Supporting Our Community

Executive profiles

Reece Waldock

Chief Executive Officer

Reece Waldock

Reece has 26 years experience in strategic management with particular expertise in organisational reform. He held a number of senior executive roles within the Department of Commerce and Trade and Department of Transport from the early 1990s through to the end of 2000. Prior to his career with the WA public sector, Reece held a number of senior management roles with BHP.

In December 2000, following the sale of the rail freight business of the Western Australian Government Railways Commission, Reece acted in the position of Commissioner of Railways. With the creation of the PTA on July 1, 2003 Reece was appointed as the inaugural CEO and oversaw the integration of all state-wide public transport services, together with a major construction program which included the Mandurah Railway.

In May 2010 the State Government integrated WA’s three key transport agencies and Reece was appointed to head the Transport portfolio, consisting of the Department of Transport, Main Roads WA and the PTA. This has heralded a new direction for the portfolio of single point accountability, a whole of portfolio approach and ensuring we get the transport system right.

Mark Burgess

Managing Director

Mark Burgess

Mark has gained extensive logistic, transport and people management skills through 21 years in the Army and 15 years in senior public transport management roles.

He joined the PTA at its formation after six years when Transperth was within the Department of Transport and the Department for Planning and Infrastructure.

As PTA’s Managing Director, Mark is responsible for the day to day operations of the PTA. Prior to moving to this position two years ago, Mark was Executive Director of the Transperth system - that is Perth’s integrated bus, train and ferry system - for 12 years.

Pat Italiano

General Manager Transperth Train Operations

Pat Italiano

Pat is a qualified accountant and member of CPA Australia.

During his 39-year career in public transport, Pat has acquired considerable expertise in business and strategic management, risk management, audit and, has extensive, operational experience within a fully-integrated urban passenger transit environment.

Kim Stone

General Manager Network and Infrastructure

Kim Stone

Kim joined the PTA in August 2004 as the General Manager of Transwa after a two year secondment in the Department for Planning and Infrastructure. He had previously been director of Coastal and Facilities Management in the Department of Transport for four years.

Kim has worked in both the State and Federal Government arenas in addition to a number of roles in the private sector, including running his own management consulting business. His background is in engineering and management.

In September 2009, Kim moved to the Network and Infrastructure Division as the General Manager and his responsibilities include the management and maintenance of the PTA railway network infrastructure, including controlling access by third parties under the Railways (Access) Act 1998 and ensuring the provision of Information Technology services to support PTA’s operations.

Tim Woolerson

General Manager Transwa

Tim Woolerson

Twenty-one years in the military has provided Tim with extensive logistics and management skills along with an Associate Diploma in Engineering Maintenance. Tim commenced work at the PTA seven years ago as the Transperth Fleet Manager after six years in the private sector working in the vehicle fleet management field.

As general manager of Transwa, Tim is responsible for the delivery of a customer-focussed, safe and cost-effective transport services through the regional train and road coach network and for the maintenance of infrastructure and management of contracts associated with these services.

Martin White

Executive Director Transperth System, Regional and School Bus Services

Martin White

Martin joined the PTA in 2006. He was formerly General Manager of the Eastern Goldfields Transport Board (trading as TransGoldfields). Martin has 20 years’ experience in public transport, having previously worked in both the Department of Transport and the Department for Planning and Infrastructure. He is a qualified accountant and has a post-graduate qualification in management.

He is responsible for managing, coordinating and marketing the Transperth system, comprising commercial bus contractors, a commercial ferry contractor and the urban passenger rail services. His role is also responsible for the management of Regional Town Bus Services and School Bus Services throughout Western Australia.

Kevin Kirk

Executive Director Finance and Contracts

Kevin Kirk

Kevin has more than 35 years’ experience in public service and has held senior roles in Main Roads WA and the Department of Transport. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) degree and is a CPA and a fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants. His professional interest is in the areas of financial management, business performance and procurement.

Kevin is PTA’s Chief Finance Officer, responsible for maintaining PTA’s financial management and procurement systems and processes.

David Browne

Executive Director Safety and Strategic Development

David Browne

David joined PTA predecessor WAGRC in December 2002 as a Policy Officer and has a Master of Transport Studies degree (UWA) as well as qualifications in policy and management. Before joining the PTA, David spent 20 years in the aviation industry including 15 years in the RAAF where he worked in a number of areas including strategic airspace management policy and planning.

His role includes making the link between high-level policy and operations within the agency, managing a number of key projects, and driving strategic change in safety, policy development and business management.

Brian Appleby

Executive Director People and Organisational Development

Brian Appleby

Brian brings to the organisation more than 24 years’ experience in Labour Relations, human resource management, workforce services and learning and development. After beginning his career in the private sector, Brian has undertaken a range of roles as an operative, operational manager and director in key public sector agencies and central government departments. He holds a post-graduate qualification in Industrial Relations and is a former Australian Army Reserve officer. He is a board member of the Logistics Training Council and a member of the Australasian Railways Workforce Development Committee.

Along with his responsibility for strategic people management, Brian oversees the delivery of functional human resource services for the PTA’s people. He commenced his appointment in February 2008.

Hugh Smith

Executive Director Strategic Asset Management and Development

Hugh Smith

Hugh launched his engineering career at British Steel in the United Kingdom and joined WAGRC in 1972 as an assistant engineer at the Midland Workshops, where he subsequently held senior management positions in design and production. He was appointed General Manager of the Urban Passenger Division in 1994.

In this role he was responsible for developing strategies for customer focus, reliability of services and improved OTR of trains. Following the sale of WAGR’s freight business in December 2000, Hugh was appointed General Manager, N&I in an organisation focused exclusively on passenger transport and customer service

In October 2010 Hugh took on the role of Executive Director Strategic Asset Management Development responsible for the implementation of policies, strategies and actions for the effective asset management of PTA assets.

Ross Hamilton

Executive Director Major Projects

Ross Hamilton

Ross has worked for Westrail and the PTA for 25 years in various roles including Construction, Planning Land Rationalisation and Maintenance. With the inception of the PTA he worked as the Manager Track and Civil Infrastructure and then took over the construction of the Mandurah railway through the critical commissioning phase for the commencement of services in December 2007.

Ross is responsible for the delivery of major projects for the PTA and is currently working on the Perth City Link project and the extension to the Northern Suburbs Railway from Clarkson to Butler.

Peter Martinovich

Executive Director Infrastructure Planning and Land Services

Peter Martinovich

Peter began his railway career with WAGR as a junior clerk in 1964 and graduated as an engineer in Westrail’s Civil Engineering branch in 1974. He returned to this branch after a two-year secondment with the Australian Railways Research and Development Organisation in Melbourne in the early 80s. In 1987, he was appointed Maintenance Engineer in the Civil Branch. After serving in the position of Planning Engineer Northern Suburbs Railway, Peter rose to the position of Principal Engineer Planning and Permanent Way before transferring to the Department of Transport in 1995.

He became Manager, Transit Planning with the Department of Transport in 1995, and set up and led the team which developed the South West Metropolitan Railway and Northern Suburbs Extension Master Plans. He was appointed Deputy Project Director of New MetroRail in 2003. After completion of the NMR Project in 2007, he was appointed Director of Railway and Infrastructure Planning within the PTA’s Network and Infrastructure Division.

In 2009, he was appointed Executive Director of the newly-formed Infrastructure Planning and Land Services Division.

David Hynes

Manager Corporate Communications

David Hynes

David brought a wealth of communications experience to the PTA (then WAGRC) when he joined the organisation in 2003 and has been a significant contributor to its communications activities, especially media relations, since then. Immediately prior to his appointment he had been working as a government media adviser to a senior Cabinet Minister.

He had previously worked as a freelance journalist, writing for a range of national and international publications, and run his own public relations consultancy, providing high-level strategic advice to a big number of clients. This followed a 20-year career at WA Newspapers working on the Daily News, Weekend News and Countryman, culminating in a three-year stint as Business and Finance Editor of The West Australian.