North East Water

Jo Murdoch is Managing Director at North East Water. She’s passionate about innovation, new technologies and design thinking to improve services and value for communities.

Prior to joining North East Water, Jo was an executive leader in both the water and local government sectors.

Jo has an MBA and was recognised in IPAA’s 2022 Top 50 Public Sector Women Awards for her leadership commitment and contribution during the COVID-19 crisis.

Barwon Water

Will is the Chief Scientist at Barwon Water and also serves as the Head of Infrastructure Operations. With over 20 years of diverse experience in the water industry, he has held significant positions, including Interim CEO of WaterRA.

Will manages a multi-disciplinary team responsible for all water, recycled water, and wastewater operations, including headworks, treatment, and networks. He oversees the Research & Development program, ensuring innovative solutions and advancements. Additionally, Will manages major operational contracts and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements.

Wannon Water

Andrew has around 30 years of experience across a variety of engineering and corporate roles in Victorian water corporations.

This has given him an in-depth understanding of the water industry and the business of water corporations.

Alongside his involvement in IWN, Andrew is the Managing Director of Wannon Water, a Director of VicWater, a Director of Institute of Water Administration, a Director of the Great South Coast Group, and a Director of Beyond the Bell.

Gippsland Water

Sarah has extensive experience in successfully leading transformational change and implementing large scale technology solutions across multiple tiers of government. Her expertise is in governance, strategic leadership, complex problem solving, business transformation and creating enabling cultures to drive sustainable futures.

An experienced litigation lawyer and business leader, Sarah also holds a Director role and is former President of the Institute of Water Administration (IWA), and is an Independent Trustee of a private charitable trust.

Sarah lives in Gippsland and is passionate about driving change that will build a sustainable future for her region, and state.

Melbourne Water

Tim has had a 30 year career within the water industry working across a number of disciplines including Asset Management, Project Management, Maintenance Delivery and Contract Design and Management.

In the last 10 years, Tim has held a number of senior and executive positions at Melbourne Water and is currently the General Manager, Asset Management Services.

VicWater

Jo joined VicWater in March 2019 in a 2IC role, with overall responsibility for the planning, implementation, control and reporting of industry-supported special projects.

Jo started her career in the federal public service, before holding senior executive roles in the IT sector and management consultancy.

Jo has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, and a Diploma of Business and Diploma of Management from Swinburne University. Jo is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and a member of the Australian Water Association.

Central Highlands Water

Jeff commenced as Managing Director at Central Highlands Water in 2022. His values-based leadership style is underpinned by integrity, strategic thinking, collaboration, inclusion and resilience. During his career, Jeff has demonstrated a proven ability to lead and affect positive environmental, social and governance outcomes.

Since joining CHW in 2009, as General Manager Infrastructure Planning & Operations, Jeff has been responsible for the delivery of a large and diverse portfolio of services including managing water treatment and supply systems, infrastructure planning & network operations, catchment health, growth and development and climate change.

Prior to this, Jeff was the Director of Infrastructure at City of Ballarat and has had extensive experience in water engineering consulting.

South Gippsland Water

Liz is General Manager Customer, Community and Strategy at South Gippsland Water.

She has extensive executive experience across corporate finance, strategic planning, customer service, ICT, risk management, community engagement, and emergency management.

Liz has successfully led transformational programs, overseen price submissions, and delivered key customer and organisational outcomes, with a strong focus on building resilient and customer-centric organisations across the water sector.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Deakin University, supporting her strategic leadership with a strong understanding of organisational behaviour and people management.

Greater Western Water

Kessia is General Manager, Strategy and Partnerships at Greater Western Water (GWW).

She is responsible for enterprise strategy, communications, and pricing, and led the organisation’s first price submission following the integration of City West Water and Western Water, approved in June 2024.

With qualifications in Environmental Engineering, Kessia has extensive experience across sustainable development, governance, and environmental policy. Her leadership approach is focused on delivering strong environmental, social, and organisational outcomes, with a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion across the sector.

DEECA (Water & Catchments Group)

Heather Griffith is the Director of Policy Partnerships within the Water & Catchments Group.

She has responsibility for the water sector’s delivery of priority work on the circular economy, long-term strategic water planning via Sustainable Water Strategies and Urban Water Strategies, water pricing and economic regulation.

Heather has over 20 years’ experience in the Victorian water sector, predominantly in water resource management, water policy and strategic planning.

IWN Program Director

Jason joined Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) in 2023 from Greater Western Water (GWW) where he was the Manager of Innovation and Continuous Improvement. Jason played a key role in the integration of GWW by leading the Operations Stream Integration.

Jason has an extensive innovation career in the Utilities Sector, small/medium enterprise and the education sector.

He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from Flinders University and a Certificate of Management from Mt Eliza Business School. Jason also studied under Gary Hamel at the Innovation Academy in the US.

IWN Deputy Program Director

Isobel Decru joined Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) as Deputy Program Director in 2024 from South East Water, where she worked as a Research Officer with a focus on biosolids management and innovation.

She also held a concurrent role as Project Officer at the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource at RMIT University, supporting cross-sector collaboration and research translation.

Isobel holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Environmental Science, and brings experience across utility and research environments.