Adam Towner joins Taylor as chief strategy officer, Lisa Atkins takes on a partner role at Knight Frank and Bree Miechel joins Ashurst as its newest partner.
Adam Towner has joined construction company Taylor as chief strategy officer. Towner was most recently general manager for project development at Spotless, and has previously held senior roles with FDC Group, Paynter Dixon Constructions and Hansen Yuncken. Towner’s appointment is one of several Taylor has made recently. Others include Chris Bellemore as operations manager and Yiorgos Crespis as construction manager.
Knight Frank has announced a new partner for head of asset management services, Lisa Atkins, after Linda Rudd leaves the agency after eight years to join fund manager Realside. Atkins, who is based in Melbourne, will return to Knight Frank after a short time with Dexus. She started her career with Knight Frank in June 2013 holding a number of senior positions ranging from director of the ISPT Portfolio to general manager of the Rialto building in the Melbourne CBD.
Bree Miechel will join global law firm Ashurst as its newest partner in the projects practice in Sydney. A projects and construction lawyer with extensive experience in Asia, the Middle East and Australia, Miechel has advised on global energy and infrastructure deals across multiple sectors. She joins Ashurst from the Singapore office of Reed Smith, where she was a partner.
Engineering firm Jacobs has made a flurry of new appointments. After a stint in the US, Eva Wood returns to Australia to lead Jacobs’ Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland operations. Kate Robilliard has joined Jacobs as its new water resources team leader for New Zealand and South East Australia. Jacobs has also appointed three new regional solutions directors: Paul Francis, Sarah Alexander and Marina Villanueva.
Davina Rooney, chief executive officer of the Green Building Council of Australia, has joined the governance council of the International WELL Building Institute. The council is comprised of key global thought leaders, public health professionals and business executives, and is tasked with uphold the integrity of IWBI’s certification frameworks and accelerating the adoption of the WELL Building Standard. According to IWBI, Australia now has the greatest market saturation of WELL-rated buildings in the world.
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council is moving from an executive to a board, with the current serving executive appointed to the board. President Ken Maher and deputy president Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, remain in their roles, as does Nic Burt, CEO of the Facility Management Association of Australia. Executive members include Ken Morrison (Property Council of Australia), Davina Rooney (Green Building Council of Australia), Julia Cambage (Australian Institute of Architects), Monica Richter (WWF) and Ainsley Simpson (Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia).