Justin Hanney, from Clonbinane, a former City of Melbourne CEO and senior bureaucrat, was appointed chair from October 1.
The outgoing directors of Victoria’s largest rural water authority are chair Diane James, and long-serving members Pat McNamara, Jonathan Koop and David McKenzie.
The continuing directors are Natalie Akers, Andrew Cooney, Larna Tarrant and Kris Peach. The new directors are Rob McMillan, Sue Oddie, Liz Ryan and Paul Weller.
Mr Weller will be known by many farmers as a former VFF president and member for the former state seat of Rodney.
He is currently the chair of Fonterra Australia Suppliers Council, chair of Water Partners, chair of National Herd Development and a member of the Federal Management Committee of the National Party.
Mr Hanney is the former CEO of Regional Development Victoria, the Rural City of Wangaratta and Director Planning at Greater Bendigo.
He is also a former landholder from Tarrawingee.
Mr Hanney holds a Master of Public Policy and Governance from Deakin University, a Graduate Diploma of Business Management, and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University, and is a Williamson Community Leadership Program fellow.
He has been on the boards of Save the Children since 2018 and Yurringa Energy since 2023.
The new directors include two from the energy sector.
Rob McMillan, based at Heathcote, is an infrastructure economist and utility sector leader with more than two decades of experience in policy, regulation and commercial strategy across energy, water and transport.
He is a director at Farrier Swier Consulting and a member of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s expert advisory panel.
He specialises in utility investment, governance, pricing and stakeholder engagement, and is recognised for his expertise in regulatory design, customer participation, and renewable energy integration.
Mr McMillan advises regulators, utilities and government agencies across Australia and New Zealand
He has held roles at utilities company Jemena, NERA Economic Consulting, the Victorian Essential Services Commission and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance. He is presently a member of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s expert advisory panel.
New director Liz Ryan is an experienced executive and non-executive director with more than 20 years’ experience across the infrastructure, energy, agribusiness and financial services sectors.
She is currently executive general manager-transmission at AusNet, and has previously held roles at ASX-listed agribusiness Elders Limited for six years in Adelaide and Melbourne. AusNet is a private energy company that owns and operates electricity and gas networks.
She holds an MBA from Cambridge University and was educated at Geelong College.
Sue Oddie was also appointed to the board, but no information was made available.
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