Our People

Dr Michael Shirley has over 30 years of industry experience, leading and engaging complex teams whilst delivering business growth and strong commercial outcomes.

Dr Shirley has worked across the natural resources, environment, water, buildings and infrastructure sectors across Australia and globally.

Michael has held senior executive roles for leading organisations including; Sinclair Knight Merz, Jacobs and most recently Aurecon where he was the Managing Director Clients. Michael has a demonstrated track record of strategic and operational leadership, delivering outstanding long-term business growth.

Steve is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of finance and corporate advisory experience including having held senior leadership roles with professional services and advisory firms PwC and KPMG.

Steve has a strong track record in corporate finance including significant capital markets, merger and acquisition transaction advisory and debt arranging experience in the mid-cap industrials sectors.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Business and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Angus Leitch is an executive leader with over 30 years’ experience across diverse sectors including major infrastructure, transport, resources, Defence and building industries.

Prior to joining Veris, Angus held the position of Managing Director of Clients and Markets at Aurecon, where he also served as Director on the Aurecon Global Board since 2020. His extensive operational background includes serving as Regional Director for Western Australia, followed by a transition to Regional Director for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

Angus’ career has been marked by a commitment to driving long-term strategies and nation-building initiatives through operational and project roles and large multidisciplinary workforces.

Roze has more than 20 years’ experience in the oil & gas, mining and resources, construction and engineering industries.

Roze has held senior leadership positions with AusGroup, Barminco, AECOM and Leighton Contractors with her main responsibility being the development and successful implementation of Marketing and Communications strategies and programs.

Roze’s career is underpinned by a strong focus on facilitating business strategies. She has a demonstrated skill set in the areas of strategic marketing, corporate communications and public relations, as well as a background in change management and business transformation.

Sonya has over 15 years’ experience partnering with businesses to achieve organisational goals and objectives in industries such as Professional Services, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retail, Finance, Consulting Services and Information Technology.

Sonya has a background in delivering commercially sound, human centric initiatives ensuring global consistency and local relevance. She is highly experienced in stakeholder engagement specialising in implementing strategy, networking and liaising with regulatory bodies, providing leadership direction, coaching and mentoring to senior executives.

Sonya’s career is built on being a trusted advisor and the ability to deliver through a pragmatic lens. She has a Bachelors in Economics and Political Science from Bethany College, U.S.A and a Masters of Human Resource Management from the University of Melbourne.

Ian has over 30 years of experience as an accomplished leader, working for consultancies across both the public infrastructure and resources sectors.

Ian’s experience includes 20 years in consulting engineering, providing strong relationships, and building teams to deliver exceptional client service.

Prior to joining Veris, Ian held leadership roles across Jacobs, Lycopodium and Opus, on a wide range of infrastructure projects throughout Western Australia.

Richard is a business executive with extensive experience in the technical professional services sector in operations and client management specifically in engineering, economics, planning, spatial and survey sectors.

Over his career he has specialised in the development and implementation of client market strategies to achieve lasting and valued relationships.

Richard’s most immediate past role was with the Jacobs global engineering practice where he worked for over 18 years. Past roles have also included roles in Europe with the Commission for the European Communities and the OECD, both of which he continues to engage and explore joint research initiatives.

Nathan is a highly qualified spatial scientist and business executive with experience providing expert advice across Australia-Pacific to governments, industry and the World Bank.

Nathan’s PhD in remote-sensing led him to manage a United Nations award-winning project on sea level rise capacity building across the Pacific. He has also used his technical expertise to establish national quality assurance standards for LiDAR, drone imagery and marine surveys.

More recently the achievement of an MBA has enabled Nathan to be deeply involved in driving digital and spatial technologies to support business strategy. Nathan’s experience in building teams at the forefront of spatial analytics and technology has enabled him to provide strategic advice and solution designs to tackle a variety of complex challenges.

Phil has over 30 years of experience in the transport and infrastructure sectors; providing leadership and excellence in service delivery and design.

Phil has a proven record in project delivery across a diverse range of civil engineering and planning projects primarily in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Phil has provided guidance and support to the development of several major infrastructure projects to both government agencies and contractors.

With over 40 years of experience in both public and private sectors, Peter specialises in major building and infrastructure projects across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. His expertise includes project delivery, financial management, and commercial management.

Peter’s professional background is rooted in Architecture and Project Management within the government sector, where he has held senior business and commercial management positions in major multinational consultancy firms.

Kellie is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the development industry including involvement in some of Victoria’s most iconic projects.

Kellie is a Licensed Surveyor and leading advocate for the surveying profession and spatial industry. She is a past President and current Board member of the Institution of Surveyors Victoria, and a Co-convener of the Space, Spatial, Surveying Diversity Leadership Network.

Brett has over 19 years of invaluable experience in the surveying industry, specialising in cadastral, engineering, major high-rise, and construction surveying.

Throughout his career, Brett has consistently demonstrated his leadership capabilities by successfully overseeing projects in the ACT and South Australia. His remarkable track record is a testament to his ability to forge strong client relationships while consistently delivering optimal solutions.

Brett holds a Bachelor of Geoinformatics and Surveying degree from the University of South Australia.

Gavin Hassett brings over 30 years of experience in delivering innovative solutions to our clients within the Spatial Industry. Gavin combines his technical expertise with deep industry knowledge to provide a solutions-focused approach to business excellence.

During his 27 year tenure at Veris, Gavin has held numerous key leadership roles, including Regional Manager for Western Australia and National Manager for Technical Excellence. His extensive experience and leadership have been instrumental in driving the company's success.

Michael is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience in senior regional roles in the commercial sector including the spatial industry.

Michael’s experience includes acquisitions and operational merging of businesses, implementing systems in high growth organisations and the financial management of regional operations and multi-million dollar projects.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business and is an Associate of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Past roles have included Company Secretary of an ASX publicly listed company and Director of a National Sporting Organisation.