I'd like to welcome Shareholding Ministers of the Australian Rail Track Corporation's (ARTC) appointment of new Non-Executive Directors to the ARTC Board.
The appointments of Ms Janet Finlay, Ms Jill Rossouw, Mr Michael Carter and Mr Ingilby Dickson are for three-year terms, and the appointment of Dr Marlene Kanga AO is for a two-year term.
The new directors have been appointed following a national search for highly qualified individuals with a range of experience, including governance, engineering, technology and in the freight industry. They include:
- Ms Janet Finlay who is an experienced independent professional director and business advisor having worked in professional services for many years. Janet has a strong commercial and finance background across a range of industries in public, private and international sectors. Her board roles have included SA Water, University of Adelaide and St John Ambulance. Janet is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
- Dr Marlene Kanga AO is a recognised leader of STEM organisations in Australia and internationally, and has been a non-executive director on numerous boards including Sydney Water Corporation, Airservices Australia, Standards Australia and other boards involving innovation and the commercialisation of new technologies. She was previously Chair of the Department of Industry Innovation and Science R&D Incentives Committee, the largest government support program for industry-based research and development in Australia. As one of the Top 10 women engineers in Australia, she is a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her leadership of the engineering profession.
- Ms Jill Rossouw is an accomplished non-executive director and chair, with multi-sector board experience across a number of areas, including transport infrastructure entities, social infrastructure and public healthcare. She is currently also Chair of the High Speed Rail Authority. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds multiple qualifications in the finance sector.
- Mr Michael Carter has many years of experience in the rail industry, including working as an advisor to the London Underground during its restructure. He has held executive roles in the freight industry, including technical services and planning, providing key enterprise-wide specialised services and stewardship of key assets such as rollingstock fleet, information technology and operational technology. Michael is a former director of the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board, the Australian Logistics Council, the Australasian Railway Association, and a former member of the Union of International Railways World Executive Council.
- Mr Ingilby Dickson has extensive supply chain experience and strong business expertise, gained both locally and internationally in a range of industries and with iconic companies, including Bluescope Steel, Goodman Fielder, Toll and Hutchinson Telecom. He is recognised by industry as a champion of best practice and workplace safety, and has extensive board experience predominately in the logistics and transport sector, having previously sat on the boards of the Port of Melbourne Corporation and the Australian Logistics Council. He is a qualified Certified Practicing Accountant and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors.
Existing directors remain including Dr Collette Burke and Wayne Johnson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.
Since the 2023 review of Inland Rail there have been changes at ARTC, including the establishment of a subsidiary company to deliver the Inland project (Inland Rail Proprietary Limited). This allows ARTC to focus on its vital role of managing the national freight rail network, overseeing the network expansion and several other significant projects that will build on the technology, resilience, safety and capacity of Australian rail transport.
I welcome the new directors whose broad and extensive experience will ensure the company's focus and changes continue to navigate ARTC into the future.
I'd also like to thank those directors finishing their terms as they have successfully guided the organisation through many events and enacted direction over important tasks for the national freight network over the last few years.
