Board

Our directors

Headshot of Raj Aseervatham

National President and Board Chair

Raj Aseervatham BE(Hons, Civil) MBA PhD(Eng) FIEAust CPEng GAICD joined the Engineers Australia Board in 2019 and is in his second term as a director. He is the National President and Chair of the Board. He has rotated through as a member and chair of various board committees at Engineers Australia during his tenures. He has been a member of Engineers Australia since 1986 – intermittently while based in Australia – and was admitted as a Fellow in 2012.

Raj was initially a water, tailings and civil infrastructure engineer on mining developments. Later he focused on the ESG risks and strategies of mining and energy companies’ operational portfolios and capital projects. His executive career includes more than 15 years with three ASX 100 companies (BHP, Rio Tinto and Origin Energy), and more than 15 years in global and boutique consulting and audit/assurance, living and working on most continents of the world.

In addition to his professional non-executive directorships, Raj is a Federal Court accredited mediator and the author of books on business entrepreneurship and ESG leadership.

Photo of EA Director Lachlan Blackhall

Director

Professor Lachlan Blackhall holds a BE, BSc and a PhD in engineering and applied mathematics and has more than 15 years' experience in the energy sector, including senior leadership roles in research and development, industry, policy and regulation.

Prior to that he was Chief Technology Officer and co-founder at Reposit Power. In this role he led the development of world-first capabilities to monitor, optimise and control residential solar generation and battery storage and develop virtual power plant technology to aggregate energy storage servicing energy networks, markets and utilities.

Lachlan is currently an entrepreneurial Fellow and Head of the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at the Australian National University. In this role he leads a diverse portfolio that researches, develops and demonstrates activities that will underpin the operation of modern power systems, characterised by high penetration renewable and distributed energy generation and storage.

He also acts as an expert advisor for the Energy Security Board, state and federal industry and energy departments and chairs a national steering committee related to electrification and integration.

Lachlan also serves as a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is a Fellow of both Engineers Australia and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Headshot of Lucia Cade

Director

Lucia Cade BE(Hons, Civil) BEc MEngSc MBA FIEAust FAICD CPEng EngExec NER joined the Engineers Australia Board in 2018 and is in her second term as a director. She chairs the Board Nominations Committee, is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and is a Director the Australian Engineering Foundation. 

Lucia is a full-time non-executive director. Her other directorships include South East Water (Chair), Paintback (Chair), Carbon Revolution, Flaim Services, Future Fuels CRC and Urban Utilities. She sits on the Monash University Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board. 

Her professional executive career spans the construction, utilities operations and engineering professional services industries, working in both private sector and government owned enterprises including AECOM, Evans and Peck (now Advisian), Victorian water utilities and Comdain Infrastructure (privately owned). She has worked across Australia and New Zealand and collaborated internationally. 

Lucia joined Engineers Australia in 1992 and was made a Fellow in 2010. She has been a speaker and panellist at many Engineers Australia events over the years, provided professional mentoring to the Victorian Division, been involved in judging the Engineering Excellence Awards and chaired the state judging and also been involved in judging Professional and Young Professional of the Year. 

In 2018 she was honoured as the Distinguished Alumnus for the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University and in 2019 was named Civil Engineer of the Year by the Department of Civil Engineering. She is a Life Member of the Australian Water Association and a member of Chief Executive Women.

Photo of EA Director Thomas Goerke

Director

Tom Goerke FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER GAICD was admitted to Engineers Australia as a Fellow in June 2021 and was elected to Engineers Australia's Western Australia division before joining the Engineers Australia board.

Tom is an electronics engineering graduate from Curtin University and runs his own advisory firm specialising in technology and innovation. He spent the early part of his career in London working in satellite telecommunications for international treaty organisations Inmarsat and ICO Global Communications. He then co-founded a Singapore startup before working for Cisco Systems in the UK and Australia for 17 years.

At Cisco, Tom worked on developing new technologies for emerging markets and then established Cisco’s innovation centre program across Australia and New Zealand in partnership with universities, industry and government. The centres were at the leading edge of co-innovation, leveraging emerging engineering and technology to accelerate digital transformation for businesses.

Tom holds multiple patents in the field of communications. He was the Chair of StartupWA (Western Australia’s technology advocate group) and chairs their advisory council. In 2021 Tom was appointed an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University and member of the Science and Engineering Faculty Advisory Council. He is passionate about technology, skills development and the use of digital technologies to accelerate decarbonisation and transition to net zero.

Headshot of Kourosh Kayvani

Director

Kourosh Kayvani BSc MEngSc PhD FIEAust CPEng NER FTSE MIABSE MAE joined the board in 2021. He is a member of the board's Audit and Risk Committee, Governance Committee and College Chairs Forum. 

Kourosh is a Principal of HKA and leads its Forensic Technical Services in Australia and New Zealand. He was previously the global Managing Director – Design, Innovation and Eminence of Aurecon and a member of its global C-suite from 2017–2020. 

Over his 30-year engineering career, Kourosh has played leading roles in the design, delivery, and expert advisory for many complex projects across the globe. His project portfolio includes Wembley Stadium in London, West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong, Barito Suspension Bridge in Indonesia and in such projects in Australia as ANSTO OPAL nuclear reactor, the Sydney Hockey Stadium, Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, and Civic Tower, 5 Martin Place and Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, among many others.

Kourosh is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW. He graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Tehran and has a master’s degree and a PhD in Structural Engineering from UNSW, Australia. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer, a Fellow of Institution of Engineers, Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). He is a Laureate of IABSE Prize awarded by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering for his work on long-span structures world-wide.

He is the winner of the 2016 John Connell Gold Medal from the Structural College of Institution of Engineers Australia. He has also been cited amongst Engineers Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia.

Headshot of Liza Maimone

Director

A chemical engineer and business leader with a passion for sustainability, Liza Maimone FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER brings with her a wealth of engineering and corporate experience and expertise. Liza aims to use her skills to support the Engineers Australia in achieving its vision of ‘advancing society through great engineering’.

Liza has more than 27 years’ professional experience providing risk, governance, sustainability and climate change advice and assurance services across a range of industries to senior management and Boards and leads PwC Australia’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) services to clients.

As PwC Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, Liza is responsible for PwC Australia’s central functions, and is also a director of PwC’s Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand Consulting business.

Liza holds a BEng(Chem)(First Class Hons) and Grad Dip Law (Energy and Resources) from The University of Melbourne. She is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER APEC Engineer IntPE(Aus)), member of Chief Executive Women, and holds a range of other directorships and advisory roles.

Headshot of Lisa Vitaris

Director

Lisa Vitaris BA(PubComm)/BA(IntlStud) MBus MBA GAICD was appointed to the Engineers Australia board in October 2021.  

Lisa is an experienced marketing leader with particular expertise in high growth acquisition, digital technology and branding. 

Lisa is the International Astronautical Conference Director at the Space Industry Association of Australia. Lisa’s experience spans high growth companies in telecommunications, financial services, technology, automotive and travel both in marketing and advertising including brands such as amaysim (Optus), Tyro, Aussie Home Loans, CMC Markets, Hyundai, Tourism Tasmania, Bankwest, Volvo and LG. 

Lisa is the Founder and Director of 10 Pieces, an environmentally sustainable travel initiative for which she was nominated as a Hero of Travel in 2018. She is also a member of the Marketing Academy’s advisory council and 2020 Alumni, and the University of Technology Sydney’s advisory to Advanced MBA students.