Peter Dennis

CV: Peter Dennis

Peter’s most recent position has been the Chief Executive Officer for Seqwater the Queensland Government’s statutory authority responsible for ensuring a safe, secure and reliable bulk drinking water supply for 3.1 million people across South East Queensland (SEQ). Seqwater also provides essential flood mitigation services, and irrigation services to about 1,200 customers in seven water supply schemes. Seqwater employs 620 permanent staff, has an annual revenue of $805 million and operates and maintains $11.9 billion of water supply assets, including dams, weirs, water treatment plants (WTPs), reservoirs, pumps and pipelines, as well as climate resilient water sources such as our desalination plant and recycled water scheme.

Previously, Peter was the General Manager, Strategy & Sustainability with Hunter Water Corporation. In this role there was significant focus on strategic urban planning, community consultation, stakeholder engagement, capital portfolio management, capital planning and delivery, interface with regulators, water security, energy management and water resource management.

Key accomplishments include: § Leading the development and execution of Seqwater’s

strategy with a strong focus on Operational Excellence, Value Based Leadership and being Customer Connected.

§ Developed Seqwaters “Water for Life” plan to secure the regions water supply for the next 30 years involving a one in a generation engagement and education program with the community

§ Substantial contribution to sustainable urban water management in Australia including pioneering work on ensuring long term planning meets community liveability expectations.

§ Leading Seqwater through its first pricing review achieving a 12% reduction (equivalent to $0.40/kL) in bulk water prices for all South East Queenslanders.

§ Developing Seqwater’s “Customer Connect” plan to ensure customers are at the forefront of everything we do each day.

§ Led improvements in emergency management and flood mitigation (Wivenhoe Dam) in South East Queensland.

Boards Newcastle Institute of Energy & Resources – Governance Board Mackay Regional Council – Water and Waste Board Conjoint Professor Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment University of Newcastle Qualifications Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) Honours Class 1 University of Newcastle 1989 Masters of Environmental Studies University of Newcastle 1993 Postgraduate Diploma of Management Deakin University 1997 Corporate Directors’ Diploma (with High Distinction) University of New England 2005 Awards Top 100 most Influential Engineers in Australia – Engineers Australia 2014, 2015 Newcastle Division of Engineers Australia “Professional Engineer of the Year”, 2009 Professional Associations Fellow of Engineers Australia

Resume

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Leadership Capabilities As a CEO and senior executive with over 30 years experience in the industry, Peter has extensive experience in water industry management and is widely recognised as one of the leading water industry strategists and planners. Peter has been involved in all aspects of water utility management including strategy development and execution, customer/community consultation, long term urban planning, regulator engagement, research, policy development, infrastructure delivery, ongoing asset management and workforce planning. He has also a strong track record in ensuring an engaged and diverse workforce is in place to enable successful delivery of the strategic plan. Peter has demonstrated leadership skills necessary for leading large water utilities in todays’ fast changing environment:

§ Safety leadership will always be the number one priority and Peter has demonstrated an ability to drive the right outcomes in a high-risk working environment.

§ Driving value for customers through targeted reform and a sound understanding of assets and efficient approaches to operations and maintenance. Ensuring good fiscal control is in place to meet commitments to shareholders and customers

§ A strong track record in stakeholder engagement around complex public policy isssues.

§ Excellence in long term urban and water resource planning including engagement approaches to ensure community support.

§ Managing water resource and urban planning in complex and changing environments including a strong focus to ensure long term planning contributes to a more liveable and sustainable future solutions for our cities.

§ Decision making processes associated with complex public policy issues including community consultation processes.

§ Integrated water management including effluent reuse and developing sustainable urban water solutions that contribute to liveable cities.

§ Ensuring customers are at the core of the organisations strategy and day-to-day efforts and positioning utilities as an important part of the local communities that they serve.

§ Shaping the regulatory environment to create a more customer centric approach involving greater customer engagement in setting service level and making long-term decisions.

§ Promoting a positive workplace culture for employees that drives the best outcomes for customers. Seqwater’s CONNECT plan has successfully contributed to a more engaged and diverse workforce.

§ Working with Boards on understanding current and emerging organisational risks including development of risk appetite statements that guide business focus.

§ Working closely with economic, environmental and health regulators and community stakeholders to achieve the right outcomes for customers.

§ Capital portfolio management with a focus on customer needs and expectations.

§ Delivery and planning of large complex water industry projects including a strong focus on value management.

§ Emergency management in high consequence environments.

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Hallmark Projects & Achievements Safety Leadership @ Seqwater – “Safe for Life” As CEO, Peter led efforts to ensure all employees are safe for life, every day, always supporting our comprehensive Safety Management System with a strong and effective cultural and behavioural program. Encompassed in our Golden Rules, our principles for workplace safety, we reduced our LTIFR form 11.1 to 4.7 in just 16 months. Our continuing journey towards a safer workplace was recognised in October, with the Be Healthy, Be Wealthy program receiving the Best Workplace Health and Wellbeing Initiative Award at the Queensland Safe Work Awards. This was the second year in a row we have won a Safe Work Award – in 2013 we received the Best Work Health and Safety Management System Award. Peter has since lead the business on “Our Life Saving Controls” which provides a strong focus on addressing cultural and physical initiatives that reduce the risk of fatalities in our business. Liveable Urban Solutions Peter has worked with industry leaders across the all sectors to pioneer thinking in the liveable urban planning space. This has involved contributions and thought leadership at a National level. Seqwater has won several high profile awards for a major review of recreation on it water storages which has enabled a substantial increase in recreation opportunities in South East Queensland contributing to regional prosperity and community wellbeing. Peter has also been a strong advocate for integrated planning and was instrumentation in development of the GIS growth mapping system to facilitate better growth planning in the Hunter. Peter has also explored the application of “Urban metabolism” and developed an understanding of the importance of modelling and understanding urban ecosystems from an economic and social (liveable) perspective in making decisions. The way people choose to live and work is changing rapidly and we need to understand this to create better and more sustainable cities. Seqwater’s “Water for Life” long term planning program is founded on extensive community consultation and engagement. A very strong education component has been incorporated into this program. Developing Seqwater’s Workplace Culture Development and implementation of Seqwater’s CONNECT plan to ensure a high performing workplace culture exists at Seqwater, one we all want to be part of. The workforce at Seqwater has been on difficult journey through significant urban water reform in South East Queensland over the last five years as well as managing the impacts of the Flood Commission of inquiry and the class action. The amalgamation of 4.5 water entities into one new organisation meant working with our people and defining and living our own Seqwater culture was a priority. The leadership team developed our CONNECT plan which has resulted in a more positive workplace culture and a “Seqwater community” that our people want to part of. Key elements of the program included:

• Developing and living our Leadership Commitments • Investing in Our People • Our vision and forward direction • Customer Connected • Our Positive Workplace community • Supporting our People with effective Systems

Delivering cost reductions in the price of water for SE Queenslanders Seqwater is committed to providing affordable, safe and reliable bulk drinking water to the people of South East Queensland. Driving efficiencies is a priority and Seqwater has worked hard over the past 18 months to identify further savings to continue to put downward pressure on bulk water prices. Seqwater delivered an actual operating cost result of $233 million in 2014-15 and will likely deliver a result of less than $225M this financial year. This is a $127 million or 35% reduction compared to the pre-merger budgets of the previous water entities, which totalled $360 million.

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In April 2015, the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA), the independent body responsible for assessing Seqwater’s costs, endorsed the organisation’s saving additional measures. These savings have now been accepted by the State Government, and reflected in new bulk water prices applying from 1 July 2015. It is particularly satisfying that the QCA recognised the speed at which the savings have been achieved. The outcome is welcome news for all South East Queenslanders and a source of genuine pride and achievement for our business. As a result of the efficiencies Seqwater made, the common bulk water price is anticipated to be 12% lower than the previously forecast price path by 2017-18. This will provide an ongoing benefit to the cost of living for South East Queenslanders. Customer Connected @ Seqwater A key pillar of Seqwater’s strategic plan was being Customer Connected. It created a strong focus on customers throughout Seqwater including:

• Working with QCA to develop a more customer centric approach to economic regulation • Developing and implementing our Water for Life program which is a conversation with SE

Queenslanders around their water future. • Working with staff on our Employee Value proposition with a strong focus on the customer

experience • Our community education program • Our recreation strategy for SE Queensland focused on customer experience and promoting

wellbeing benefits. This also supported our “Play Safe Campaign” for SE Queenslanders. Risk Management Framework at Seqwater A key piece of work that Peter led with the Seqwater Board was the development of Seqwater’s risk management framework. It involved the development and assessment of Seqwater enterprise risks, Seqwater’s risk matrix as well as a Board approved risk appetite statement to assist guide management decision-making. Subsequently work has been undertaken to ensure the risk management framework is operationalised. AusAid Lake Tai Project, Suzhou, China During 2010-12 Peter led a team of Australian Engineers who partnered with engineers and scientists in the People’s Republic of China to develop a strategy for addressing pollutants entering Lake Tai in the Yangtze Delta (catchment population 49 million). Peter led work associated with institutional reform of treatment plant operations as well as policy directions for improving the performance of the wastewater treatment plants in the region. Key aspects of the work Peter directly undertook involved:

• The development of policies related to regulatory reform with a focus on achieving environmental outcomes in an affordable way.

• Advice on setting up the optimal governance and commercial frameworks for the utilities to achieve better outcomes.

• Significant focus on cost reduction in areas of energy usage and biosolids management. • Providing direction on operational arrangements to ensure achievement of environmental

objectives.

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Asset Management in the USA During 2002-05 Peter was the Business Case Leader on several infrastructure related asset management projects in the US including the Primary Treatment Reliability project for Sacramento County and the Orange County Digester Refurbishment Business Case and Value Management Review. Peter also provided asset management and capital works business case support to several projects for Seattle Public Utilities that set the benchmark for more rigourous project review by the USEPA. These projects involved a combination of skills in asset management, setting service levels and process engineering. Master Planning for Auckland Peter was the Project Director and principal architect for the Auckland Water Supply Master Plan. The project involved taking a 50 year outlook at infrastructure requirements for Auckland Western catchments and treatment plants including developing a sensible strategy for staging infrastructure to meet the identified long term needs. The project required strong skills in strategic planning, understanding future directions of regulatory targets, supply/demand balance, water quality, infrastructure capacity, asset management and financial evaluation. It involved extensive consultation with stakeholders. Regional Wastewater Treatment Strategy for Townsville - Thuringowa Peter was the Project Director for a range of projects that culminated in the design, construction and commissioning of the 106,500EP biological nutrient removal plant at Mt St John. The first stage involved developing the long terms strategy for wastewater treatment for Townsville-Thuringowa region followed by extensive negotiations with the environmental regulator on discharge standards. Being proactive with working with environmental regulator meant a workable framework that was both affordable and provided protection to the Great Barrier Reef marine environment was able to be developed. The constructed scheme resulted in a saving of $75m to the city compared to the previously approved scheme. Following development of the strategy Peter was Project Director for the design of the Mt St John STP, an oxidation ditch capable of a high degree of biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Innovative energy management initiatives were incorporated into the design.