contracting company, where I led the development of some very large Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and other privately financed projects across Australia, New Zealand and in Asia – not just transport such as metros, light rail and highways, but also office towers, hospitals, education and research facilities and even a power transmission line and undersea cable!

Glen is excited to join Infrastructure and Place and lead the Sydney Project Delivery team to deliver a number of major projects including the Parramatta Light Rail, NorthConnex, WestConnex, Rozelle Interchange, New M5, M4-M5 Link and Sydney Gateway, Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan, and the M12, just to name a few.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

Meeting my new team and colleagues as well as getting to know them. I’m looking forward to establishing a collaborative environment to deliver excellent outcomes on projects for Greater Sydney.

What’s your biggest career achievement to date?

Greatest achievements for me have been establishing strong, successful delivery teams who are engaged, motivated and happy. I love seeing everyone in the team achieve their potential.

What was your last job?

I was managing Director of EIC activities, responsible for the overall leadership and management of the engineering business of the CIMIC group.

In this role, I set the strategic direction for the business while holding overall accountability to deliver in accordance with the CIMIC principles. I was responsible for value creation in the CIMIC group through engineering excellence, innovation and building capability.

Gillian is excited to join Infrastructure and Place and lead the Regional Project Delivery team to deliver a number of major projects including the Coffs Harbour Bypass, Kiama to Bomaderry Fast Rail, Great Western Highway Program, the Princes Highway Upgrade Program and the M1 Extension to Raymond Terrace, to name a few.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

Meeting everyone, joining a great team and delivering fantastic infrastructure outcomes for regional NSW.

What’s your biggest career achievement to date?

My greatest achievements are always about people, I am passionate about mentoring and supporting people to enable them to achieve their best.

What was your last job?

I was Executive Director, Rural and Regional for Health Infrastructure which is the capital works agency for NSW Health. In this role, I was responsible for planning, design and delivery of health capital work across non-metropolitan rural and regional NSW (from Tweed to Eurobodalla and west to Lightning Ridge). This was part of a wider portfolio $5B Health capital works projects.

Brenda is helping to facilitate the efficient and effective investment of public monies in new infrastructure and services across NSW. She will lead the Group Finance and Investment branch in providing stewardship of Transport’s $30 billion annual budget, meeting the cluster’s budgetary, statutory and assurance obligations.

What are the biggest opportunities for you and your team working in this new operating model?

For me personally, it’s about working with my team to seize the opportunity to re-think what we do, how we do it, and how we can better service our clients so they can achieve their desired outcomes. It’s also about making sure that the money entrusted to us by the taxpayer is well spent.

Evolving Transport is all about re-imagining the way in which we provide Transport services. This gives Group Finance and Investment the opportunity to re-imagine the way we deliver financial services and how we enable the new operating model through financial insights, information and advice.

What’s your biggest achievement to date?

Our branch is the steward of around $30 billion of taxpayers’ money, so each day we’re helping Transport prioritise its spending and live within its means. On top of that, we’ve been working with the business and with Treasury on the stimulus response to coronavirus, including an additional $90 million in cleaning supplies and services this year.

We’re also on the cusp of releasing the first ever whole of cluster Business Case Policy and Templates. This will enable consistency and help improve funding discussions across the cluster. It will also contribute to higher quality, which will save the organisation time and money through less re-work and timelier project funding releases.

What excites you most about your role and team?

Transport is a great organisation that has an impact on everyone’s lives, from those that drive to those that take a train or a bus. That’s not to mention the infrastructure we’re building and the great place-making activities we’re undertaking. I feel very privileged to be a part of Transport and to know that I lead a team, and manage a budget, that helps deliver game-changing infrastructure and services to the people of NSW.

It’s also exciting being able to shape a new finance function to meet the needs of the organisation moving forward, bringing together our legacy TfNSW and RMS teams to work in a more integrated, seamless manner.

Matthew is excited to join Corporate Services and lead the Commercial and Strategic Projects team to deliver a diverse range of initiatives.

What are the biggest opportunities for you and your team working in this new operating model?

Partnering with all parts of the organisation to drive real value through the work we do. This comes in varying forms but is intent on the same fairly simplistic outcome – to increase value internally that can be passed on to our customers.

Whether it’s through the coordination of Transport’s Corporate Services, creating effective policy and strategic support for procurement, or as the lead on Transport’s Financial Sustainability strategic priority, our branch is all about increasing value and driving continuous improvement.

What’s your biggest achievement to date (for you and/or your team)?

I admire the way my team has responded to assist Transport’s and the NSW Government’s response to the current pandemic. Our procurement team, working closely with TSS, have secured critical supplies and PPE for all of Government, including a massive order of hand sanitiser, to ensure Health, Education, Transport and others had access to vital supplies. Supporting our Transport Taskforce and the State Emergency Operations Centre in this way is something the team and I are very proud of.

What would you like to see your team achieve this year?

There are quite a few priorities we are already setting ourselves up to deliver. These include reconfiguring our support for Transport to ensure that our Financial Sustainability objectives are delivered in a strong partnership model across all of our operations and support services.

Another is Given we have around $5 billion of contract expiries coming up in the next 12 months across Transport, we will be working with all areas to see what sort of value we can drive from these while also thinking about our social and regional procurement objectives. If we achieve a 2.5% saving, that’s around $125 million saved, but I’m sure we can all do better than that!

I would also like us to deliver on our Reconciliation Action Plan targets and develop a Commercial Strategy that helps Transport support the community better than ever.

Alex will lead the newly formed Development branch. He hopes to empower his team to work together to strengthen our public transport and precinct redevelopments even further.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

I’m excited about Transport’s future as a multi-modal agency that plans, develops and delivers integrated transport solutions for the benefit of customers and communities across the state. I’m looking forward to playing a part in that future by empowering a talented group of individuals to work together and develop projects that facilitate economic, social and environmental outcomes. I’m excited to strengthen public transport and reallocate public space towards pedestrians and cyclists.

What’s your biggest achievement to date?

After more than 15 years in the finance sector I joined the NSW public sector in 2016, where I have led large and innovative endeavours that leveraged private-sector expertise and financing capability for the benefit of the state.

One was the sale of 51% of the toll road network WestConnex, with the State Government retaining the remaining stake. This sale is the largest trade sale privatisation in Australia and it enabled the State Government to reinvest the proceeds into new infrastructure projects.

Another was working collaboratively with Macquarie Group on their proposal to develop and deliver an integrated Metro station at Martin Place. An unprecedented undertaking, the outcome will be a city-shaping station in the heart of the CBD. This project also drove innovation at other Metro stations.

What was your last job?

Before taking over the Development branch, I was the Executive Director, Placemaking and Real Estate, for a year. This was the first role in my career that did not centre on core infrastructure. Looking back, I can say I have never learned more in the space of a year. Place, its dimensions, its impact on wellbeing and its contribution to productivity and competitiveness is fascinating. Luckily, the city-changing precinct redevelopments at Sydney’s Central Station, Circular Quay and Redfern, are now part of the Development branch.

Pamela will lead the new Technical Services branch to support the development and delivery of transport infrastructure projects.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

Providing great internal technical solutions for our clients both indirectly through our diverse portfolio in Infrastructure and Place, and directly for our clients, particularly in regional areas.

What’s your biggest achievement to date?

Delivering an automated messaging system for life support customers experiencing unplanned power outages. This was during my time with the energy industry. All seven internal stakeholders consistently said it could not be done with the available technology and legislation. We delivered it in less than three months, with no allocated budget, using the existing technology and capability and some adaptive innovation.

What was your last job?

Director, Southern and Western Project Office where I lead the development and delivery of road projects in the southern, south western and western parts of regional NSW. This included a range of projects from large and complex bypasses, to bridge strengthening and overtaking lanes. All projects delivered important outcomes for regional NSW and our customers. It was an honour and a pleasure to lead such a regional role from Sydney. The current COVID-19 challenge further demonstrates that many (previously perceived) Sydney or regional roles can be delivered remotely.

Doris Cook will continue leading the Workplaces team as they work to deliver the Future Workplace program, enabling greater flexibility and collaboration across Transport.

What are the biggest opportunities for you and your team working in this new operating model?

Workplaces was formed in mid-2019 to deliver the Future Workplace program, which will provide consistent employee experiences across all the Transport sites, both metropolitan and regional.

As the Evolving Transport transformation program continues, our work will be essential in enabling new ways of working, especially in terms of technology, leadership and flexibility. It’s not just a building program – it will change the whole workplace experience.

What would you like to see your team achieve in 2020?

It will be great for our people to experience the brand-new environments we are currently building at Macquarie Park, Elizabeth Street and our Newcastle site. However, given the current landscape, our focus is also on supporting our organisation through Coronavirus working conditions. By working with divisions to understand how their ways of working are evolving, we will be able to cater for their requirements as they continue to shift and adapt their workstyles to best deliver for our customers.

What excites you most about your role and team?

I’m excited about the opportunity to improve our workplaces, not just in terms of aesthetics, but how these spaces can really support and enable our people to deliver and achieve at Transport. It’s about creating workspaces that respond to different types of settings and needs, whether collaborative or individual. This is a great opportunity to make a change at Transport and deliver a more positive experience to our employees.

With an extensive career in transport, Carol-Anne aims to bring strong leadership to our regional teams, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

I’ve joined at a time that Transport for NSW is going through significant organisational change, so I want to harness this as an opportunity to grow a strong, unified team across Regional and Outer Metropolitan.

I’m particularly excited about meeting our people on the frontline, in our regions, and witnessing the important part we play in shaping the communities we operate in.

What’s your biggest achievement to date?

My time as Chief Operating Officer for V/Line in Victoria was incredibly rewarding. I oversaw a 45 per cent growth in patronage in four years, the opening of four new railway stations in regional Victoria, the implementation of three timetable changes, and delivery of a cultural change program for the business.

As we are going through immense change here at Transport, and in the throes of responding to the COVID-19 crisis, I hope to bring strong leadership to our regional teams and ensure we maintain essential transport services for our customers and communities.

What was your last job?

I have been involved in the transport, energy and infrastructure sectors for most of my career, having spent time at both V/Line in Victoria and also at Queensland Rail. Most recently, I worked for the GFG Alliance, an international mining, energy, metal and engineering company, which purchased the old Onesteel business and a number of other assets in Australia.

In my role as General Manager, I led a transformation program designed to create a more sustainable business that better served the needs of customers. I hope to bring my learnings from this experience to my new role, here at Transport.

Craig is passionate about transport, proven by his longevity in the sector. He is also an advocate for disability and inclusion in the workplace.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

Working with different people across all modes of transport. While I’m new to Greater Sydney, I’ve been in and around the Transport cluster for over 10 years and have spent my 35 year career in the Transport sector. You could say that I really like transport and the people!

What’s your biggest achievement to date?

Increasing the proportion of buses going out at night that had personal security screens on them to improve safety during night travel. I am also proud to have worked with Transport’s Shared Services and its 900 staff to improve its cost base and make it competitive with other providers of the services.

What was your last job?

My last job was Executive Director, Shared Services. Job roles aside, I’m a passionate advocate for disability and all forms of inclusion in the workplace!