Gary Liddle, Chief Executive Officer, VicRoads

Gary Liddle has over 30 years of service with VicRoads and its predecessors, having joined the Country Roads Board in 1971 as a cadet. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2007. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Chief Executive in 2004, Gary was Director Major Projects. Other senior appointments include General Manager, Road System Management, Project Manager for the Eastern Freeway and the Ballarat Bypass major road projects. He worked with the UK Highways Agency for a short period in late 1999.

Gary's achievements include managing integration of land form, landscaping and noise walls for the Eastern Freeway extension (Doncaster to Springvale Roads), which won several architectural awards. He also implemented a new project management system while working in Major Projects.

Gary has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Management.

Gary chaired an international technical committee - Inter-urban Roads and Integrated Inter-urban Transport - for two years for PIARC, an international association of road authorities. He also carried out the role of Technology Program Manager for Austroads.

Ray Farrelly has "survived" more than 25 years at the helm of the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association and regards his time with the association as most rewarding, having played an instrumental role in AAPA being a highly regarded professional organisation, recognised both nationally and internationally.

He is a qualified civil engineer, a Member of Institute of Engineers (Aust), a Chartered Professional Engineer,.

Prior to joining AAPA, Ray was for five years the Executive Director of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. His involvement in materials and engineering began in 1968 with experimental work at Australia's Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, initially in the Division of Forest Products and then the Division of Building Research, primarily in the area of timber structures.

Previously active in football, basketball and tennis, he has now succumbed to the less vigorous pursuit of golf, with an occasional bungy jump thrown in to "stimulate the senses".

Murray Kidnie Executive Director, Austroads

Murray Kidnie is the Executive Director of Austroads, which is the association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities.

Austroads aims to provide research and advice for the integrated develop, management and operation of the Australasian road system by promoting national uniformity, eliminating unnecessary duplication and promoting improved practice. Murray holds qualifications in economics and urban and regional planning.

Bob Peters Manager Road Asset Planning, Main Roads Western Australia.

Bob is a civil engineer with a postgraduate qualification in education and a Master's Degree in Engineering Science. His masters degree was gained in transport planning and engineering from the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds in England.

In his 25 year career at Main Roads Bob has put his energies into a mixture of policy, strategy and technical areas. His technical expertise includes vehicle weighing and classification where he invented the Culway Weigh in Motion System. He has published and presented more than 20 papers on a range of issues throughout the world.

From 1997 to 2000 he managed the Austroads Road Use Management program and he is currently assisting the National Transport Commission on a part time basis with the implementation of national heavy vehicle reforms. He represents Western Australia on the Austroads Assets Taskforce and Australia on the World Road Association Committee - Management of Road Infrastructure Assets. In 2007 he will also take on the role of Chairman of the Transport Panel of the Institution of Engineers in Western Australia.

Kieran Sharp

Kieran Sharp is currently the Business Manager, Asset Technology, at ARRB Group Ltd. He has worked on a wide range of pavement and materials-related research projects for Austroads, industry and the OECD, including the DIVINE project. He was the Manager of the Australian Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) program during the 1990's.

Kieran is a member of TRB Committee AFD40 and EU COST Committee 347 on Accelerated Pavement Testing, the American Concrete Institute Committee 325 (Concrete Pavements), the Austroads Pavement Technology review Panel and Assets Task Force and various project steering committees.

He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Pavements and the Chairman of the Technical Committee of REAAA and a member of the Governing Council.

In 2003, Kieran became the first member of ARRB to receive an Austroads Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to Austroads activities.

Chris Tatam is a civil engineer with over 25 years experience in the roads and transport field, covering infrastructure planning, design, construction supervision and asset management. Chris leads Maunsell's Transport Group in Western Australia.

His key skills include:

- Strategic transport planning, demand analysis and transport modelling

- Road project planning (route selection, route definition, public consultation)

- Detailed road design, contract documentation, and construction management

- Infrastructure asset management, needs analysis, program and policy development

- Project and program evaluation using multi and criteria cost-benefit analysis

- Traffic engineering and road safety

- Road classification and road funding arrangements

- Heavy vehicle regulation and charging

Chris holds qualifications in Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Purdue University, USA 1988 and Bachelor of Engineering, University of Western Australia, 1978.

George Vorobieff

During his career George has been responsible for publishing over 100 technical papers and manuals on engineering topics ranging from the maintenance of timber bridges, wind engineering and design of rigid and flexible pavements. George is a member of various Australian Standard committees and is a member of the Austroads Pavement Technology Review Panel.

George has both experience in research, design and specification of flexible and concrete pavements for residential streets and major highways. He participated in the development of the Austroads Pavement Design and Rehabilitation Guides, and is group manager for an Austroads research project on the characterisation of stabilised materials.

His work with the Australian Stabilisation Industry Association, plays a vital role in preparing standards and guidelines for the design and construction of stabilised pavements.

George's tertiary qualifications include a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University, Master of Engineering Science (UNSW) and Honours in Bachelor of Civil Engineering (UNSW). In addition, he is a Chartered Professional Engineer with Institution of Engineers, Australia, and a member of the following organisations Concrete Institute of Australia, Institute of Pubic Works Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Management.

Gerard Waldron

As Managing Director of ARRB Group Ltd (Formerly ARRB Transport Research Ltd) since July 2001, Gerard has led and is leading the organisation through difficult adjustments required to ensure its sustainability in a commercial environment.

With qualifications in Engineering and Business, Gerard's experience in commercialising Research and Development was developed in various roles over his 14 years with the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria and a further 6 years with Austrim Nylex companies, as the head of the Ajax Technology Centre.

He also continues today as the non-executive chairman of Harvey Technology Pty Ltd, a developer and manufacturer of high performance recreational and military equipment.

Tom Wilmot

Tom Wilmot is a Graduate of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

He has over thirty five years experience in soil and road stabilisation, and he is recognised locally and abroad as a key driver in promoting research and innovation in this economical form of road construction and road recycling. He has written a number of technical papers and presented widely in Australia and Asia.

Tom is an active director of Stabilised Pavements of Australia and of Stabilised Pavements International which has operations in the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia.

Tom has received the John Shaw award by the Australian Road Federation for his contribution to Roads in Australia. It was significant that he was the first person from the non government sector to receive this award.