Executive Leadership Team
The Executive Leadership Team is made up of the Chief Executive Officer and four Directors.
It provides advice to Council and is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day management of the region.
The team monitors and facilitates the implementation of service delivery and major projects.
Ken Diehm has served as Chief Executive Officer of Fraser Coast Regional Council since June 2017 and brings over 39 years of experience in local government leadership to the role. Throughout his extensive career, Ken has developed a strong reputation for driving organisational performance, fostering community outcomes, and leading with integrity and purpose.
Ken holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Dispute Resolution. He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a Certificate IV in Real Estate Agency Practice, and is a PRINCE2 Certified Project Management Practitioner.
In 2024 Ken’s leadership was recognised by the Local Government Managers Association who awarded him the Manager of the Year Award.
Ken’s personal and career goal to make a positive difference in the community he serves and in the lives of the people he works with.
Umur has almost 30 years international professional experience in engineering and leadership. After starting his career in academic research, he moved on to become partner in an international consulting firm designing and delivering municipal infrastructure for more than 100 projects in 19 countries. In 2008 he moved to Australia, to soon join the Queensland Treasury Corporation as Senior Advisor before Brisbane City Council engaged him to manage the Waste Contracts Renewal Project with $3 billion worth of waste services contracts and to lead the Resource Recovery Innovation Alliance.
Umur joined the Fraser Coast Regional Council in 2019 as Executive Manager Resource Recovery Services to lead the Fraser Coast Waste Services team, overseeing the implementation and continuous improvement of Council’s Waste Strategy 2019-2029.
Now Umur leads initiatives across the Directorate including dam safety, water supply, water networks, sewage and wastewater treatment as well as resource recovery. He ensures efficient high quality utility services to the community with his broader operational, technical and commercial perspective.
Umur holds a Civil Engineering Master of Science (Honours) from Darmstadt University of Technology, a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University and is a recent Graduate of the Australian Institute for Company Directors (GAICD).
Gerard has over 20 year's experience working in various state and local government roles covering the diverse aspects of the development and community directorate including areas such as regional and economic development, strategic planning, development assessment and engineering, libraries, open space and natural environment management, theatres, indigenous affairs and child protection.
Gerard has a Bachelor of Arts from Griffith University and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and is a past recipient of the Local Government Association of Queensland’s Young Manager of the Year Award. Gerard strives to lead in a collaborative and engaging manner which brings staff, community, business and elected representatives together in pursuit of a common cause and has a genuine belief that by working together on the Fraser Coast we can build one of Australia’s leading regional communities
Justine has over 25 years executive level leadership experience in both the private and public sector here in Australia and internationally. Justine’s career has spanned the financial services, tourism, aviation, State and Local Government, property and economic development sectors for major organisations including Destination NSW, Mirvac, NRMA, Commonwealth Bank and the Helloworld Group. She is passionate about delivering the best possible solutions to complex challenges through strategic vision, transformational leadership and embedding a strong culture for our people to drive positive and sustainable outcomes for our community.
Justine has qualifications in Sustainability Leadership from Cambridge University, Strategic Marketing from Cornell University and the Australian Institute of Management and is an Australian Certified Economic Developer.
Infrastructure Services Directorate is responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of road, drainage, coastal assets, fleet management, disaster management and other infrastructure projects to meet the requirements of a rapidly developing region.
Davendra Naidu is a Civil Engineer with extensive experience in design and delivery of infrastructure projects. Davendra has worked in local government for the past 18 years including 6 years as Deputy Director of the former Maryborough City Council's Department of Engineering. Prior to moving to Australia in 2001, Davendra worked for SKM as a Civil/Structural Engineer in their New Zealand and Fiji offices and continued his employment at SKM in Brisbane until 2002, at which time he moved into Local Government.
Davendra holds a Degree in Civil engineering and a Masters of Engineering Management.