SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND
PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES AND BEYOND: LEADING BY CONNECTING COMMUNITIES everyone, it makes everyone’s lives better,” Emma said.
Emma Thomas, CEO Sunshine Coast Council
From aeronautical engineering to community inclusion and advocacy, Sunshine Coast Council CEO Emma Thomas’s diverse roles have always allowed her to focus on what may be the most important issue of our time, connecting people. This was the catalyst for Emma embracing the incredible opportunity of joining Sunshine Coast Council, with Council’s vision to be Australia’s most sustainable region: Healthy, Smart and Creative. Through her myriad of experiences across Australia, from Perth to Sydney, the Northern Territory to Adelaide, Canberra and now back in Queensland, Emma continues to be passionate about finding ways to provide great service to communities. “How we care for our community is important. We need to work together to develop solutions, because when we all come together and do good for
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“I’ve been fortunate to take part in a wide range of projects and teams that have shaped me and given me the skills to stand in the position I am in today. “Leading the fifth largest local government organisation in Queensland that is strategically and successfully coordinating a number of important public works and infrastructure projects to benefit the community, is an absolute honour. “I’m proud to stand at the helm, share and guide from my experience and continue to learn from, and connect with, the Sunshine Coast community and beyond.” With an early fascination for space and air travel, curiosity and a love for math and physics, Emma began her professional life as a qualified aeronautical engineer with the Australian Air Force. Her first posting was at Tindal, south of Katherine in the Northern Territory, where she worked on the then very new F18 hornets. She loved every moment. Keen to be part of the small local community, the former WA state gymnast updated her coaching accreditations and spent many hours coaching young girls at the YMCA. It was during her post in Tindal that Emma spent time in the real
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | SEPT 2021
heartland of Australia, travelling to its remote communities. She became aware of Indigenous culture, resilience, and sustainable approach to land management. However, she has found their history and truth-telling of what has happened and the generational sorrow heartbreaking. “I need to listen to more of that conversation and visit what has happened in our country. “We should all be incredibly proud of the 65,000 years of culture and it is my business to learn as much as I can. All the stories are there and there is only benefit in learning about them.” Continuing with her aeronautical aspirations, Emma moved to Boeing where she worked for over 10 years and progressed to Vice President roles in Australia and Europe. Switching gears to roads and rail, Emma took on senior leadership roles with Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads, South Australia’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport, and then with the ACT Government, where she helped deliver light rail to Canberra, connecting the City Centre with the northern suburb of Gungahlin. When Emma made the move to PwC consultancy as a partner within the Infrastructure and
