Rear Admiral Katherine Richards AM joins Engineers Australia as Chief Engineer, following an illustrious 36-year career in the Royal Australian Navy.

 

During her naval service, Katherine was Head Navy Engineering and the Defence Seaworthiness Regulator. She was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in August 2020, awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in 2014 and appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2021.

 

Katherine currently serves on the board of the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation. Engineers Australia National President and Board Chair Dr Raj Aseervatham said Katherine’s track record “speaks for itself – from managing the safety and performance of a quarter of a million tons of naval shipping to setting the professional standards for more than 5,000 engineers.”

Kate Drews has stepped into the role of Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific at Egis. She joined the global architecture, consulting and construction engineering firm in May 2025.

 

Kate previously led Australia and New Zealand for Surbana Jurong Group and served as Executive Director at SMEC. She was a board director with Consult Australia for four years, and has held roles with GHD, AECOM, Woods Bagot and APP. Egis’ Asia Pacific team spans 1,000 staff across 17 locations.

Engineers Australia’s Chief Executive Officer and former Infrastructure Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO has been appointed Chair of the Australian Infrastructure (AI) Investor Advisory Committee (IAC).

 

Romilly also served as the CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia for 13 years and in 2019 was awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of her contribution to Australia’s green building movement. She replaces outgoing Chair Brad Vann who has served as AI AIC Chair for nine years.

The federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) has appointed Judith Blake as interim CEO of the Australian Building Codes Board.

 

Judith brings 30 years of Australian public service experience. She led the federal government’s building team in the Department of Industry from 2020 to 2023. More recently Judith was Chief of Staff to DISR Secretary Meghan Quinn. Since May 2024, she has been leading design and delivery of grant programs for Australian government agencies in the DISR Business Grants Hub.

 

An engineer by training, Judith will be leading the ABCB through this transition period while DISR undertakes an open recruitment process for a permanent CEO.

HDR has appointed Kate Macdonald as Associate Principal for defence and aviation. In her role, Kate will collaborate with Architecture Managing Principal Huai Lim, Federal Principal Tim Napper, and the country’s 120-strong architectural practice to deliver complex, highly technical projects and programs.

 

“I’m looking forward to pairing HDR’s global knowledge exchange with my defence and aviation expertise to deliver human-centred projects that will enhance our minimum viable capability edge,” Kate says.

 

Kate joins HDR from Cox Architecture. Prior to this, she spent 20 years as director at Alasdair Macdonald Architects, a renowned Australian practice founded by her father.

 

HDR is leveraging data-driven design tools, spearheaded by Computational Design Director Jeremy Graham, to streamline processes and find evidence-based opportunities for Australia’s Defence estate and facilities projects.

 

“Kate’s depth and breadth of experience will supercharge our Australian practice at a time when our markets and services are focused on delivering mission- and data-informed, human-centred projects that serve as a force multiplier for Defence,” said Susana Erpestad, Global Director of Federal Architecture at HDR.