Queensland Airports Limited Executive Committee Appointments

In a continuation of its recovery – Queensland Airports Limited’s (QAL) Executive Committee is back to full strength, with three new appointments since the beginning of the year.

After an extensive internal and external search, the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Property and Planning Officer and Chief Strategy, Sustainability and People Officer are now filled, taking the Executive team to seven members.

QAL’s former General Manager of Finance, Ben Daly, has been appointed as QAL’s Chief Financial Officer, replacing Amelia Evans who took on the role of Chief Executive Officer in July 2022.

In addition, Brian McGuckin has been appointed as Chief Property and Planning Officer – having  previously worked at Springfield City Group master planning multiple complex and sustainable precinct projects in the Retail, Education, Commercial, Hotel, and Sports & Entertainment sectors.

While Shannon McFadden has joined QAL in the newly created role of Chief Strategy, Sustainability and People Officer, having most recently worked at Bain & Company as the Vice President of Operations and Talent.

QAL Chief Executive Officer Amelia Evans said the team is pleased to have a full Executive Committee once again.

“We have seen passenger numbers recover across our ports following two difficult years, so it is an opportune time to welcome Ben, Brian and Shannon to join our experienced Executive team as we take on the growth opportunities and challenges of this next chapter for QAL,” Ms Evans said.

“Connecting people, places and communities is at the heart of what we do as an airport group, acting as an anchor to support regional economic and social growth. Our vision is to be the first choice gateways for our regions, and our Executive team, supported by our broader team, are of core importance in achieving this vision,” she said.

Ben, Brian and Shannon join QAL’s broader Executive Committee which consists of Amelia Evans (Chief Executive Officer), Marion Charlton (Chief Operating Officer), Adam Rowe (Chief Commercial Officer) and David Hedges (General Counsel and Company Secretary).

More information on QAL’s Executive Committee can be found here at https://www.qldairports.com.au/about/meet-our-executive-team

Profiles on Ben Daly, Brian McGuckin and Shannon McFadden are below.
 

Ben Daly – Chief Financial Officer
Ben, a chartered accountant, has gained experience across large organisations in the airline, utilities and infrastructure industries having previously held senior finance, commercial and transformational roles at Sydney Airport, Origin Energy and Qantas.

QAL CFO Ben Daly said he was proud to be stepping up to lead such an experienced team.

“I’ve worked closely with this team for the last four years and very proud of what we achieved through what was a very challenging time for the business. I’m now very much looking forward to contributing to a new, more positive era for QAL,” Mr Daly said.

Brian McGuckin – Chief Property & Planning Officer
Brian McGuckin has recently taken on the new role of QAL’s CPPO having previously held roles at  Springfield City Group and Leighton Properties in Queensland, where he held overall responsibility for delivering $1bn of commercial development in Brisbane.

As CPPO, Brian will oversee QAL’s experienced Property, Planning and Projects team in the delivery of major projects, including the airport master plans, as well as the planning and facilitation of other critical infrastructure and Precinct developments.

QAL CPPO Brian McGuckin said he was thrilled to join the team.

“I’ve joined QAL at an exciting time with multiple strategic projects on the horizon, and plan to draw on my experience to best position the company for future growth and unlock new opportunities,” Mr McGuckin said.

Shannon McFadden – Chief Strategy, Sustainability & People Officer
Shannon McFadden joins QAL from management consulting firm Bain & Company where she has  worked for the past 18 years, advising companies from a broad range of sectors, and most recently  holding the role of Vice President of Operations and Talent, leading the human capital function, supporting strategy development and mobilisation and managing day-to-day commercial operations for Bain Australia. Shannon has extensive global and local experience in sustainable strategy development and implementation, stakeholder engagement, business operations and talent management. Ms McFadden’s portfolio will play a key role in overseeing the delivery of QAL’s strategic priorities and ESG agenda.

Ms McFadden said she’s thrilled to be taking on this new role at QAL and is excited about the future for QAL and Queensland.

“I grew up in regional Queensland and I am excited to be a part of an organisation that is committed to providing meaningful connections for communities, keeping sustainability and people at the forefront of decision-making,” Ms McFadden said.