Murray Smith, Chief Executive Officer NVIRP
Murray Smith was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in mid May 2008 from his position as CEO of Coleambally Irrigation Co-operative Limited in NSW where he delivered a program of works based on the principles that shape NVIRP. He previously worked for the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines in several roles including water planning and design, resource management and state water projects. Murray's career spans over 30 years in the irrigation industry and he is passionate in his quest to work with irrigators and the community to identify the best ways to deliver water savings and ensure the efficient use of resources.
Harry De Jong, Executive Manager Governance and Corporate Planning
Harry De Jong is currently undertaking the Company Secretary and Executive Manager Governance and Corporate Planning role at NVIRP. A member of the establishment group that set up NVIRP, Harry has held senior management roles both within the public and private sectors focusing on energy and water. More recently his work has encompassed governance, project delivery, executive support to Boards and contract and budget management. He has worked on both state and Commonwealth major projects including more recently the Water Smart Australia program and the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project. Harry is an affiliated member of the Australian Chartered Institute of Company Secretaries.
Betty Edwards, Executive Manager Finance and Business Services
Betty Edwards relocated to Shepparton from Canberra in November 2009 to take up the role of EM Finance and Business Services. Her career spans 30 years and she has held senior management positions in both public and private sector organisations across a variety of industries. Originally from Adelaide, Betty was National Finance Manager for Co-operative Retirement Services, a subsidiary of Adelaide Bank, followed by General Manager Finance and Administration for Great Southern Railway. In 2002 she moved to Canberra to take up the role of Chief Financial Officer for InTACT, the in-sourced IT&C service provider for the ACT Government. She subsequently moved into the Federal Government arena where, for the last five years, she held the position of Chief Financial Officer responsible for finance, property, security and procurement for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Betty holds a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Business Administration and is a Fellow of CPA Australia.
Sharon Brearley Roberts, Manager Business Projects
Sharon Brearley Roberts started with NVIRP in February 2008 as the start up Finance Manager. She is an experienced senior commercial and operational executive with finance skills in private and public companies as well as the government sector. Prior to joining NVIRP she spent five years with the Tattersall's Group in a number of finance roles, four years in the health industry including private and public sector organisations and seven years in chartered accounting locally and internationally. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Merrill Boyd, Executive Manager Communications
Merrill Boyd is a southern Riverina irrigator and has been involved with communications and community engagement with irrigators and irrigation communities in the Murray Valley of NSW for over ten years. She has a journalism background and has been involved in promotion, corporate communications and brand management for several agricultural industries and food products. An attendee at the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit representing rural communities, Merrill has also managed two major national water conferences for the Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID) and two engineering specific conferences for ANCID. She is a member of the MDBC Community Reference Group providing advice for the Living Murray project.
Garry Seaborne, Executive Manager Capital Works
Garry Seaborne has been instrumental in the planning and successful delivery of a diverse range of major projects over the past 30 years. He spent a short time as Project Director of the Desalination Plant and prior to that was Project Director of the Australian Synchrotron at Clayton, Victoria (2002-2006). From 1998-2002 he was Project Director for the replacement of the nuclear research reactor (OPAL) at Lucas Heights in Sydney NSW. Prior to this he spent 10 years working as Proposal Manager and then Project Manager for the ANZAC Ship Project at Williamstown, Victoria. He has a strong background in the delivery of heavy engineering and civil construction projects throughout Australia and internationally, and is a current Board Member (three years), of the Department of Defence, Defence Materiel Organisation, Maritime Systems Domain Assurance Board.
John Harvey, Deputy Manager Capital Works
Involved in large local infrastructure projects, John Harvey has overseen the delivery and maintenance of community assets within the Goulburn Valley for over 15 years. When at the Greater Shepparton City Council he managed the construction of a number of projects including the athletics track and synthetic hockey field. With VicRoads he managed the construction of the Goulburn Valley Highway duplication from Seymour to Shepparton and finalised the planning studies for the Shepparton and Nagambie bypasses managing also the maintenance and enhancements of the road infrastructure in the North Eastern region of Victoria. Prior to joining NVIRP John successfully project managed the refurbishment of 30 kilometres of the channel network in the Central Goulburn Irrigation Area with the FutureFlow Alliance.
David Kent, Executive Manager Modernisation
David Kent has been involved with irrigation and water delivery for over 25 years working in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. In 1998 he became Area Manager at Pryamid-Boort. As a member of this progressive team, he was involved in a number of key projects including the Waranga Western Main Channel upgrade resulting in major horticultural development in the Boort district, the Normanville Pipeline Project, and the Pyramid-Boort Future Management Strategy. The Future Management Strategy was the forerunner for the modernisation programs introduced throughout Goulburn-Murray Water starting in 2003. David resigned from G-MW in 2008 to take up the position of Executive Manager Modernisation with NVIRP.
Ross Plunkett, Executive Manager Planning
Ross Plunkett has worked in the water industry for 30 years in technical and operational roles. From 1994-2005 he was a Technical Services Manager within G-MW responsible for a group of engineers and technical officers providing irrigation design, project management, asset management and other technical services to operational managers within the authority and other agencies such as catchment management authorities. More recently Ross was Manager of Modernisation Planning within G-MW responsible for developing business cases and water savings estimates for modernisation projects. These projects were the forerunner to projects such as NVIRP and he is keen to utilise this knowledge and experience in helping deliver this major irrigation modernisation project in northern Victoria. Ross took up a secondment with NVIRP in June 2008.