Engineers Australia has announced that Dr Bronwyn Evans HonFIEAust FTSE CPEng will be the new Chief Executive Officer of the engineering peak body.
Dr Bronwyn Evans is an experienced and respected CEO who will bring a wealth of leadership, commercial and policy expertise that she has gained across a career spanning corporate and not-for-profit roles at the forefront of engineering in Australia and globally.
Those have included CEO of Standards Australia, senior executive roles at Cochlear Ltd and GE Healthcare, as well as non-executive board experience in the construction, medical technology and digital business sectors.
“Over the last few years, Engineers Australia has modernised its governance and operations to support the increasingly important role of the profession in Australia’s economic, social and sustainable future, with our advocacy and media engagement also at an all-time high”, said Trish White, National President and Board Chair of Engineers Australia.
“Our board looks forward to Dr Evans advancing this work, growing our organisation through provision of clear member value and furthering the influence of our profession in the ethos of community service embedded in our Royal Charter.
“An electrical engineer who has led successful corporations across manufacturing, construction, research and standards-setting, Dr Evans is well-placed to lead our organisation into its next chapter as the engineering profession transitions to take advantage of the technological disruptions and innovation of the future.”
Evans said she was excited to take on the role.
“With the global megatrends shaping our future relying so significantly on engineering insight and leadership it is a fascinating and important time for the profession,” she said.
“I am looking forward to working closely with the Board, the staff and the broader membership to continue to grow and advance our organisation.”
Evans began her career at the Electricity Commission of New South Wales’s Tallawarra Power Station after studying electrical engineering at University of Wollongong in the late 1970s.
She recently completed three years as founding chair of MTPConnect, a part of the Federal Government’s Growth Centres initiative, and has also served as Vice President (Finance) of the International Standards Organization, and credits “completely transferable” numeracy skills from engineering as something she uses nearly every day.
“In these roles I have worked within organisations that ranged from government departments, global multinationals and NGOs both national and international,” Evans said.
“Every day I consider myself fortunate to have an engineering background.”
Industry acclaim
Leading industry figures have welcomed the announcement.
“Dr Evans is an excellent choice”, said Siemens CEO, Jeff Connolly.
Professor Ian Burnett, Dean Faculty of Engineering and IT at UTS said Evans was ideally placed to take up the CEO position.
“As a well-qualified, experienced engineer, she also brings significant experience as a CEO and has led organisations through important transitions,” he said.
“Engineering is facing a similar period of change now and Dr Evans will be key to honing the profession’s response to the changing role of Engineers in Australia moving forwards. As President of the Australian Council of Engineering Deans, I look forward to working with Dr Evans on our future Engineering education and the graduates of tomorrow.”
John Grill, Chairman of WorleyParsons, said he strongly endorsed the appointment.
“I was fortunate to get to know Bronwyn well while she was the CEO of Standards Australia and simultaneously the Chair of the MTP Connect Industry Growth Centre,” he said.
“Her industry knowledge, senior management experience, people skills and research background equip her extremely well to lead Engineers Australia in an era during which the importance of engineers and engineering in society is growing rapidly while at the same time the skills that an individual engineer requires are changing by the day.”
Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Taylor AO, Deputy Chair, International Engineering Alliance said she welcomed the opportunity to work with Evans.
“Her experience balancing quality and agility in the innovation sector situate her well to continue Engineers Australia’s drive to uphold professional standards and be the trusted voice of the profession in an increasingly complex international environment,” she said.
Evans will takes up the role on 3 October 2019.