The view in the industry on whether James Sherrard will be able to fill the enormous (metaphorical) shoes of David Chandler as building commissioner in New South Wales is probably yes. The new incumbent is a “very competent” bureaucrat – solid and better than most in dealing with quality assurance, said one source. “He has a good reputation.” And no history of the tough boots approach of his predecessor. Is that a good thing, though? “David was the right man for the job at the time. Now it’s time to institutionalise the task,” came the reply.
We’re not so sure given the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission suggested in its recent report that the state could now halt building reforms because times are tough. Victoria seems to be moving along a similar path to NSW.
In August two staff members of the Victorian Building Authority were charged with criminal offences relating to the “assessment of builder registrations, in exchange for a financial benefit,” a statement from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission said.
In May last year, the authority’s chief executive, Sue Eddy, resigned after revelations that some plumbing inspections were carried out virtually. Anna Cronin was appointed to reform the authority’s culture and performance.
Sherrard is the head of commercial, performance and strategy at Transport NSW and brings more than 30 years of experience on global construction projects, where he was responsible for contract frameworks and the acquisition of property for major infrastructure projects and procurement, a statement from the Building Commission said. He has also been the national lead partner of the Infrastructure and Urban Renewal team at PwC and senior director of APAC at Savills Project Management.
NSW Building Minister Anoulack Chanthivong welcomed Sherrard and said that as part of Chandler’s role, the commission had transformed a 10-person Office of the Building Commissioner into a more than 400-strong standalone regulator.
Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA)’s chief executive, Victoria McKenzie-McHarg, has been awarded the Women’s Agenda leadership award in the climate and sustainability category.
McKenzie-McHarg said the recognition proves the importance of WELA’s agenda of getting more women at decision-making tables leads to better environmental outcomes.
The Property Council of Australia has appointed Carmel Hourigan, currently Charter Hall’s office chief executive, as its new president. Hourigan has commenced her new gig after taking over the role from retiring president Michael O’Brien following a board meeting in Townsville on Wednesday last week.
Hourigan has served on the peak body’s national board for 15 years and had led the body’s capital markets division prior to her new appointment. Her previous roles include being the global head of real estate at AMP Capital, chief information officer at The GPT Group and the head of investment management at Lendlease.
Women directors are rising but women chairs, not so much
New data released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors reveals that while the percentage of women on ASX 200 boards is climbing, men still hold most chair positions in the nation’s top companies.
The proportion of women on boards in ASX 200 companies has reached 37.7 per cent as of the end of September, but female chairs remain at 12.9 per cent. Additionally, across a total of 49 new appointments in the last year, only 15 were of women.
Chair of 30 per cent Club Australia Nicola Wakefield Evans said that boards tend to target former chief executives for new board positions, especially for chair roles.
Key Percentages
| ASX Group | Women on boards (June 2024) | Women on boards (Sep 2024) | Women Chairs (Sep 2024) |
| ASX 300 | 37.4 per cent | 37 per cent | 13.7 per cent |
| ASX 200 | 37.4 per cent | 37.7 per cent | 12.9 per cent |
| ASX 100 | 39.3 per cent | 39.2 per cent | 14 per cent |
| ASX 50 | 41.7 per cent | 41.4 per cent | 10 per cent |
| ASX 20 | 43.6 per cent | 45 per cent | 0 per cent |
Intium appoints new GM
Energy solutions company Intium has appointed Babu Kumar as its general manager of engineering and delivery. Kumar has more than 27 years of experience in engineering, operations and project leadership, from previous roles at Endeavour Energy, UGL and more recently in Transgrid’s major projects group.
Kumar is expected to help the company with designing and engineering large scale projects.
Jobs on offer
WELA is looking for a new events and communications producer to help support its work in addressing climate and biodiversity crises. More info here.
Renew Australia, a not for profit sustainable solution advisory, is also looking for an events coordinator to help with its annual sustainable house day and other related events throughout the year.