Emerging Leaders Breakfast | Melbourne | 2026

Interfaces, Disruption and Delivery: Practical Lessons from Melbourne’s Project Era.

Transport Australia’s Emerging Leaders Breakfast brings early-career transport and infrastructure professionals together to build connections and learn from industry leaders.

Melbourne’s recent project era has shown that successful delivery depends on much more than engineering. This conversation will explore how project teams manage complex interfaces, construction staging, disruption to live networks, community expectations, public trust, risk and decision-making under pressure.

Attendees will gain practical insights they can apply to their own careers while hearing directly from leaders with experience delivering major projects in a complex urban environment.

With no assigned seating, the breakfast offers a relaxed setting to meet peers, expand your professional network and make valuable industry connections.

Transport Australia’s Emerging Leaders program is proudly sponsored by CPB Contractors.

Our speakers:

Michael Workman, Director, North Projects

2015 TA Fellow

Michael Workman is a Director with more than 20 years of experience across the UK, Middle East, and Australia, leading the delivery of complex infrastructure projects and major capital programs. Throughout his career, he has worked across project management, procurement, and strategic leadership roles, helping organisations turn ambitious plans into successful outcomes.

A graduate of the inaugural Transport Australia Fellowship Program, Michael is passionate about developing future leaders and believes that leadership is built through curiosity, resilience, strong relationships, and a willingness to keep learning.

When he's not working, you'll find him coaching two of his kids' soccer teams, spending time with family, and staying up far too late to follow the English Premier League. Michael is excited to join the panel and share practical insights from his leadership journey, including the successes, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.

Jane Ada, Technical Director, AECOM

2022 TA Fellow

As a Technical Director at AECOM, Jane Ada lead the design delivery of major transport projects, most recently Inland Rail Beveridge to Albury Tranche 2 design, Flemington Stabling Yard Reference Design, M80 Ring Road upgrade (Sydney Road to Edgars Road) and Barwon Heads Road Duplication (work package 2). With a civil engineering background in road geometry and drainage design and experience in construction, Jane has developed as an engineer and progressed into project management and design management, leading multi-disciplinary design teams through design, construction, and completion.

Jane is passionate about people, collaboration, and adding value, as well as engineering excellence, and leaving a positive legacy in the transport infrastructure space.

As a highly organised, team player and natural leader, she has unique professional experiences, from secondment in remote Normanton and delivering projects in outback Queensland to designing major transport projects in Sydney and Melbourne.

Dietary requirements: Please inform us of any dietary requirements at least 2 weeks prior to the event.

The TA Emerging Leaders target audience is those under 35 or with 0-10 years of industry experience.

Please ensure you make your booking using the appropriate rate. Bookings from non-member companies that book at a member rate will be contacted and asked to rebook at the correct price. If you are unsure of your organisation's membership status with TA, please contact events@transportaustralia.org.au


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