Department of Customer Service Secretary Graeme Head has appointed James Sherrard to the role of NSW Building Commissioner, taking the reins from David Chandler who retired in August.

James has more than 30 years’ experience spanning global construction projects with specialist expertise in strategy, commercial and infrastructure areas. His previous role was Head of Commercial, Performance and Strategy at Transport NSW, where he led a team responsible for contract frameworks, the acquisition of property for major infrastructure projects, procurement including several multi-billion-dollar projects and an analytics team.

He has been a project manager on civic, residential and sporting infrastructure projects across metropolitan and regional NSW and globally including the Sydney and London Olympics and has formal qualifications in building, business and law. He has worked at senior levels in professional services consulting, focused on infrastructure and urban renewal.

James’ experience in international construction projects between 2004 and 2015 spanned time working in the UK, Algeria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong says “Mr Sherrard is well placed to take the Building Commission to the next level in its development”. Last year, the NSW Government launched Building Commission NSW, transforming a 10 person Office of the Building Commissioner into a more than 400-strong standalone regulator. 

Matt Press will continue as Acting Building Commissioner until James joins Building Commission NSW on 2 December.

Sam McWilliam will lead WSP’s transport portfolio while Charlie Jewkes will spearhead newly-formed Water, Power & Energy business group.

Sam has been appointed to the position of Managing Director – Transport. With nearly 21 years at WSP, most recently as Director of Rail, Maritime & Freight Sam has led major projects and large teams to success.

Charlie takes on the role of Managing Director – Water, Power & Energy at WSP. He served as Managing Director – Transport, Advisory and Water for nine years, leading a 1,600-strong team supporting clients in the delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects.

The formation of a dedicated Water, Power & Energy business group in Australia is aligned to WSP Global’s recent acquisition of Power Engineers in North America. WSP aims to create the preeminent pure-play global consulting firm for the world’s energy transition.

Commenting on the two strategic appointments, Greg Kane, WSP’s CEO in Australia said: “I’m confident that the high degree of leadership Sam and Charlie bring to their respective roles will elevate the firm’s ability to deliver with impact and support our clients’ strategic goals in these markets.”

Aurecon has welcomed Sean Treweek as Managing Director, Queensland. At the helm of a 1,000-strong workforce across eight offices in Queensland, Sean will oversee overarching strategy, financial management, project delivery and client engagement, governance and general management. Sean is also a member of Aurecon’s Australian executive leadership team. 

Welcoming Sean to the company, Aurecon Chief Operating Officer Louise Adams says: “Sean’s multi-sector experience across Australia, New Zealand and Asia is impressive and will no doubt bring fresh energy to the business.”

Prior to joining Aurecon, Sean held a range of leadership positions, including Group Director at NDY, Technical Director at Roberts Co, CEO at Meinhardt Group and Principal at WSP. 

“Queensland is in the middle of its biggest build in history, with a population set to exceed six million within two decades. This creates a plethora of opportunities for engineers, designers and advisors in the fields of social and transport infrastructure, energy transition, and regional community development, not to mention infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Sean says.

AECOM has appointed one industry director, 117 new directors and promoted over 431 team members. Industry directors are the most senior technical professionals at AECOM, highly sought after and responsible for delivering the most technically complex and challenging client assignments. 

Mark McManamny, chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, says: “These promotions acknowledge their industry-leading expertise, their commitment to embedding Sustainable Legacies for the community and environment, and their impact on major projects across Australia and New Zealand.” 

Giovanny Alvarado has been appointed as Industry Director – Major Projects Delivery in Sydney. A civil engineer with 25 years of technical leadership, Giovanny brings extensive expertise in complex design integration for large-scale infrastructure, ground engineering, and tunnelling projects. He has successfully led high-performing teams across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the Middle East, Greece and South America. Known for driving innovation and fostering both local and global collaboration, Giovanny is dedicated to delivering outstanding project outcomes for major contractors and government clients.

Daniela Vujic is Ethos Urban’s newest Director of Planning, joining the Sydney team.

Daniela brings more than 20 years of experience from both public and private sectors, enhancing Ethos Urban’s planning expertise in critical sectors such as transport, logistics and industrial. She previously served as General Manager Planning at Macroplan for more than six years and held senior planning positions with the NSW Government before that. 

Widely regarded as a leader in logistics, Daniela's addition is expected to significantly strengthen the firm’s capabilities.