The Leadership Team

Anne Skewes

Anne has extensive experience in senior executive roles in property, planning, and commercial and urban development across NSW, the Australian Capital Territory, and South Australia.

Before joining the WPCA, Anne was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and prior to that, she was the Deputy Secretary at the NSW Land and Housing Corporation.

Anne has a proven track record in major placemaking projects and brings that expertise in her current role as acting Chief Executive Officer.

Anne was recognised for her outstanding public service to the NSW Government and the people of NSW in the 2022 Australia Day honours .

Laura Eadie

Laura has a strong connection to the Western Parkland City. She spent her first years at Windsor and her first job was in St Mary's.

As acting Chief Operating Officer, Laura brings over 20 years' experience across corporate strategy, natural resources and regulatory policy, and infrastructure. Her enduring interest is bringing the private and public sector together to drive economic transformation.

Laura brings a strong knowledge of the Western Parkland City's business learned by leading the successful efforts to secure over $1 billion for Bradfield City Centre and a New Education and Training Model. Before joining the Western Parkland City Authority, Laura worked with Infrastructure NSW, the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Port Jackson Partners.

Laura is a practical strategist, with a passion for leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver shared results that outlast political cycles. Laura is a university medallist (Industrial Chemistry), has a Masters of Environmental Management, and qualifications in applied Finance & Investment.

Peter Anderson

Peter brings 40 years of private and public sector experience to his role of Executive Director, Development & Place.

Most recently, Peter has been working in the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment at the NSW Land and Housing Corporation, overseeing part of the largest urban renewal program for social housing in the country. Prior to that he was at UrbanGrowth NSW and Landcom working on a number on large scale projects including a number in Western Sydney.

He has a passion for working on complex large scale projects such as the Bradfield City Centre that create incredible opportunities for innovation.

Natalie Camilleri

Natalie has joined the Authority from the Greater Sydney Commission where she was the Executive Director of City Planning Infrastructure. Natalie successfully piloted the Place-based Infrastructure Compact in Greater Parramatta and the Olympic Peninsula (GPOP), seeking to align growth and infrastructure and reset the vision for this central part of Greater Sydney. Natalie was also the lead on multiple Compacts across the Western Parkland City and helped to redefine collaboration across government, industry and the community.

Natalie is a well-rounded strategist, with diverse practice in the integration of land use, design and infrastructure in Greater Sydney. Natalie has developed her expertise at several agencies including Sydney Water, Transport for NSW, the former Roads and Traffic Authority, the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and Landcom. Natalie was a medallist in her Bachelor of Town Planning degree, holds a Master’s in Public Administration and was previously awarded the NSW Premier’s travelling scholarship for her work in public interest evaluation.

Natalie was also recognised on the Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List and received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service to infrastructure projects in NSW.

Shehana Darda-Teixeira

Shehana has over two decades of experience leading media and communications for some of the biggest projects in NSW including Parramatta's Civic Place, Green Square, the George St light rail expansion and Sydney cycleway program.

She has successfully delivered complex engagement in often contentious environments and can point to examples of her work that have led to shifts in policy and public sentiment and projects more closely reflecting community aspirations.

During her career she's been the custodian of the reputations of some of the state's key decision makers and institutions, covering everything from speech writing to strategic advice on policy and legislation.

Before joining WPCA, she was at the University of Sydney where she played a key role in delivering growth in earned media during the pandemic, which in part led to the University being named as the most prominent academic voice in the country for Covid-19 coverage and the best inhouse media team in the 2021 Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Awards.

Prior to joining the University, Shehana spent eight years working for Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, as her Deputy Chief of Staff / Communications Director and has also worked for the NSW State Government where she oversaw daily media stories and responses across all Ministerial portfolios. This followed almost a decade working in local government in Western Sydney.

Paul Hedge

Paul has over 30 years’ experience working in the field of urban development, across urban renewal, greenfield, transformation and infrastructure projects both from a technical perspective as a consultant and commercially as a development manager and a senior executive for some of Australia’s largest institutional developers and Government Development Agencies. 

Paul has spent the last 12 years working within government in Cross-Agency roles developing partnerships with the private sector to facilitate alternate funding and delivery strategies. 

Additionally, Paul sat on the NSW Council of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, where he chaired the Environment and Sustainability Committee and was Deputy Chair of the Planning Reform and Regulatory Committee.  

Ben Kitcher

Ben is a mechanical engineer and has specialised in advanced manufacturing for aerospace.

He has developed manufacturing solutions for global aerospace companies and their supply chains and has built and sustained innovation groups which have grown the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing & Research Centre (AMRC).

Working on the development of technical strategy and partnering with local, national and international organisations, Ben has coordinated numerous support programs, developed a skilled workforce, and high value manufacturing processes for implementation of new factories in the Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Park.

Most recently, he developed the AMRC's electrification capability, building teams and capabilities in battery and motor manufacturing.

Peter Mackey

Since commencing with the NSW Government in 2015, Peter has worked across various agencies including Trade and Investment, Industry, Treasury, Premier and Cabinet and recently with Investment NSW. His roles have included leading the State's export, small business, and international education teams. In his most recent role with the Trade team, Peter led the State's response to the impact of the pandemic on NSW exporters and international students.

Prior to joining NSW Government, Peter spent seven years with Austrade, posted as Trade Commissioner to Hanoi in 2010 and later to Singapore. During this time, he also held a regional role, as Education Commissioner, ASEAN, leading Austrade's regional education team promoting Australian education, training and research expertise across South East Asia.

Over the past 20 years, Peter has worked primarily in the education and training, ICT and government sectors.

James Passmore

James joined the Authority from the Department of Premier and Cabinet where he worked on large scale urban development programs and market led proposals.

James has extensive experience in delivering complex programs and transactions across a variety of sectors including transport, energy, telecommunications as well as health and education infrastructure. He has strong skills in business development, commercial strategy, transaction management and business case development.

Prior to joining the NSW Government, James spent 10 years working for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including a 5 year posting to Papua New Guinea where he worked on large scale infrastructure and energy investments. He started his career working as in international commodity trading working in Australia and Europe.

Matt Sherb

Matt brings more than 20 years of infrastructure, strategy and engagement experience to his role of Executive Director, Infrastructure & Delivery at the Authority.

Most recently, he was the Executive Director of the Office of the Secretary at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. Prior to that he worked in numerous infrastructure and strategy roles at Infrastructure NSW, Infrastructure Australia, Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Growth Centres Commission and Sydney Water Corporation.

Matt has a keen interest in addressing the challenges and opportunities of aligning the provision of key infrastructure with land release for the benefit of the people of NSW – and there is no better place to do this than the Western Parkland City.