NAMS Committee

Al Monro

CHAIRPERSON

Al has been a member of the IPWEA NZ Board since 2016 and brings nearly 30 years work experience to the role.

Al is employed by GHD in Auckland as Principal Water Engineer and is the Auckland/Waikato Area Manager with responsibility for the growth and performance of the business in those areas. Al’s experience spans three waters design and project management, contract management, stormwater operations documentation, alliancing and collaborative working on projects from the central South Island to the upper North Island, and in the United Kingdom.

Kathy Dever-Tod

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Kathy is recognised throughout New Zealand as a leader in asset management practice through her work with industry groups such as NAMS/IPWEA and SOLGM, developing best practice guidelines and delivering industry training in New Zealand and overseas. She has worked closely with Treasury since 2010, implementing Asset Management as a business change process in Central Government.

Kathy contributed to all the current editions of the NAMS Group manuals and regularly presents for NAMS on a range of asset management topics. She is a member of the IPWEA NAMS and Training Committees, a Director of the NAMS Group and a member of the NAMS Council (Australasia).

Kathy has 15 years’ experience as a Local Government Infrastructure Manager. For the past 8 years she has worked as an independent asset management advisor with a focus on the delivery training in all aspects of asset management, coaching and mentoring, the development and review of organisational performance management frameworks and undertaking asset management peer reviews.

Dukessa Blackburn-Huettner

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Currently Stormwater Operations & Planning Manager, Dukessa is the asset owner responsible for operating and maintaining a $4billion asset base for Auckland Council, as well as leading the stormwater planning function.

As a Senior Manager, Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), and mother of two, Dukessa brings 17 years broad experience in the private sector and local government both in New Zealand and Europe. She has extensive experience in leading planning, development and management of mainly three waters infrastructure bringing a unique mixture of management and technical experience with project management experience spanning from multi-million euro complex high profile infrastructure developments in Europe to small local community schemes in NZ.

Brian Smith

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Brian is an Economist and Chartered Accountant graduating from the University of Canterbury in 1975. Brian had a long career (28 years!) in Audit NZ and the Office of the Auditor General where he had a variety of roles starting as a “beancounter” financial auditor and ending up as a Director of Specialist Assurance Services when he left Audit in 2004.

In the mid 1990s Brian had an audit liaison role with ALGENZ (as it was then known), which transpired into a close working relationship on the emerging asset management issues in local government.

Brian became a founder member of the NAMS Steering Committee from 1996 until he left Audit NZ in 2004. During that time Brian was involved in the production of NAMS manuals, guidance and training courses. Brian joined MWH in 2004 as a management consultant specialising in LTCCP planning, asset management and governance reviews. In 2007 Brian left MWH to start his own consultancy – again specialising in asset management and long term planning in the public sector. Brian is a training facilitator in a variety of NAMS asset management seminars.

In 2008 Brian was invited to be a director of the NAMS Board – a position he was delighted to accept!

Brian sees the key issues for asset management in NZ as;

• Bringing local government asset planning to a more advanced level with the need to delve into more detail the financial and costing issues in levels of service option analysis and optimised decision making
• That other sectors in the public service (central government, tertiary education etc) approach asset management in the same manner as local government (“don’t re-invent the wheel”)

Brian would like to see NAMS at the forefront of each of the above issues and to be at the cutting edge of innovation in asset management philosophy and its practical application.

Brian Smith
NAMS Committee Member
P. +64 3 323 6335
E. briansmithadvisory@xtra.co.nz