Fiona is a Chartered Chemical and Process Engineer with post graduate certifications in Asset Management and a Cert IV in Project Management.  She has 6 years’ experience in the water industry and more than 20 years’ experience working in complex regulated industries. Most recently as Head of Water Operations she led the operation and maintenance of multiple wastewater treatment plants and associated recycled water, drinking water, and wastewater networks across several communities for a NSW utility. Her strength lies in bridging the gap between engineering, operations and business strategy to find innovative solutions to complex problems.

Fiona has extensive experience leading the operation and maintenance of wastewater membrane bioreactors and pressure sewer networks.  This includes guiding teams through multiple extreme weather events and leading an ongoing project to identify and address the sources of stormwater inflow and infiltration into pressure sewer networks based on analytics of available data.  She has developed protocols for managing treatment plants through extreme weather events to manage extremely high inflows and protect plant integrity.

Fiona also has extensive project management experience, leading multidisciplinary teams through the full project lifecycle—scoping, design, implementation, commissioning and continuous improvement—while managing risk, resources, budgets and external contractors. This experience spans operational readiness projects, digital and systems transformations, treatment plant upgrades, storm response programs, asset management improvements and the delivery of new O&M contracts. She applies structured project governance, provides clear communication and develops strong stakeholder engagement to ensure projects are delivered safely, on time and aligned to organisational objectives.

With specialisation in Asset Management, Fiona has implemented new CMMS systems and optimised existing systems with a focus on improving the quality of master data, developing and implementing maintenance programmes including optimised operational checklists and developing operational workflows.  Specific projects include the development of a help desk function in a CMMS system to create work orders and aid reporting.  She is experienced in developing spare part models to ensure critical spares and high turnover spares are available when needed.  Strategically she has developed asset strategies and class plans across multiple asset classes in both the water and industrial gas industries. This includes developing CAPEX and OPEX models for use in annual budgeting and board approvals for Capital investment.

Across her water sector career, Fiona has consistently delivered process improvements, system modernisation and operational reliability enhancements. She blends deep technical expertise with strategic asset management, regulatory knowledge and leadership capability—enabling safe, sustainable and efficient operation of water infrastructure.