Dr Stephen Gumley manages the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) which acquires and maintains equipment for the Australian Defence Force. In May he moved from a fixed-term contract to ongoing public service employee status.
Gumley oversees an organisation with a budget of $9.6 billion and some 6720 staff. The DMO is currently involved in 236 major projects (those valued at more than $20 million) and 180 minor projects. It also has staff deployed overseas, including in the US, the UK, France, Spain and New Zealand.
The federal government is currently reviewing defence procurement and sustainment. Gumley will be responsible for the implementation of any reforms of the DMO.
Over the next 10 years, the organisation will take part in replacing 80% of the defence force’s equipment at a cost of more than $100 billion. One of its priorities for the next financial year is to reduce costs by 5%.
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Last month, Jim Hallion was appointed to the federal government’s new Infrastructure Australia advisory council. The council’s job is to audit significant infrastructure by the end of this year, develop a priority list to guide public and private investments, and advise the government on ways to promote greater private investment in public infrastructure, including the complexity and cost of public-private partnerships.
Hallion became chief executive of the department in 2006. He has been involved in the design and construction of major infrastructure projects in the state such as the Adelaide-Darwin Railway and the SeaGas pipeline.
The department has a $1 billion operating budget, a $472 million capital budget and employs over 3000 people.

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Menno Henneveld oversees the management and operation of Western Australia’s road network, valued at $28 billion. Main Roads employs some 988 people with a budget of $1.411 billion.
Henneveld finished his two year term as chairman of the Australian Road Council at the end of last year. He is a director of the Australian Road Research Board and Australia’s first delegate to the World Road Association.
Prior to joining MainRoads, Henneveld worked at the Water Corporation of WA for 38 years.
He is the inaugural chairman of the Australian Society for Trenchless Technology. He chaired the International Society for Trenchless Technology from 2005 to 2007.

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As coordinator-general in the Queensland government, Colin Jensen has wide-ranging powers and responsibilities over projects classified as “significant”. There are currently 30 significant projects with a total cost of about $30 billion.
He is also the director-general of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, overseeing approximately 500 employees. His duties include advising the government on infrastructure and planning issues.
The programs he currently oversees include the $9 billion South East Queensland Water Grid and the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan.
Jensen has had a long interest in intelligent transport systems (ITS), particularly in ways technology can improve the safety, accessibility and environmental impact of transport. He has served as president of ITS Australia.

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Gary Liddle oversees Victorian road authority VicRoads, which employs more than 2700 staff and has an annual budget of around $1.7 billion.
VicRoads’ current projects include the Monash-CityLink-West Gate upgrade, the Geelong Ring Road and the Deer Park Bypass. It recently implemented the Arrive Alive 2008-2017 road safety strategy.
The past 12 months saw the completion of the $242 million Princes Freeway Pakenham Bypass, the $140 million Tullamarine-Calder interchange upgrade and the Victorian component of the $524 million Hume Freeway Albury-Wodonga Bypass. VicRoads was also part of the alliance that removed a rail crossing on Middleborough Road, a major arterial in Melbourne’s east, in 28 days.
Liddle joined Vic Roads’ predecessor, the Country Roads Board, in 1971. He became acting chief executive in 2006 and was appointed chief executive in 2007.

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Shireane McKinnie oversees the DMO Electronic Systems Division’s nearly 900 military and civilian personnel, and its $980 million budget.
The division’s major projects include replacing the Air Defence Command and Control System with two new systems located at RAAF Tindal and RAAF Williamtown. It is also working on fitting the Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters and the C-130H airplane with electronic warfare self-protection equipment.
The division is working with the US on the Wideband Global Satellite program. Australia has to fund and support one of the program’s six satellites. The first satellite would be operational by the middle of this year. The Australian Defence Force will use the satellites for wideband communication. As part of a high-frequency modernisation project, the division will upgrade 10 naval and air force high-frequency stations.
McKinnie would like to see the image of engineering better reflect the creativity of working in the profession.

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Gail Moody oversees strategic and business planning, and a staff of 190. She is responsible for administering and allocating the department’s annual budget.
She evaluates and reports on the department’s performance, responds to changes in industrial relations, obtains funding for new programs and supports the overall operation of the Victorian justice system. She has recently secured $475 million for building new infrastructure and $612 million for services.
Moody said working with the justice portfolio has been a “massive learning curve”.
“My engineering background brings a strong analytical base, project and contract management skills to the job,” she said. “Engineering training ensures that we are numerical, analytical and can develop efficient processes.”
Moody was previously executive director of the Capital Planning and Review Division with the Department of Infrastructure. She began her career as a planner on the Tramways Board and discovered she was good at project management.

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