Meet IWN Champion Dante De Thomasis

Having spent time at Goulburn Murray Water, Western Water and now Melbourne Water, Dante De Thomasis is a career water engineer. But on weekends, you can find him at his family's ice cream shop.

LET’S START WITH THE PERSONAL. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

I’m a born and bred Melburnian.

I enjoy spending time with my family – my wife, two daughters and two dogs. We are always on the move or doing something, whether out in the backyard looking after the garden or on the beach playing in the sun. Life is full of surprises and excitement.

Most of our weekends are spent at the family ice cream shop in Capel Sound on the Mornington Peninsula.

WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

I’m on a secondment as Team Leader Maintenance – Water Supply at Melbourne Water. I have been in this role for six months. My substantive role is in Asset Management Services as an Asset Manager Performance.

WHAT’S YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?

I graduated from RMIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

My first career job was working for Goulburn Murray Water (GMW) in the Mechanical and Electrical Services Team out of Tatura, looking after maintenance and minor capital works across GMW’s dams, rivers and irrigation assets. After that, I worked for Western Water in the Land Development team supporting the western growth corridor and then in an Asset Management role before moving to Melbourne Water.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO EACH DAY (BUT TO YOUR GRANDMA)?

I oversee the delivery of maintenance across all water supply assets. My day-to-day involves working with a team to provide guidance and support to the service provider to ensure maintenance strategies are delivered and costs are managed.

WHAT IWN PROGRAMS INTEREST YOU THE MOST? WHY?

Both the Data and Analytics, and Asset Management and Optimisation programs interest me the most. They each have unique purposes and when combined they can support a knowledge and decision making uplift that would benefit the entire Victorian cohort. Data is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal. We need to harness it in the right ways.

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE AN IWN CHAMPION?

Across Victoria, we all have the same fundamental problems and we all need solutions – so why not do it together? Collaboration and leadership drive shared learnings, resources and ideas, which are key personal values for me.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE AS A CHAMPION?

Exposure to a broad range of people within the Victorian water network. Most of our days are busy dealing with internal stakeholders and customers, so to be able to take time and get to know a great group of people through IWN is the main mission.

WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING?

Kids, dogs, coffee… jokes aside, providing an essential service to a growing city and the challenges that we face each day.