Anne Jolic
Chief Executive Officer
Anne Jolic joined Development Victoria as Chief Executive Officer in April 2025.
Anne boasts a strong 25-year career, delivering some of Australia’s most prominent and awarded projects. Prior to joining Development Victoria, she was Head of Operations at Lendlease overseeing the operations of the Development business globally, with a large portfolio of projects including complex mixed use, commercial, residential, retail and build to rent projects.
As a strong advocate for women in property, Anne has been a member of the Women’s Property Initiatives Advisory Panel since 2020 and has a long history of mentoring and growing talent in the development industry. She was President of the Property Council of Australia, Victorian Division and has served on its Division Council for the past 4 years.
Hannah Clement
Acting Chief Development Officer
Hannah was appointed Acting Chief Development Officer in November 2024.
Prior to joining Development Victoria, Hannah delivered complex and challenging major projects across Australia, the Middle East and South-East Asia. With a background in civil engineering, she spent more than 10 years in the engineering consultancy sector, with a specialisation in the delivery of major sporting, event and social infrastructure.
Hannah also maintains an interest in the fields of international development and is passionate about the role urban built form plays in promoting social equity, cohesion and reducing communities’ vulnerability to natural disasters.
Niall Cunningham
Acting Group Head, Housing
As Acting Group Head Housing, Niall leads a dedicated team focused on delivering more homes for Victorians both in metropolitan and regional areas. The Housing Division at Development Victoria is focused on developing communities built on diversity, making home ownership possible for more Victorians.
Niall has worked in various property related senior executive roles in the private and public sectors, both nationally and internationally. He has over 25 years of experience in property development projects with particular expertise in precinct scale development.
His expertise includes working with stakeholders and communities in the planning and delivery of complex urban regeneration projects that deliver community focused outcomes in keeping with Government Policy. Niall is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and has served numerous terms on the Property Council of Australia D&I Committee in addition to actively promoting the D&I agenda across the projects he works on.
André van Baalen
Group Head, Operations
André leads the delivery of finance, technology, human resources and risk services at Development Victoria. With more than 20 years’ experience gained in large corporations across a range of industries, André has extensive experience in operational and financial management.
Prior to joining Development Victoria he held various group finance, decision support, corporate services and business transformation roles at Energy Australia, Commonwealth Bank and Hutchison Telecommunications.
Bernard Stute
Group Head, Legal and Advisory
Bernard leads the Legal, Risk, Procurement and Compliance business divisions at Development Victoria.
With more than 20 years of experience in the private and public sectors, Bernard has extensive experience in structuring and delivering complex, large scale, critical infrastructure and transport projects in Victoria and New South Wales.
In his previous roles, Bernard headed up the legal, commercial, finance, procurement, audit and risk functions at various organisations.
Julie Browning
Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Engagement
Julie leads the Corporate Affairs and Engagement team for Development Victoria. The team provides support to the organisation and its work across a broad range of communications, including branding, community and stakeholder engagement, media, government relations and reputation management.
Julie has extensive executive experience built across the public and private sectors, including Infrastructure Victoria, the City of Melbourne and the Royal Children’s Hospital. She is passionate about community engagement, leading engagement for development of the masterplan for the Queen Victoria Market Precinct renewal, engagement for the state’s first 30-year infrastructure strategy as well as deliberative processes for difficult policy reforms in areas such as density, planning and transport.
As a consultant, she has worked extensively across a broad a range of clients, particularly in the health sector, more recently working with the Victorian Government and stakeholders to develop a 10-year strategy for the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct in Parkville.
Sonja Ruddock
Executive Director, People, Culture & Transformation
Sonja leads the People, Culture and Transformation team, who enable Development Victoria to deliver on its purpose by working across the business to introduce new ways of working, improved processes, new technologies and emerging capabilities. People, Culture and Transformation team source and develop great talent, build a diverse workforce and inclusive culture and enable people to perform at their best.
An Organisational Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience in organisational development and human resources, Sonja is passionate about the power of great culture and leadership to transform organisations.
Prior to joining Development Victoria, Sonja held senior leadership roles at Greater Western Water, Bupa and the NAB.
Benjamin Delaney
Acting Group Head, Civic Infrastructure
Benjamin Delaney is the Acting Group Head of Civic Infrastructure at Development Victoria, overseeing the delivery of major civic and infrastructure projects on behalf of government clients. With over 20 years of experience in planning and delivering complex projects, he has led some of the state’s most significant redevelopments, including the $1B Melbourne Park Redevelopment, encompassing the Rod Laver Arena Redevelopment, Centrepiece, and the National Tennis Centre.
Before stepping into his current role, Benjamin led the sports portfolio within the Civic Infrastructure group, where his teams successfully delivered the Bundha Sports Centre and the State Basketball Centre Redevelopment. They continue to lead high-profile projects, including eight initiatives within the Regional Sports Infrastructure Program.
Benjamin has delivered major projects both internationally and in Australia, specializing in sports, event, and social infrastructure. A trusted advisor to senior government leaders, he is a specialist in strategic procurement and collaborative contracting models of delivery.
Ronan Mellan
Acting Group Head, Precincts
As Acting Group Head, Ronan leads the Precincts group, responsible for the long-term urban renewal of key Victorian places into thriving precincts of scale, bringing economic and social growth to the state. The team provides advice to support strategic planning, undertakes master planning and provides delivery advice to balance policy and commercial outcomes.
Ronan has a depth of experience gained from close to 25 years of urban regeneration and development roles in both the UK and Australian public sectors. Prior to his time in Australia, Ronan played a key role is such projects as Glasgow Housing Association’s transformation of over 40,000 social housing units as well as other Local Authority developments through-out the greater Glasgow area, specialising in addressing the social, economic and environmental impacts of industrial decline.
Along with expertise in complex development agreements, urban renewal at scale, and maximising value creation and capture, Ronan brings a passion for social inclusion, particularly the advancement of First Nations’ self-determination objectives.
Ronan is a graduate of both University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde in Scotland with qualifications in Town Planning and Economic Development and recently completed Indigenous Cultural Competency studies at Charles Sturt University.
Updated on 12 May 2025