
Prof Rob Vertessy FTSE
Director
Rob Vertessy is an Honorary Enterprise Professor (Water Resources) in the School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne. He chairs the Great Barrier Reef Restoration Program, the Water and Environment Research Program for the Murray–Darling Basin, and the Committee on Social Economic and Environmental Sciences for the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.
In 2019, Rob chaired the Independent Panel into the fish deaths on the Lower Darling River. Rob was previously CEO and Director of Meteorology at the Bureau of Meteorology, Chief of CSIRO Land and Water, and CEO of the CRC for Catchment Hydrology.
In addition to his extensive scientific and management experience, Rob has been involved in the research and development of what is now Watertrust Australia since 2018. He was a member of the expert advisory panel for the research team that scoped the broader issues and a member of the team that recommended the design for Watertrust Australia. Rob is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). He is the immediate past Chair of ATSE’s Water Forum. Rob is the chair of Watertrust Australia’s Expert Advisory Panel.