People on the Move – 23 May 2018
NSW has a new productivity commissioner, Peter Achterstraat AM; Sally Capp takes the reins as Melbourne Lord Mayor; Michael Zorbas heads up policy at the Property Council; and Tony Arnel joins Deakin University.
Peter Achterstraat AM has been appointed NSW Productivity Commissioner, a move welcomed by the Property Council. The former NSW auditor-general was also chief commissioner of state revenue and deputy commissioner of taxation at the Australian Taxation Office. Achterstraat is charged with leading micro-economic reform and targeting regulatory roadblocks in the NSW economy.
Sally Capp, the Property Council’s former executive director in Victoria, is now the first woman directly elected Melbourne’s Lord Mayor. Capp, who took leave without pay for the duration of the campaign and has now formally resigned from the Property Council, stood as an independent candidate. Capp has previously held senior positions with KPMG and ANZ, and was CEO of the Committee for Melbourne and chief operating officer at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Michael Zorbas has been appointed group executive, policy and advocacy at the Property Council, succeeding Glenn Byres who retired in March after a decade with the organisation. Zorbas, who has been acting executive director of the Property Council in Victoria previously held senior roles at Lendlease, Stockland, Grocon and the Property Council, and is a board member of several national think tanks. Zorbas will be based in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the Property Council is on the hunt for a new Victorian executive director. Deputy executive director Matthew Kandelaars will act in the role during the recruitment process. Kandelaars has previously held senior roles in the Victorian and South Australian governments, including as chief of staff to the deputy premier of South Australia and, prior to that, advised public and private sector clients on some of Australia’s most significant infrastructure projects.
Rider Levett Bucknall has new two associates in Western Australia. Jonathan Ierace commenced his quantity surveying career with RLB in 2008, with major projects including the Ritz Carlton Elizabeth Quay and the Raine Square redevelopment. Paul Shanley joined RLB in 2014 and has worked on upgrades at both the Perth and Busselton airports, among other projects.
Tony Arnel has been appointed industry professor of Deakin University. Arnel, the former Victorian building commissioner and long-time chair of the Green Building Council of Australia, currently leads sustainability at engineering firm Norman Disney & Young. He will be working with the faculty of science, engineering and built environment.
Rhonda Hockey joins CBRE as part of its retail and asset services team in Adelaide. Hockey has prior experience managing diverse portfolios with Colliers International and Leedwell Asset Management, including a 60,000 sqm bulky goods outlet – the largest in South Australia.
Adam Downes, currently Ray White’s head of agency operations in Queensland, takes on a new national role as head of performance management. The new specialist role has been created to improve how the agency measures and supports the performance of its 1,000-plus businesses.