BDA Executive and Councillor Profiles

Mark Doonar - President

Mark is a town planner and urban designer with over 20 years of experience. Mark possesses a diverse range of skills which he utilises in carrying out dynamic and exciting urban design, statutory planning, strategic planning and consultation projects. Mark works with Government officers and elected representatives, community groups and built environment professionals across engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, surveying and real estate development. Mark is an accomplished public speaker and is President of the Brisbane Development Association.

David Thomas - Immediate Past President

With more than 25 years as a dispute resolution lawyer, David, a partner at Minter Ellison Lawyers, has a broad range of experience advising national and international clients on a range of commercial issues.David provides high level strategic advice to international and national corporate clients on commercial and business issues. He is also known for his dispute resolution expertise and has been involved in several landmark litigation cases. A particular focus of his practice has been in the corporate risk minimisation area, where he has worked closely with both Government and non-Government clients. In a wide range of matters, he has reviewed the client's position against the relevant factual and legal framework and then formulated and implemented best practice strategies to minimise risk and maximise legal rights. David is recognised for his hands-on ability to plan and implement strategy particularly in matters that have the potential to become litigious and to lead a team to either conduct litigation or devise options to complement or supplement court processes, such as negotiation and ADR (alternative dispute resolution) procedures. He has broad experience across general contract and corporate issues (including directors and officers duties) as well as in specific areas including Public and Administrative law, Maritime law and Revenue law. David has a close association with the Queensland business community and is the Immediate Past President of the Business Development Association. He has had a close involvement with the Queensland Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is currently Chairperson of the Queensland Executive of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, and for six years was a director of Commerce Queensland and Chair of the International Business Committee of that organisation. He is also the Vice President of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland.

Phil Kesby - Vice President

With over 31 years experience in construction, infrastructure and property related industries, Phil has played a key role in delivering a wide range of complex projects in South East Queensland. Phil's practice focuses on identifying opportunities for a complimentary range of clients and creating extraordinary outcomes through valued relationships. Prior to commencing his own practice, Phil held Senior Leadership positions in Major Australian Corporations. His board commitments include; Logan Office of Economic Development, Queensland Executive of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce and the Brisbane Development Association.

Matthew Miller - Vice President

Metropolitan Development Advisory (MDA) is a development and property consultancy primarily focused on giving strategic advice to land owners, government instrumentalities, financial institutions and corporations on what the best built and non-built outcomes are for their land and property holdings in current and future markets. Matthew has over 19 years experience in the property industry, the last 11 years of which have been spent in various roles within the property development industry. This included roles with some of Queensland's leading publicly listed developers including Ariadne Australia Limited and FKP Property Group. Prior to establishing MDA, Matthew spent the last 4.5 years as the Executive General Manager QLD for the FKP Property Group and was responsible for the planning, approval and delivery of a development workbook estimated at $1 billion. In March 2009 Matthew established Metropolitan Development Advisory in association with Humphrey Reynolds Perkins, one of Queensland's largest town planning firms, which has four offices throughout the state of Queensland and has been providing town planning advice for the last 20 years. Matthew is currently Vice President of the Brisbane Development Association was a member of the State Government's Transit Orientated Development Taskforce and was a board member on the Property Council's Residential Development Council. Matthew has a degree in property valuation from the University of Queensland and is currently completing a Masters in Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Queensland.

Michelle Lee - Honorary Secrerary

Michelle Lee is a Business Development Manager for Baulderstone, one of the largest construction and engineering service providers in Australia. She assumed this role after having fulfilled a number of design management roles on major government projects. Her current areas of responsibility include strategic planning, development and marketing of the Queensland business. She is focused on building long-term business strategies and relationships whilst fostering a team-based organisational culture. During her career she has worked with a range of government and private sector clients on institutional, education, mixed use and residential projects. Michelle has qualifications in Architecture and Management and received the NAWIC Queensland 2009 Award for Achievement as a Business Woman.

Chris Skelton - Honorary Treasurer

Chris has over 23 years experience in chartered accounting encompassing the provision of audit and business services to a diverse range of industry areas including education, resources, manufacturing, motor vehicle dealers, not for profit and service industries. Chris has a strong focus on the resources, education and not for profit industries. He is very experienced in the audits of listed companies, schools, colleges, research companies and income tax exempt charitable organisations. With a special interest in technical accounting issues, Chris provides expert advice on the application of accounting standards. He currently manages the technical accounting support function within the Queensland Practice of BDO Kendalls. In this role he is responsible for dissemination of technical advice and training within the Assurance services division. Chris has extensive experience in the interpretation of accounting standards and the delivery of practical solutions to clients. Chris is also the firm's representative on the National BDO Technical Liaison Group. More recently Chris has taken responsibility for the delivery of the firm's services to entities proposing to list on the Alternate Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Andrew Batts - Councillor

Andrew Batts is an Associate of Arup and Leader of Urban and Regional Planning in its Brisbane Office. With over 20 years experience in urban and regional planning, his key areas of practice including plan making/policy development, strategic land use planning, integrated land use and transport planning, master planning, environmental planning and impact assessment, approvals scoping and management and community consultation. Andrew also has direct responsibility for the coordination/management of Arup's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Practice within the Australasian Region. His consultancy experience includes: strategic planning and planning scheme preparation; preparation of local area plans for both greenfield and brownfield areas; infrastructure supply and funding studies; preparation of growth management strategies for towns and urban areas; assessment of housing and community needs; residential regulation review; development approval scoping and management; preparation of master plans; corridor planning studies; TOD strategies; and preparation of structure plans for residential and industrial areas.

Chris Douglas - Councillor

Chris Douglas is a Senior Associate at Minter Ellison, one of the largest law firms in the Asia-Pacific region. Chris' practice focuses on the areas of commercial dispute resolution and international trade law. Chris has a particular focus on resolution of large commercial, construction, property and resources disputes. Chris advises a range of national and international clients in respect of commercial issues which are or may become litigious. Chris' experience includes Supreme and Federal Court litigation, proceedings in Tribunals (including the AAT) commercial arbitration and mediation across a number of Australian jurisdictions. Chris has also represented clients in matters involving foreign jurisdictions including the United Kingdom and Fiji. Clients recognise Chris for his ability to provide clear and concise strategies to deal with dispute resolution or risk management issues. Chris also practises in the area of international maritime law advising on shipping and chartering arrangements as well as resolution of disputes arising out of those arrangements. Chris has experience in cargo disputes, cargo reshipments, admiralty matters including arrest of vessels and giving advice with respect to chartering operations. Chris' skills in these areas have been recognised by invitations to guest lecture in the area of shipping law at the University of Queensland.

Bill Grant - Councillor

Bill Grant has an extensive background in the private and public sectors. His previous positions include being CEO of South Bank Corporation, Brisbane and CEO of Newcastle City Council. His current board commitments include Chair of the Urban Land Development Authority of Queensland, a board member of Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd , New Hope Corporation Limited, Life Without Barriers, Brisbane Development Association. He is also a Trustee and Deputy Chair of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre Trust.

Ed Haysom - Councillor

Ed Haysom is the principal of Haysom Architects, a Brisbane based 15 person architectural firm -a practice based on designing multi-unit residential, retail commercial buildings in particular resorts and hospitality projects. In 2001 he was awarded a Centennial Medal for services to architecture. Ed has also been both Chapter President as well as National President of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. He is presently the deputy chair of the Queensland Government's Major Festivals Board and is on the task force for the new Queensland Sustainable Design Centre. He is also a member of the Australian delegation to the APEC negotiations on international trade in architectural services. 

Susie Johnson - Councillor

Susie Johnson was appointed as General Manager, Marketing for South Bank Corporation in May 2009. Susie is responsible for overseeing the Marketing, Events and Communications teams. She also advises the CEO and Executive Team on reputation, stakeholder and issues management. Following her graduation from her Master of Business degree at QUT in 2002, Susie relocated to London for several years, where she worked in various senior marketing and communications roles within the property sector across the UK and Europe. Prior to relocating back to Brisbane in 2008 and joining the Corporation, Susie was Head of Communications for a European property services firm in London.

Ben Lyons - Councillor

Ben is a senior planner at Humphreys Reynolds Perkins Planning Consultants with over 10 years of experience in both statutory and strategic planning. Ben has developed specialist experience in the formulation of development approval strategies for complex proposals and also has extensive experience in undertaking project coordination for significant retail, residential and mixed-use projects, contributing to masterplanning exercises, preparing statutory planning instruments, undertaking development assessments, and in assisting with expert evidence for Planning and Environment Court matters. Ben has been involved in major projects throughout Queensland and in China. Ben has a Bachelor Degree (Distinction) and Graduate Diploma (Distinction) in Urban and Regional Planning from the Queensland University of Technology and has been the recipient of a number of State and National Awards for Planning Excellence. He is an active member of the Planning Institute of Australia and a member of both the UDIA (Qld) Housing Accessibility and Services Committee and the Brisbane Development Association Management Committee.

Tanya Neville - Councillor

Tanya is an Associate Director in Urban Design at Urbis, as part of the multidisciplinary team comprising Property Economics, Urban and Regional Planning, Social Planning and Urban Design. Tanya recently joined Urbis from the South Bank Corporation where she was Major Projects Executive with a key focus on public realm, urban design and major project implementation. Tanya is a qualified urban designer with a Bachelor of Built Environment (Landscape Architecture) and Graduate Diploma in Urban Design from the Queensland University of Technology. Her background in Fashion Design and Marketing has provided a holistic approach to design, development, consumer expectations, communication and understanding of market trends.

Ann Rainbow - Councillor

An experienced communication strategist, Ann has assisted clients across many industry sectors and has broad ranging skills in media relations, corporate and government relations, community consultation, stakeholder engagement and event management. Ann has specialised in the Queensland property, construction and infrastructure domain and is recognised for her consultation expertise and innovative communication solutions. She has assisted a number of clients including Queensland Government projects and initiatives such as the $72 million Roma Street Parkland Redevelopment, $260 million Millennium Arts Project, and the Year of the Built Environment 2004; as well as delivered multifaceted media and promotions campaigns for Caltex (Qld), NRA's Australian Fashion Design Awards & Festival, RNA's Royal Queensland Show (Ekka), and Ancestry.com.au.

Gavan Ranger - Councillor

Gavan is a widely experienced architect who has worked on major projects in both the public and private sectors, and as a principal of major architectural and design practices in Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Science in Engineering Science from the University of California Berkeley. His span of work covers institutional, transport, commercial, residential and interior projects around Australia, with roles ranging from key designer and design manager through to overall development manager and project director for major projects. His professional roles have been complemented by long term involvement with the Australian Institute of Architects at state and national level, with his contributions recognised by the Institute's award of Life Fellow. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, Chairman of Architecture Media P/L and Chair of artisan (formerly Craft Queensland).

John Pettit - Executive Director

John Pettit has been associated with the Development and Construction Industry for over 30 years . During this period he has held Senior Management positions with leading private and publicly listed companies. In 1991, John formed J.& J. Pettit Consultants to undertake commissions to provide project marketing, planning and management services for a range of clients including :- Architectural and Town Planning Practices, Tourism Developers, Medical Organisations, Community Groups and Industry Associations. John has been a member of the BDA since 1991 and previous to his appointment as Executive Director in 2003, John held the position of Business Development Manager.