Engineering firm SMEC has said it is continuing to strengthen its Water Resources and Hydropower teams with appointments of senior technical specialists across Australia.
Andreas Neumaier, Chief Technical Principal Dams and Hydropower
Andreas recently relocated from Malaysia to Australia as Chief Technical Principal Dams and Hydropower, filling the key role of Owner's Team design leader on the expansion of the iconic Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, also known as Snowy 2.0. Andreas has more than 35 years’ experience leading dam, hydropower, flood control/protection, irrigation and water supply projects throughout Australia and Southeast Asia.
Elliot Hannan, National Manager Dams and Hydropower
Elliot has 18 years’ experience as a qualified engineer in both Australia and the UK, during which time he has gained experience in design and project management of various water infrastructure projects particularly dams and hydraulic structures. After leading SMEC’s Dams and Hydropower team in Victoria since June 2017, Elliot has been promoted to National Manager Dams and Hydropower, Australia.
Jeremy Kent-Johnston, Principal Engineer, Dams and Hydropower
For the past five years Jeremy has been managing SMEC’s New Zealand Hydropower and Dams team, advising clients and managing engineering on hydropower and dam projects around the world. He has relocated to Australia as Principal Engineer, Dams and Hydropower, and is leading several hydropower business cases and feasibility studies around Australia.
Tim Rhodes, Technical Principal Hydrology and Hydraulics
Recently promoted to the role of Technical Principal, Tim has over 20 years’ experience delivering technical solutions for water resources projects across Australia and internationally. Tim’s portfolio of experience includes hydrologic analysis, yield assessment, rural and urban drainage, dambreak analysis, consequence assessment, hydraulic assessment and analysis, asset valuations and cost estimations. Tim provides technical leadership and risk governance on proposals and projects.
Mani Manivasakan, Technical Principal Irrigation and Rural Drainage
Recently promoted to Technical Principal, Mani has over 33 years’ experience in providing investigation, design, management and advisory services to water authorities, government agencies and private sector clients across Australia, New Zealand and internationally. Mani’s key skills include hydrologic and catchment modelling, stormwater management, effluent management including agriculture, mining and industrial, wetland design, water quality and water supply analysis. Mani brings strong leadership and technical expertise to the ANZ Water Resources portfolio.
Welcoming the new appointments, Bob Tilbury, Market Director for Water, Dams and Hydropower, said that this increases SMEC’s capacity for technical leadership on major infrastructure projects. “We’re seeing a surge of activity in dams, hydropower, rural water security and irrigation across Australia. SMEC is able to respond to that by relocating key international staff and also promoting from within. We see ongoing growth across the sector and are strengthening the technical capacity to support our clients.
“Clients want to know that their projects are in safe hands, and SMEC can offer industry-leading technical experts who bring the right mix of local experience and global expertise to technically complex and challenging projects.”
