MDBA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Chief Executive, Murray - Darling Basin Authority
Andrew McConville commenced as Chief Executive of the MDBA in June 2022. Before joining the MDBA he was the Chief Executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, a position he held since 2019. Andrew worked for more than a decade with Syngenta, one of the world's leading agribusinesses where he held several senior roles, including the Global Head of External Affairs and Communication based in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to this, Andrew ran his own agribusiness public relations consultancy and worked as Head of Corporate Affairs for Business at the National Australia Bank.
Andrew holds a first-class honours degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of New England and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Oxford.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, River Management
Andrew Reynolds has more than 27 years' experience managing major water supply infrastructure, the past 9 with the MDBA. He has worked extensively in the fields of engineering project delivery, dam safety and river management, and is a past chair of the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD). Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Agricultural) with Honours from the University of Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Business Services
Annette Blyton joined the MDBA leadership team in 2017. She has worked in a broad range of corporate areas since starting her public service career in 1986. These areas include corporate and business management, farm surveys, data, social research, finance, property and major projects and procurements.
From 2002 to 2012, Annette was Corporate Manager for the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences. She then joined the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, where she worked as National Manager, People from 2012 to 2015. Annette moved to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in 2015, where she was responsible for the department's national property interests and a range of other national business functions.
Job Titles:
- General Manager, Sustainable Water Management
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Environmental Management
Job Titles:
- Chief Finance Officer, Finance, EPMO and Governance
Job Titles:
- General Manager, General Counsel Legal, Procurement and Secretariat
Job Titles:
- General Manager, Science Acquisition
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Basin Science and Knowledge
Scott Ashby joined the MDBA in October 2023 and has extensive experience in water policy, science and governance. He is a former Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Water, and former Chief Executive of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia; former Commissioner for the Murray Darling Basin Commission; and former Basin Officials Committee representative in his capacity as the Chief Executive of the South Australian Premier's Murray-Darling Basin Plan Taskforce.
Scott has experience across jurisdictions, having also occupied a range of policy and management roles with the Victorian Government in the primary industries and natural resource management portfolios. He has a depth of experience as a people leader having led large multi-functional teams and as someone with genuine knowledge and expertise in Basin science and policy.
Scott's senior executive experience spans policy and program areas addressing water resource management, natural resource management, environment protection, primary industries, agriculture, biosecurity, agricultural science, water resource research and development, climate change and resilience, forestry, fisheries management, and economic and regional development. Scott has academic qualifications in politics, geography, social sciences, and business administration.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Basin Plan
Prior to joining the MDBA in June 2020, Tim Goodes was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions for the South Australian Government. He was responsible for Agriculture, Food and Wine; Regional Development; Major Program delivery; and corporate services. From 2009 to 2017 Tim was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources in South Australia. In that role he was responsible for the policy and strategy development of the department, including serving as the Basin Official for South Australia, overseeing the implementation of the Basin Plan and other major water projects.
Tim came to natural resources management following 12 years in the justice portfolio, in courts and the Attorney-General's Department including time as the Sheriff of South Australia, and 3 years as an Executive Director in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. He has a degree in Social Administration and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, River Operations