At USA, we combine deep sector expertise with a client-centric approach to deliver innovative, measurable, and impactful solutions across strategy, governance, compliance, transformation, and delivery. With extensive experience across sectors, our team has supported utilities, regulators, and government agencies in overcoming complex challenges while driving sustainable growth and resilience. 

Our team brings extensive experience gained from supporting a diverse range of water corporations, government departments, and industry stakeholders. Together, we have delivered actionable strategies and achieved measurable outcomes across various projects. Below is a collective summary of our team’s expertise and accomplishments prior to the establishment of USA, showcasing our key areas of experience and specialisation.

We empower organisations to navigate future challenges by aligning strategic goals with operational realities, fostering growth, adaptability, and long-term resilience.

Our Impact:

  • Visionary Planning: Delivered Gippsland Water’s 2050 Vision, embedding sustainability and innovative strategies to ensure long-term organisational success and adaptability.
  • Strategic Alignment: Led the development of Goulburn Valley Water’s Strategy 2035, bringing together regulatory requirements, customer and community engagement, and board input into a unified and impactful pricing submission.
  • Economic Governance: Designed economic models at Goulburn Valley Water to improve pricing transparency, support financial sustainability, and enhance governance practices.
  • Transformational Strategies: Developed and implemented enterprise-level reputation, engagement, and transformational strategies for the Essential Services Commission of Victoria, enabling organisational growth and diversification of functions.
  • Regulatory Compliance and Reporting: Oversaw annual reporting activities at Gippsland Water, including the Corporate Plan and Annual Report, ensuring compliance with government and regulatory mandates.
  • Operational Efficiency: Designed, developed, and executed departmental business strategies at Gippsland Water, driving enhanced organisational efficiency and operational excellence through strategic transformation initiatives.
  • Visionary Project Leadership: Oversaw the Gippsland Water Factory Project, a $300M initiative incorporating advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse technologies​.
  • Economic Governance: At Yallourn Energy, managed long-term strategic planning, business valuation, and debt syndication activities for a $4B company​.
  • Regional Collaboration: As Deputy Chairman of Gippsland Grammar School and Director of Heyfield Hospital Inc., contributed to community-based strategic initiatives​.

Our approach to corporate strategy bridges long-term vision with actionable solutions, ensuring that organisations are well-prepared to meet emerging challenges while achieving their goals.

We build robust governance frameworks that empower organisations to make effective decisions, ensure accountability, and maintain compliance with regulatory and statutory obligations.

  • Governance Redesign: Redesigned governance structures at Gippsland Water, enhancing risk management, operational oversight, and decision-making processes.
  • Integrated Frameworks: Developed cross-organisational governance frameworks at Goulburn Valley Water, aligning compliance requirements with performance measures for streamlined and transparent reporting.
  • Business Continuity Leadership: Led enterprise business continuity efforts for the Essential Services Commission during the pandemic, ensuring uninterrupted operations and service delivery under challenging conditions.
  • Support for Statutory Functions: Provided governance support to Commissioners at the Essential Services Commission (ESC) and Commerce Commission, improving enterprise governance and ensuring the effective exercise of statutory powers.
  • Board and Committee Expertise: Contributed practical governance expertise as a member of boards and advisory committees, including Gellibrand Support Services and the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).
  • Board Leadership: Served as Board Chair of the Baw Baw Latrobe Local Learning & Employment Network, leveraging governance expertise to drive effective decision-making, enhance accountability, and align regional education and workforce development initiatives with strategic and statutory objectives.
  • Emergency Management Processes: Designed and implemented emergency management frameworks and response strategies at Gippsland Water, ensuring preparedness and resilience during critical incidents.
  • Governance Framework Implementation: Designed and executed governance frameworks at Gippsland Water, improving decision-making, risk management, and compliance with statutory obligations.
  • Governance Expertise: Led governance oversight for large-scale projects like the Gippsland Water Factory​.
  • Crisis Governance: Managed emergency and business continuity processes at Gippsland Water, ensuring operational resilience during critical incidents​
  • Financial Governance: At Yallourn Energy, oversaw financial management, board reporting, and compliance with statutory obligations during a management restructure​.
  • Committee Leadership: Provided governance leadership as Deputy Chairman at Gippsland Grammar School and Heyfield Hospital, driving strategic decision-making, fostering accountability, and ensuring alignment with organisational goals to deliver meaningful outcomes for education and healthcare initiatives.

Our governance solutions empower organisations to operate with clarity, accountability, and resilience, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and strategic objectives.

We simplify complex regulatory landscapes by designing tailored compliance frameworks and fostering proactive risk management to enhance organisational resilience and operational integrity.

Our Impact:

  • Risk and Compliance Frameworks: Overhauled risk and compliance frameworks at Gippsland Water, significantly reducing operational risks and strengthening governance.
  • Enhanced Regulatory Submissions: Designed and implemented advanced Request for Information (RFI) processes at Water NSW, improving the accuracy, tracking, and reporting of regulatory submissions.
  • Legislative Alignment: Guided legislative reviews at ASIC, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and regulatory compliance requirements.
  • Regulatory Leadership: Conducted regulatory reviews for the Australian Financial Security Authority, recommending governance and capability reforms to support its transition into an intelligence-led regulator.
  • Enforcement Function Implementation: Established new compliance and enforcement functions at the Essential Services Commission to deliver on the Victorian Government’s Energy Fairness Plan.
  • Industry Collaboration and Innovation: Led the Quarterly Regulatory Leads and CFO industry liaison initiatives, recognised by the Essential Services Commission for driving innovation and collaboration in the sector.
  • Digital and Cybersecurity Governance: Managed technology and information protection at Gippsland Water, developing robust frameworks for digital enablement, emerging technologies, architecture, cybersecurity, and data governance.
  • Data Security Standards: Ensured compliance with Victorian Data Security Standards at Gippsland Water, reporting to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner and implementing protective data security plans.
  • Risk Management: Overhauled business processes at Yallourn W Power Station, achieving significant efficiency and operational risk mitigation​.
  • Legislative Review: Provided commercial advice for legislative compliance during acquisitions and reforms at PowerGen (UK)​.

Through these efforts, we have enabled organisations to navigate regulatory complexities, mitigate risks, and build resilient systems that align with their strategic goals and regulatory obligations.

We lead cultural, operational, and technological transformations that align with strategic objectives, enabling organisations to adapt, innovate, and thrive in dynamic environments.

Our Impact:

  • Organisational Transformation: Delivered transformational change at Gippsland Water through innovative collaboration models and targeted engagement strategies, driving cultural alignment and improved performance.
  • Digital and Cybersecurity Strategies: Developed the Cybersecurity Framework, Emerging Technology Strategy, and Digital Transformation Strategy at Gippsland Water, enabling the organisation to embrace future-ready technologies and safeguard its operations.
  • Leadership Support: Guided leadership teams at ASIC and Gippsland Water through complex restructuring initiatives, fostering resilience, alignment, and effective decision-making during times of change.
  • Comprehensive Business Transformation: Led a holistic transformation program at Gippsland Water, integrating IT system upgrades, robust project management frameworks, and enhanced cybersecurity protocols.
  • Cultural and Functional Restructuring: Directed significant transformation efforts at the Essential Services Commission (ESC), including restructuring corporate and operational functions to strengthen organisational culture, improve engagement, and support growth.
  • Information Management: Designed and implemented information management technologies and processes at Gippsland Water, enabling better decision-making and improving organisational sustainability.
  • Customer-Focused Transactions: Led the design and delivery of customer-facing transaction solutions at ASIC, including the Business Names Register, Self-Managed Super Fund Auditors under Stronger Super Reform, and the Financial Advisers Register, ensuring seamless license applications and maintenance processes.
  • Legislative Guidance and Implementation: Collaborated with the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development, and Cities (DIRDC) and Treasury to shape Commonwealth legislation. Provided insights into the complexities of reform implementation, addressing key issues such as naming rules and resolving data disparities between ASIC and the Norfolk Island Registrar.

Through these initiatives, we have consistently delivered measurable outcomes that align with strategic goals, enhance operational efficiency, and build organisational resilience.

We transform workflows and foster a culture of continuous improvement to drive operational efficiency, enhance transparency, and elevate customer satisfaction.

Our Impact:

  • Project Management Transformation: Established a Corporate PMO and introduced a transformative Project Management Framework at Gippsland Water, standardising processes and improving project execution.
  • Efficiency Planning: Developed comprehensive efficiency plans at Goulburn Valley Water to meet government mandates while enhancing transparency and accountability.
  • Regulatory Excellence: Led significant regulatory processes, including the establishment of price regulation rules at the Commerce Commission in New Zealand, ensuring alignment with stakeholder expectations and sector priorities.
  • Process Mapping and Redesign: Championed process mapping and redesign initiatives at Gippsland Water, improving organisational effectiveness, reducing redundancies, and fostering a more agile and efficient operation.
  • Process Efficiency: Spearheaded process reengineering at Yallourn Energy, reducing redundancies and improving operational performance​.
  • Continuous Improvement: At Siemens, led process optimisation for maintenance contracts across competitive industries like power generation and telecommunications​.

Our expertise in process re-engineering ensures organisations achieve measurable improvements in performance while embedding a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

We guide organisations through complex change initiatives, fostering stakeholder alignment, reducing resistance, and ensuring long-term success.

Our Impact:

  • Restructuring Leadership: Successfully managed major restructures at Gippsland Water and ASIC, fostering organisational alignment, building resilience, and ensuring continuity during periods of significant change.
  • Change Management Frameworks: Designed and implemented comprehensive Change Management frameworks to minimise resistance, enhance stakeholder engagement, and ensure seamless transitions during large-scale initiatives and crisis scenarios.
  • Functional and Operational Transformation: Restructured corporate, pricing, and energy functions at the Essential Services Commission (ESC) and Commerce Commission NZ, strengthening functional capabilities and fostering more agile and flexible delivery models.

Our tailored change management strategies empower organisations to navigate complex transformations effectively, ensuring lasting impact and sustainable growth.

Delivery Excellence

We prioritise cost, time, and quality to ensure successful project outcomes that align with organisational goals and deliver lasting value.

Our Impact:

  • Project Management Office (PMO): Established best practices for project delivery at Gippsland Water by creating a corporate PMO, embedding processes that enhanced efficiency and consistency across projects.
  • Training and Capability Development: Designed and implemented training programs at Gippsland Water to clarify project roles, responsibilities, and expectations, fostering a culture of delivery excellence and accountability.
  • Regulatory Submissions: Directed regulatory submissions to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) for Gippsland Water and Goulburn Valley Water, ensuring alignment with economic regulations and organisational objectives.
  • National Business Names Project: Served as Business Lead for the National Business Names Project at ASIC, successfully unifying eight state and territory registration systems into a streamlined online platform. This initiative included migrating over 84 million data records and 1.6 million business names.
  • Operational Models for Project Delivery: Implemented fit-for-purpose operational models at the ESC and the Commerce Commission, leveraging both functional and matrix delivery structures to improve efficiency and adaptability.
  • Project Oversight: Successfully delivered the Gippsland Water Factory Project, ensuring alignment of cost, quality, and timelines​.

Through these initiatives, we have consistently demonstrated our ability to optimise project delivery frameworks, ensure alignment with organisational priorities, and achieve measurable outcomes for our clients.