Nicole Stoddart

In her own words

What I love about the transport industry is that relationships span decades, and that there are so many interesting people to work alongside. I like to challenge myself and others to encourage more women into the industry and to share the diversity of skills that are needed to support the delivery of major projects.  It is not lost on me how important my appointment as the first female CEO for the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority was to the next generation of leaders and I am proud to be a role model in our industry.   

Career highlights include several years working on London’s historic St. Pancras Station for Eurostar which is a beautiful, high functioning and important piece of infrastructure connecting London and Paris.  Another was my involvement in the Ravenhall Prison, which provided me the opportunity to learn about Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), the complexity of prison delivery, and the influence of operations and prisoner behaviour on the design. I enjoy continually pushing myself to learn new sectors, disciplines, engineering, and commercial models.  Developing the AECOM Construction Services business was also very rewarding, and I learned a lot about the operating model and success factors for a consultancy business. 

I joined Rail Projects Victoria in 2019, excited by the concept of the Suburban Rail Loop project which will bring together transport and precinct design to shape our growing city.  I was tasked with progressing the project from a design concept and into delivery – this involved building a team, meeting with stakeholders, designing the route, developing and executing procurement, and creating Victoria’s first digital Environment Effects Statement.  It was wonderful to start construction in May 2022 as it represented the enormous team effort in getting to that point.  When I was offered the role of CEO Rail Projects Victoria I jumped at it – it was not only a step up professionally, but it provided a platform to influence our industry and the fantastic opportunity to lead the final and most challenging stages of the Metro Tunnel Project – the biggest rail project since the City Loop.

The Happiness Factor

In my role I am energised by the people around me and the transformational nature of our work. To reflect on the benefits of the projects that we deliver fills me with pride including the quality of the public realm. I have loved learning about the artwork being created for the Metro Tunnel Project and the involvement of Indigenous artists in our urban design, architecture and creative art. I cannot wait for the public to see and experience the Metro Tunnel Project.  The stations and systems are world-class.

I am an extremely proactive networker and encourage others to build their connections with intent. When I go to an event I am away from my family and an evening at home, so I make it a mission to make my attendance at the event as worthwhile as possible by connecting with the people I am keen to meet. 

I live by my personal ‘happiness factor’ and regularly check in with my family to ensure my role is working for them. If my family is happy, I’m happy. I take the same approach with my team members. I like to make sure the people in my team have two feet in the door – that is a firm commitment to the work we are delivering. And if they want to try something new, I encourage and support them to do so. 

Fostering a diverse conversation

The opportunities for women in transport and infrastructure now couldn’t be greater. But we need to change the culture and create an environment people want to join. The Construction Industry Culture Taskforce has done a lot of great work, particularly around identifying the barriers to entry, flexibility, and the lack of diversity in our workplace environment. 

Coming into government has been a huge change for me as it is far more diverse than the construction organisations I previously worked in. Importantly, government is setting targets, and this is a key part of driving the change we want to see.