Our team

Robert Rust MBA, GAICD

IRPL Chair, Non-Executive Director

Mr Robert Rust was appointed as Chair of the IRPL Board on 1 July 2023. 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 included inaugural Chief Executive of Health Infrastructure NSW and Acting Chief Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer of the WestConnex Delivery Authority during the time it developed and awarded the first two stages of that Project. 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 is a board member of Infrastructure SA, and a Non-Executive Director of Reliance Rail. He is Chair of the Independent Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Panel for City and South-West Metro and Chair of the Joint Project Committees (JPCs) for all three Metro Projects. Previously, he was a member of the EnergyCo NSW Advisory Committee, a member of the New Dunedin Hospital Project Steering Group, a Non-Executive Director of Ontoit Global, the Chair of the School Infrastructure Advisory Council in NSW and a Non-Executive Director of Infrashore, the PPP company operating the Royal North Shore Hospital.

Louise Thurgood BA (Hons), MBA

Deputy Chair, Non-Executive Director

Ms Louise Thurgood was appointed as Deputy Chair and Non-Executive Director of the IRPL Board on 1 July 2023, and as Chair of the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee on 27 September 2023. Louise is an accomplished executive and business leader, with 25 years’ experience in complex, fast-growing global companies in the banking, finance, and infrastructure sectors; as well as extensive experience in risk management. Louise is currently a Non-Executive Director of Silk Logistics Holdings, Company B Limited (Belvoir) and Snowy Hydro, along with being a member of the National Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment for Global Access Partners (NSCEE). Previously, Louise was a member of the Heritage Council of New South Wales. Past Non-Executive Director roles have included Sydney Metro and Moorebank Intermodal Company. Louise has an MBA and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Economics) and Graduate Diploma in Finance.

James Cain MBA

Non-Executive Director

Mr James Cain was appointed to the IRPL Board as a Non‑Executive Director on 1 July 2023. 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 an MBA and holds bachelor’s degrees in both building and planning & design. James has extensive non-executive experience. He is the Chair of Snowy Hydro; an independent non-executive director of the Mirvac Group 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.

Erin Flaherty B. Juris, BA (Politics), LLM, Grad. Dip. Corporate Governance, CEW, AICD

Non-Executive Director

Ms Erin Flaherty was appointed to the IRPL Board as a Non-Executive Director on 30 June 2023. 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 the Chair and Non-Executive Director of National Intermodal Corporation Limited, Non-Executive Director of Venues NSW and 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).

Vivienne King B.Com, MA

Non-Executive Director

Ms Vivienne King was appointed to the IRPL Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2023, and as Chair of the Board’s People, Performance and Remuneration Committee on 27 September 2023. 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 holds a Master of Arts (Public Sector Leadership), Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney and Graduate Diplomas in Management and Employee Relations. 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. She has been heavily involved in international transport policy and design as the Australian New Zealand Chair of UiTP for several years., More recently, Vivienne held the CEO role of WestGo for the bid to deliver Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport project.

Peter Duncan AM, FIPAA, MAICD, CompIEA

Non-Executive Director, Ex officio

Mr Peter Duncan AM was appointed Chair of the ARTC Board on 31 January 2023 and has been an ex officio member of the IRPL Board since 1 September 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. Peter’s current appointments include Chair of Water NSW, Chair of NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission, board member of James Martin Institute and Infrastructure NSW and is a Non-Executive Director of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. He is also the principal of his own advisory business. In addition, Peter was previously Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the NSW Independent Planning Commission, Chair of the Australian Road Research Board and Austroads, Advisory Board member of the Office of Projects Victoria and has chaired and advised various Project Control Groups and Precinct Boards. Peter is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and a Companion of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

Mary Conway Grad Dip Law, BA, MA

Company Secretary

Ms Mary Conway was appointed Company Secretary to the IRPL Board on 25 July 2025. She has over two decades of governance experience in both private and public sectors, domestically and internationally. Previous to this role, Mary served as Senior Manager, Corporate Governance at Transport for NSW – Sydney Trains, where she was instrumental in developing and implementing robust governance frameworks and initiatives since 2013. She also worked overseas as Vice-President, Corporate Governance Lawyer at an investment bank in Russia and held the role of Prudential Manager at Macquarie Bank. Mary holds a Graduate Diploma of Law, a Master of Arts in International Communications, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Anthropology.

Nick Miller

Chief Executive Officer

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.

Mike Zambelli

Chief Operating Officer

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.

Fiona McDougall

General Counsel and Chief Commercial Officer

Fiona McDougall is responsible for leading the effective delivery of a range of high-quality legal services, key integrity functions and the development and implementation of commercial strategies to ensure programmatic commercial performance and shareholder governance, including internal audit and assurance and probity.

She has more than 25 years’ experience providing legal and commercial advice to infrastructure companies, government and property developers.

Prior to joining Inland Rail, Fiona worked for the Department of State Development and Infrastructure in Queensland and providing legal and commercial expertise with Ventia, Thiess and Brookfield Multiplex.

Fiona’s extensive experience will be invaluable as we continue to maintain the integrity and excellence at Inland Rail.

Alan Sutcliffe

Chief Financial Officer

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

Stephen Jones

Executive Director Program Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability

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.

David Fogwill

Executive Director Engineering, Integration and Program Performance

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.

Adam Chapple

Executive Director People and Culture

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.

Johanna Hall

Acting Executive Director Strategy and Corporate Affairs

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.