Executive
ASBEC Executive Members
Tom Roper: ASBEC President
Romilly Madew: ASBEC Deputy President
Michael Manikas: ASBEC Treasurer
Kaye Herald
Judy Hollingworth
David Parken
Peter Verwer
Phil Wilkinson
The Hon. Tom Roper currently lives in Melbourne after eleven years overseas – Ottawa, London, New York - and has been involved in environmental policy at all levels – local to international.
During his ten years as a senior Government Minister his portfolios included Treasury, Planning and Environment, Health, Transport, Aboriginal Affairs, and Employment and Higher Education. He was the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Assembly. Since his retirement, after 21 years in the Victorian Parliament (Australia), he has been an active Board Member of the Washington DC based Climate Institute, Global Urban Development and Greenfleet (Australia), an advisor to government, business and NGO’s on sustainability issues and an Honorary Life Member of the Metropolis Association. He provides briefings on climate change developments and green building issues for the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Building Commission. He is the Project Director of the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative which provides assistance to Small Island States seeking to introduce renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. He has recently been appointed a Senior Fellow of Melbourne University’s Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society and elected Chair, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council.
Romilly Madew
Chief Executive, Green Building Council of Australia
Chair of the ASBEC Cities and Regions Policy Task Group
Romilly Madew leads Australia’s peak industry association responsible for creating sustainable buildings and places for everyone. Romilly is an experienced green building, sustainable communities and cities advocate, both nationally and internationally. Romilly is deeply involved in the national and global sustainability arena and is a member of the Board of the World Green Building Council. She is a founder and steering committee member of the Built Environment Meets Parliament initiative and the winner of the 2009 National and NSW winner of the Telstra Business Women’s Awards (Community and Government). In 2012, Romilly was included in the list of ‘Top 50 Sustainable Leaders’ for ‘Your Future Home’ and also appointed to Australia’s National Council for Sustainability.
Green Building Council of Australia
Michael Manikas
CEO, Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
Michael is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) and is a Quantity Surveyor with 18 years’ experience. He holds a Bachelor of Building (Construction Economics) from the University of Technology, Sydney. In close partnership with the National Council and Local Chapters, Michael is responsible for the leadership of the Institute and management of the National office.
Prior to his appointment with the AIQS, he was an Associate Director in the Cost Management Team and Transport Sector Leader for ANZ of Davis Langdon, an AECOM Company. In addition, Michael also acted as the Sustainability Services Capability Leader for Davis Langdon. He sits on the NSW Property Council Sustainability Development Committee as well as the Green Building Council of Australia’s Marketing Committee. Michael has an active role in providing advice to the Green Building Council on miscellaneous sustainability matters as well as conducting reseach and regularly present at Sustainaibility conferences around Australia.
Michael has been involved in a variety of sectors including local government, infrastructure, commercial office, industrial, residential, health, education, retail and hotel.
Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
Kaye Herald
Managing Director, RICS Oceania
Kaye joined RICS as Managing Director for Oceania in 2005 and in 2011 took on the added responsibility for the Asia Pacific business unit. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is the largest global membership and standards organisation of its kind. RICS has over 100,000 qualified members across the world involved in valuation, property, construction, land and environmental issues with the Australian members taking the sustainability lead with the publication of guidance notes and training courses, which are now being adopted across many other countries.
Prior to commencing with RICS in Oceania, Kaye has held various CEO, General management and Director roles within the professional services and logistics industry sectors. During her career, Kaye has been nominated for the Bulletin Business Woman of the Year, awarded the Chief Executive Women’s Scholarship and was a national finalist in International Women’s Federation of Industry & Commerce Business Woman of the Year.
Judy Hollingworth
Senior Adviser, Good Environmental Choice Australia
Judy joined Good Environmental Choice Australia as its CEO in January 2010 and has participated in ASBEC from that time.
GECA is a not-for profit organization that operates an independent, robust environmental standards against which a wide range of products and services offered on the Australian market can be independently certified. It is the only multi-sector program of its kind in Australia. It also provides Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and training services and expert advice on sustainable production and consumption in consumer and commercial markets.
Through its ecolabelling program, GECA and its many stakeholders are delivering demonstrable, practical improvements to environment sustainability – as well as making good environmental choice a credible, ‘no-greenwash’ reality in the Australian economy.
In her time with GECA, Judy has worked closely with the Green Building Council of Australia to provide product certification services to the Green Star program and now serves as a Senior Adviser to the organisation.
Judy previously held executive positions in private and not-for-profit organisations in the following fields: environmental impact and management , urban planning and development and architecture, social planning and housing, disability advocacy, sales, marketing communications and PR, and electronic commerce – 10 years of which involved managing professional services firms. She also worked for 20 years in the financial services industry, specialising in life insurance, managed funds, banking and financial planning and for the Federal Government for 15 years on foreign affairs, aid, trade and women’s affairs matters. She is accomplished at putting organisations on a business footing, rebuilding their market offerings and earnings, stakeholder relationships and reputations.
Good Environmental Choice Australia
David Parken
CEO, Insitute of Architects
Chair of the ASBEC Sustainable Built Environment Framework Task Group
Architect, advocate and former National President, David Parken is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Architects. The Institute is the peak body for the architectural profession, representing more than 9000 members across Australia and overseas. David has been actively involved in the Institute from chapter committee level to national president over the past 10 years, giving him a thorough knowledge of the Institutes business and its operations. For the past eight years he has also served as a Director of the Institute’s associated publishing company Architecture Media and more recently as a Director of Insurance Brokers (IBL) Limited and Archicentre which are both wholly owned by the Institute.
David has been actively involved as a member of the Australian Construction Industry Forum, Director of the Australian Services Roundtable as well as his involvement with ASBEC. He has also worked collaboratively with PIA, PCA, the Green Building Council and the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia on a range of projects including the Built Environment Meets Parliament event in Canberra. His work for the Institute has been acknowledged internationally. In 2003, he was presented with the American Institute of Architects Presidents Medal and was honoured as a Honorary Member of the AIA. In 2004 he received an Honorary Fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.
Australian Institute of Architects
Peter Verwer
CEO, Property Council of Australia
Chair of the ASBEC Proving Green Dividends Task Group
Peter Verwer is Chief Executive of the Property Council Australia, which is the nation’s leading advocate for the $670 billion investment property industry.
As well as pursuing its core business of advocacy and public affairs, the Property Council operates learning, research, publishing and networking businesses.
Peter’s current political priorities are tax modernisation, sustainability, financial services and regulatory reform.
Peter is a member of many public and private sector boards, including:
- Chair – Livable Housing Australia;
- Chair – Construction Forecasting Council;
- Chair – National Counter Terrorism Committee Mass Gatherings Business Advisory Group;
- Australian Statistics Advisory Council;
- Australian Construction Industry Forum;
- Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council;
- Business Coalition for Tax Reform;
- Green Building Council of Australia; and,
- Investment Property Databank Australia.
Phil Wilkinson
Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating (AIRAH)
AIRAH has represented an industry of professionals, who are of fundamental, and increasing, importance to the comfort, health and safety of the community for over 90 years. AIRAH is recognised by government and industry bodies for its expertise across a wide range of issues in the area of engineering services for the built environment.
Phil worked as a mechanical building services engineering before joining AIRAH and applies his professional values of evidence-based objectivity to his role at AIRAH.
He was formerly responsible for planning and directing all professional development and technical activities of AIRAH and holds his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK.
Phil’s key objectives in his role as CEO are delivering AIRAHs strategic aims of claiming the sustainability space, closing the skills gap, engaging government and engaging and growing membership.
Phil’s notable industry roles include:
- Vice chair, National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme (NABERS) stakeholder advisory committee
- Member, NABERS national steering committee (Observer)
- Member, Building Codes Committee (Australian Building Codes Board)
- Member, Melbourne Forum committee
- Executive member, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council;
- Member of external panel for the Energy Efficiency Training Program Higher Education Projects – Engineering – NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
- Member, Standards Australia Building and Construction sector advisory forum
- Member, Standards Australia Electrotechnology sector advisory forum
Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating