Within two months of arriving in the managing director’s office at Goulburn-Murray Water, Charmaine Quick told her leadership team there was going to be a spill of all their positions.
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It was a risky move for the former Melbourne Water engineer, and one that raised the eyebrows of her board. The organisation had already been through a period of revolving doors for managing directors in the past 14 years.
If the spill worked she would get a new executive with fresh eyes focused on the future and not the troubled past. If it didn’t work, she would be saddled with a network that might take years to settle into the task. And judgments would be made either way.
She set about the task of addressing change for the organisation, establishing a sound leadership team and tackling efficiencies.
With the support of a new board (including the first female chair), she drove a restructure of the organisation that resulted in major staffing cuts and tariff reductions for irrigators who had been complaining for years that the organisation needed reform.
Two former directors, who are no longer bound to support Ms Quick, have made their own judgments.
Former chair Diane James said Ms Quick’s time at G-MW had been one of stability, good governance and transparency.
“I was privileged to work with Charmaine and the board through a period of significant transformation,” Ms James said.
“Charmaine’s leadership throughout that time was marked by clarity and courage. She consistently put customers at the heart of every decision, ensuring G-MW remained resilient and forward-looking during times of change.”
Another former board member, David McKenzie, described Charmaine Quick’s leadership as calm and respectful, and recalled she took over at a time when G-MW was beset with governance and operational delivery challenges.
Under her leadership, new top talent was recruited, the organisation was significantly restructured, and a sharp focus on service delivery and efficiency followed. This culture is now embedded in the business.
“Charmaine’s legacy to both G-MW and the region more broadly is genuinely significant. We all owe her a debt of gratitude,’’ Mr McKenzie said.
In the seven years Ms Quick was at the helm, the organisation, with a $200 million budget, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 floods and, in the same year, a minor earthquake underneath the region’s biggest reservoir, Eildon.
Prior to her arrival, G-MW was regularly on the front pages of the local newspapers for the wrong reasons, and one colleague last week remarked that it was a sign of some success that the organisation had slipped into the background.
The Essential Services Commission has noted in the most recent pricing submission that the G-MW submission was of high quality, demonstrating prudence and efficiency.
G-MW is Australia’s largest rural water corporation, and manages, stores and delivers water through about 10,000km of delivery and drainage infrastructure to more than 25,000 customers.
The daughter of western district farmers, Ms Quick knew from her teenage years that she wanted to be an engineer.
At one career seminar geared towards engineering she recalls sitting in the room and noticing she was the only female there.
G-MW managing director Charmaine Quick.
She was good at maths and science, and never really thought a lot about gender roles in the occupation.
“I thought it was a practical way of using my maths and science,” she said.
“And growing up on the farm, with droughts and water issues, it moved me towards that sector in civil engineering.”
While a changed gender mix can influence an organisation, Ms Quick believes technology has changed the organisation more. But one change impacts another. Technology allows the organisation to offer more flexible working arrangements, including working from home, a prospect women find more attractive.
The result is a broadening of the pool of available talent to recruit, male or female.
The figures show that in Ms Quick’s time at G-MW, overall, female staff numbers increased from 25.5 per cent to 32 per cent and at the senior leadership level, the proportion of females has increased from 22 per cent to 44 per cent.
After working full time for 38 years, Ms Quick has decided she will semi-retire at the end of July next year.
“For me leadership takes a lot of energy, but I remember some of my mentors talked about a ‘sweet spot’ for leading organisations before you get stale or need to move ... I felt 10 years was too long,” she said.
And, on the long lead time for her notice: “I wanted enough time for the new board to come in, to pick a new MD and give them enough time to prepare the next pricing submission (for the ESC),” she said.
She is looking forward to a break after she leaves G-MW, making full use of her caravan and going hiking and skiing. She might eventually find part-time work after her break.
