Our team

IRPL Chair – Robert Rust

Robert is a Civil Engineer with an MBA and is a Graduate Member of the AICD. He has spent the majority of his 40-year career working on major projects for both the private and public sectors, including several Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the economic and social infrastructure sectors, and working across the full range of delivery models. He has been involved in and taken lead roles in project development, procurement and delivery on both the client and contractor sides.

His public-sector work has been at the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer level, involving both developing and delivering a portfolio of projects for NSW Health and developing and awarding the first two stages of the WestConnex Project in Sydney. In both cases he built an effective team with a proven record of major project delivery. He has a detailed understanding of the roles of the various agencies in the capital procurement and budgeting processes within government.

Most of his private sector work has been in joint venture, including with French, Japanese and Korean companies, and he has been instrumental in setting up and managing these arrangements. He has been Bid Director on several major projects and brings a strong commercial and technical focus to project development and delivery with a successful background in claims resolution.

Robert now provides consultancy services and has recently taken on the roles of Chairperson and Non-executive Director on both government advisory and private company boards.

Deputy Chair – Louise Thurgood

Louise Thurgood’s 25 years in complex, fast-growing global companies in the banking, finance, and infrastructure sectors have resulted in strong credentials in risk and finance. Through her executive career Louise worked for Macquarie Bank, Deutsche Bank and Babcock & Brown heading the agricultural commodities business, corporate finance infrastructure and as Group Treasurer respectively. She has led or been a crucial member of diverse, critical teams in often-distressed, high-pressure corporate circumstances. Her extensive capital and risk management experience extends across a wide range of industries both at C-suite, operational, and advisor level: including infrastructure, agriculture, construction, renewable energy, mining and consumables.

Louise is currently Non-Executive Director of global connector Advance, Chair of Hanrob, a member of the National Standing Committee on Energy & the Environment (NSCEE), member of the Advisory Board of Ultimate Soccer, along with being a director of Orion Mechanical Services. Past NED roles have included Moorebank Intermodal Company, Clearview Life Nominees, President and Chair of Emanuel Synagogue along with Chair of several NFP Boards.

Director – Erin Flaherty

Erin has more than 40 years of experience in both private and Government sectors in law, rail, and large infrastructure projects. She was Commercial Manager and Deputy CEO at Reliance Rail before becoming Executive Director of Infrastructure NSW in 2012.

In 2012, Erin was appointed by the NSW Minister for Transport to the Advisory Board for the North West Rail Link and subsequently became an inaugural director of the newly formed Sydney Metro in 2018. In 2016 she became a Guardian of the Board of the Commonwealth Future Fund.

Erin is currently a Non-Executive Director of Venues NSW, The Infrastructure Fund (TIF), and the NSW Transport Holding Entity. She is one of two independent members of the International Shareholders Committee for Mott MacDonald, a global engineering consultancy firm. She is a Trustee of Sydney Grammar School and a board member of NSW Police & Citizens Youth Clubs, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Erin is a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Director – James Cain

James is a commercial advisor and professional practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in property and major capital works in the public and private sectors. James’ professional experience includes Director of M21 Advisory, Executive Director of Major Projects Victoria, the Victorian Government’s primary capital works agency, and 12 years with property and construction company Lendlease in various roles including General Manager for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

James has extensive non-executive experience. He is the Board Chair at Hayball and a member of the Committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club (the stadium manager of the MCG). Previously James has been the Chair of ISPT, the Victorian Port Corporation, the Deputy Chair of the Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Director – Vivienne King

Vivienne is currently COO of Airservices Australia. She excels at operational and service delivery, transformational change, and performance improvement across diverse sectors, including transport, linear infrastructure, education, government, and the private sector.

Vivienne has managed transport Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) contracts, delivered Australia’s first greenfield O&M Light Rail, and overseen transit systems in both Australia and Canada. As CEO of WestGo Consortium, Vivienne was responsible for the bid to deliver Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport project.

Director – Peter Duncan AM

Mr Peter Duncan AM was appointed Chair of the ARTC Board in February 2023. He has over 40 years’ experience in government and infrastructure, working at local, state and national level. He has held various senior public sector roles with local government, NSW Premier and Cabinet, Transport for NSW, Primary Industries and the Olympic Coordination Authority.

His current appointments include Chair of Water NSW, Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the NSW Independent Planning Commission, Non-Executive Director of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, and Advisory Board member of NSW Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation and the Office of Projects Victoria. He is also the principal of his own advisory business.

In addition, Peter was previously Chair of InfraSol Group, the NSW Corrective Services Advisory Board, the Australian Road Research Board and Austroads, and was also formerly Chair and Advisor for Project Control Groups and Precinct Board at the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and a Companion of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

Chief Executive Officer – Nick Miller

Nick Miller is a well-recognised and respected leader within the Australian and New Zealand infrastructure and construction industry. His strong combination of governance, executive management and operational experience perfectly positions him to lead Inland Rail.

Nick is a Civil Engineer with more than 30 years’ experience leading large and complex multi-billion-dollar projects through to delivery. His expertise in construction, asset management, large scale construction material manufacturing and production bring a unique skillset directly applicable to the challenges faced by Inland Rail.

He has spent significant time in CEO and Managing Director roles, holding both executive and non-executive positions with Adbri, Broadspectrum and Fulton Hogan, as well as several non-executive directorships for utilities, farming and infrastructure companies.

Nick has a proven track record in leading complex and geographically dispersed teams. He seeks to build transparency, credibility and trust with key stakeholders, recognising the key role that communities, customers and stakeholders play in shaping the success of this nation-building project.

Chief Operating Officer – Mike Zambelli

Mike Zambelli is the Chief Operating Officer at Inland Rail, with responsibility for delivery of the Program south of Parkes.

Mike joined Inland Rail in March 2024, having previously held the role of ARTC Group Executive – Major Construction Projects delivering major rail infrastructure projects across three states (NSW, Victoria and South Australia) over a 3-year period.

As a chartered Civil Engineer, Mike brings significant experience leading the development and delivery of major rail infrastructure projects in Australia and has over 20 years of leadership experience with Tier 1 contractors.

Mike’s vast knowledge of rail infrastructure is complemented by his experience across various other sectors including power, motorways and bridges, tunnels, port facilities, oil and gas, airports, water treatment and storage, and mine development infrastructure.

Chief Financial Officer (Interim) – Alan Sutcliffe

Alan joined Inland Rail in May 2019 and has held the positions of Head of Finance, Head of Transition and Interim Chief Financial Officer.

Alan’s 30-plus years’ professional experience, gained internationally and within Australia, spans across tax, law, accounting, commerce and general business operations.

Alan’s career started with KPMG in Edinburgh and Sky Television group of companies, before leaving the UK to settle in Australia where he worked for Arthur Anderson, Matilda Fuels and Stanwell. Prior to joining Inland Rail, Alan worked for Origin Energy on the $14bn APLNG Upstream Phase 1 Project where he built and led/operated the finance and accounting teams and financial controls.

He brings a wealth of operational and project management experience, and a proven track record of value-added performance delivery to Inland Rail.

Alan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Distinction in Accounting (Napier University of Edinburgh) and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Executive Director Program Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability – Stephen Jones

Steve is a chartered health, safety, environment (HSE) professional that has over 20 years’ rail infrastructure experience in the public and private sector both within Australia and overseas.

Steve is responsible for continuing Inland Rail Program’s ongoing commitment to HSE, at work, in the community and at home.

Steve has undertaken a range of diverse leadership roles during his career, working on some of the largest high-profile project and operating businesses. He has led the development and implementation of all aspects of HSE policy and frameworks and has a passion to deliver global best practice outcomes which has seen him receive recognition through peak industry awards.

Prior to joining Inland Rail Steve held executive positions in Transport for New South Wales and was responsible for all operational readiness activities to deliver Australia’s first driverless railway on the New South Wales Government’s priority infrastructure Sydney Metro project.

This diverse background has allowed Steve to implement the best the public and private sector offer in terms of people management, problem solving and project delivery.

Chief Development Officer – Rob Storey

Rob joined Inland Rail in 2017 and has held the positions of Project Director, Director Pre-Contracts and in 2024 was appointed to the role Chief Development Officer.

Rob brings a wealth of experience to the Program, having previously led large business units for leading global engineering firms. He has an innate ability to inspire and lead multi-disciplinary teams in highly complex environments, while mitigating risks, optimising value and managing competing stakeholder requirements. His strong relationships with federal and state government leaders – forged by over 20 years of proven capability – facilitates greater engagement from all levels of government.

Having held senior leadership positions during the delivery of landmark projects throughout Australia, Singapore, South Pacific and New Zealand, Rob holds a deep understanding of the complexities of mega-projects throughout the entire lifecycle. Through his deep technical expertise, coupled with his emphasis on team culture and industry collaboration, Rob is driving the critical Program level activities that facilitate the on-time and on-cost delivery of the Inland Rail Program.

Executive Director Engineering, Integration and Program Performance – David Fogwill

David Fogwill is responsible for managing key development, detailed design, and construction. As Inland Rail moves towards delivery, David will continue to ensure that the Program meets the needs of our stakeholders and is successfully integrated into ARTC operations.

David has 20 years’ experience in project delivery, integration and engineering across the transport and energy sectors.

Prior to joining Inland Rail, David held several leadership positions with Sydney Metro, including Associate Executive Director Project Integration and Director Project Engineering and Design (City and Southwest Metro), where he was responsible for the delivery of integration, assurance, engineering and design outcomes across all projects.

David’s extensive experience and diverse background will be an asset to Inland Rail as we move closer towards Delivery.

Executive Director People and Culture – Adam Chapple

Adam joined Inland Rail in 2018 in the position of Director People and Culture.

Adam is responsible for the development and implementation of our people strategy in relation to organisational development, culture, operating model, performance workforce planning, diversity and partner industrial relations.

A seasoned people leader, Adam’s approach helps Inland Rail employees and managers to realise their full potential. He focuses on relationship management, building a shared sense of purpose across all workstreams as we deliver Inland Rail for all Australians.

Prior to joining the Program, Adam worked for BHP and Thiess where he held several senior human resources and project leadership positions spanning across Australia, Singapore, Africa and the Pacific.

Adam’s professional experience is bolstered by a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business.

Acting Executive Director Strategy and Corporate Affairs – Johanna Hall

Johanna Hall has recently been appointed as the Acting Executive Director Strategy and Corporate Affairs, responsible for overseeing Strategy, Enterprise Risk, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement at Inland Rail.

Prior to joining Inland Rail, Johanna has held several leadership positions including the Head of Corporate Services at Sydney Metro where her portfolio included People and Culture, Information Technology, Business Improvement, Enterprise Risk and, Stakeholder Engagement and Communications.

Johanna’s experience includes leading the delivery of business transformations and large change programs in both private and public sector organisations.