Our leaders

Ashley Mason

Chair | Independent Non-executive Director

·         Appointed to the Board August 2024

Ashley Mason has spent over 25 years with senior roles in the construction, development and infrastructure services sectors working for numerous major public companies in Australia, Asia and the Middle East, including Leighton Holdings, Macmahon Holdings, Lendlease and Downer. He is currently Chief Risk Officer for Downer Group. He was Global Head of Operational Risk for Lendlease from 2016 to 2021 and Managing Director of Lendlease Services from 2013 to 2016.

Ashley’s early career was with the Commonwealth Government where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service advising on Transport and Industrial Relations policy.

He is a previous NSW President and National Vice President of the Australian Industry (Ai) Group.

Ashley holds an Honours degree in political science, economics and industrial relations from the University of Queensland.   

Trent Alston

Independent Non-executive Director

• Appointed to the Board in August 2021.

Committee appointments:

• Member of the People & Culture Committee

Trent Alston has spent over 30 years in the real estate industry with wide ranging past experience in construction, project management, development, corporate real estate, investment management and running funds management businesses. During this time he was Head of Real Estate at Challenger, General Manager Wholesale Funds at Colonial First State Global Asset Management and held a range of roles at Lendlease.

Trent is also a Non-Executive Director for Abacus Property Group and Chair of its People Performance & Culture Committee, a Non-Executive Director for Stone and Chalk Limited, an Independent Representative and the Chair of the Investor Review Committee for the Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, the Australian Prime Property Fund Retail and the Australian Prime Property Fund Industrial, a principal at Kokusai Business Advisory and provides strategic advice to a range of clients on real estate business strategy and funds management.

Trent holds a Bachelor of Building (Hons) from UNSW, a Graduate Management Qualification from AGSM, an Advanced Management Program (Insead) and is a Graduate of the AICD.

Susan MacDonald

Independent Non-executive Director

John Barbeler

Independent Non-executive Director

• Appointed to the Board in March 2018.

Committee appointments:

• Chair of Audit & Risk Management Committee

John has held Chief Financial Officer and business leadership positions in both the public and private sector and for the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG).

From 2010 to 2015, John was the CFO at the Federal Department of Health.  Prior to that he was CFO/Director of Corporate Services at the City of Sydney, General Manager, Finance at SOCOG and has held CFO and business enabling executive roles with major global private sector organisations including PepsiCo, BTR and CSR.

John is a member of the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (ARIC) for Penrith City and Snowy Monaro Regional Councils. He is a former ARIC member for Cumberland City Council, a former Director for Alzheimer’s Australia ACT Ltd and a former member of NSW Electoral Commission Audit Committee.

John is a FCPA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Queensland.

The Hon Craig Knowles AM

Independent Non-executive Director

• Appointed to the Board in August 2024.

Craig Knowles is a former State Member of Parliament (1990 – 2005). As a minister for 11 years, he held portfolios including Health, Planning and Housing, Sydney and Hunter Water Corporations and NSW Land Commission, Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources and Forests and Lands. Craig has also served as Mayor of Liverpool City Council and as the Australian Consul-General to New Zealand.

Craig is a Certified Practising Valuer and currently serves as Pacific Business Liaison, a joint Austrade and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade role focusing on strategic infrastructure in the region. He is also an independent chair of the NSW Government Natural Resources Access Regulator and Prospect Water Partnership, and a Director of Tulich Family Communities, and the Children's Medical Research Institute at Westmead.

In 2014, as the Chair of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, Craig participated in the 2014 United Nations (UN) Forum on Water and Energy as part of the UN mission to develop Sustainable Development Goals in the context of global climate change.

Craig is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Valuers and Land Economist (now API) in the land economy and valuation practice. In 2015, he was awarded The Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "significant service to local government, the Parliament of NSW and the community through various health initiatives".

Alexander Wendler

Chief Executive Officer

Tasha Burrell

Executive General Manager, Development

Tasha oversees a portfolio of the organisation's development projects. Tasha is a property development professional with over 28 years’ experience in residential and commercial property development and funds management in Sydney, with extensive experience in implementing large-scale urban renewal, housing and infrastructure projects. She has an in depth understanding of the development industry and the Sydney property market.

Tasha joined Landcom in 2009 as part of the Urban Renewal Team and has led numerous projects including Green Square Town Centre, Edmondson Park Town Centre and Thornton at Penrith. She was appointed Development Director in 2013 and Program Director, Western Sydney in 2015. She was appointed Executive General Manager, Projects in April 2019.

Over her career, Tasha has held senior roles in both the private and public sectors. Early in her career Tasha was a Project and Design Architect for a number of leading architectural firms, and has held leadership positions at St. Hilliers Property involving residential, commercial and industrial projects and at UrbanGrowth NSW on major renewal projects. Tasha places great importance on the people and relationships that make projects happen and believes this is the key to successful business outcomes.

Tasha is a Board Director at the Women’s Housing Company, a not-for-profit Community Housing Provider.
Tasha holds a Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Technology Sydney and is a Graduate of the John Grill Executive Leadership in Major Projects from the University of Sydney.

Andrew Cooper

Executive General Manager, Built Form

Andrew was appointed Executive General Manager, Built Form at Landcom in October 2023. His areas of responsibility include the Delivery and Construction Management of the Landcom medium density built form projects (incorporating Affordable Housing, Build-to-Rent and Modular Housing) together with Assets Management of existing sites and buildings. 

Andrew has 40 years' experience in the design, development, construction and delivery of large-scale projects. He has held leadership positions in the commercial, residential and retail property sectors as well as in site acquisitions and disposals. 

Prior to joining Landcom, Andrew was Head of Development and Project Director at Aqualand; Chief Executive Officer and Director at Devine Limited; and Chief Operating Officer + and Director at Leighton Properties Pty Limited. Andrew’s major contributions to the property development sector include significant projects such as Star City Casino in Sydney and Westpac Place, Sydney. 

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Science (Architecture) from Sydney University, and a Diploma of Law from Barristers Admission Board, University of Sydney. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and a former Chair of the Property Council of Australia’s NSW Planning Committee. 

Sandra Lee

Executive General Manager,
 Legal & Compliance

Sandra is Landcom’s chief legal and compliance adviser and also oversees the company secretariat, risk and internal audit functions.

Sandra joined Landcom as Senior Manager, Legal, where she was responsible for managing the legal function for Landcom’s Western Sydney Projects Portfolio. In April 2018, Sandra was appointed the General Counsel of Landcom overseeing the legal and governance functions for the organisation. She was appointed Executive General Manager, Legal & Compliance in April 2019.

Sandra has over 20 years’ legal advisory, compliance and transactional experience across multiple real estate sectors, specialising in complex, structured transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, disposals and complex leasing. Sandra has worked in private legal practice in various top tier law firms in Sydney, including Allens.

Sandra has also worked as Senior Legal Counsel for the Goodman Group. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) (BComm) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of New South Wales.

Raema Melverton

Executive General Manager, Communications and Strategy

Raema was appointed in October 2023 to lead and manage communications and strategy to strengthen Landcom’s reputation and build its social license while supporting the NSW Government priorities in housing and urban management. She leads the development of the corporate strategy, housing, planning and corporate policy and develops and delivers best practice environmental and social sustainability, research, stakeholder engagement and marketing and communications.

Raema is a senior public affairs professional and brings with her over 25 years of experience in developing and implementing brand and stakeholder engagement strategies. Prior to joining Landcom, she led a team in the Department of Planning and Environment to support the success of planning reform through best practice stakeholder engagement. Raema previously also held the position of Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Sydney Water where she delivered engagement and educational campaigns in response to drought and delivered issues management and stakeholder engagement programs to build trust and connect with stakeholders and the community. 

Raema holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Graduate Certificate of Management.

Duncan Thomas

A/Executive General Manager,
People, Culture & Safety

Duncan joined Landcom in July 2024 as A/Executive General Manager, People, Culture & Safety. He has more than 20 years of business and human resources experience, including an extensive track record of leading teams that delivered business results and significant transformation.  
 
Before joining Landcom, Duncan was the Chief People Officer at Bravura Solutions and FujiFilm Business Innovation (formerly Fuji Xerox). He has also held senior roles in human resources and talent management at Pearson Education, American Express, and Telstra. Duncan is known for his leadership coaching and strong influencing approach, having worked as a trusted advisor at senior executive and Board level. 
 
Duncan has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the University of Technology and is an established leader in the Australian HR space. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Australian CHRO Forum and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.