Our People

CIC Australia believes that the success of the corporation is a direct result of the continued hands- on involvement of the company’s most senior personnel in all aspects of our operations and management.

We enjoy very low staff turnover, which not only provides consistency and a strong corporate culture, but it also reflects the fact the CIC has become an employer of choice – with many keen to join and few leaving.

In-house technical skills such as urban design, town planning, civil engineering, architecture, landscape design and project management are backed by a wealth of business experience in community development and feasibility analysis, and a sound understanding of government requirements. Other key areas of expertise are corporate management, finance and accounting, conveyancing, marketing and project sales.

We benefit from established relationships with specialist organisations in fields such as community consultation, sustainability, water engineering and transport management, while remaining nimble by selecting the best consultants available for each specific project.

Col Alexander, Chief Executive Officer, OAM

Col has extensive corporate finance and accounting expertise and over 20 years experience in the land development and construction industry. He has been the Managing Director of the Company since its founding in 1986 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 1995. He is Chairman of the Canberra MBA Fidelity Fund and is a Council member of the Canberra Business Council and a member of the ACT Government Residential Advisory Committee.

Tony Carey, Chief Operating Officer

Tony has extensive planning, development and management expertise and over 25 years in the development industry. He has specialist expertise in the areas of urban planning and design, project investigation, project management and feasibility assessment. Tony oversees all development activities for the Company, and represents the Company on several of the Joint Venture Boards. He was appointed to the CIC Board in 1999.

Melanie Andrews, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary

Melanie is a Certified Practising Accountant with extensive experience in corporate finance, management and company accounting. She has more than 16 years experience in the land development and construction industry. Melanie is the Chief Financial Officer of CIC group and was appointed Company Secretary in 1997. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Malcolm Leslie, Regional General Manager ACT and Southern NSW

Malcolm joined CIC in 2001, bringing with him specialist expertise in the areas of civil engineering, project management, cost estimating and feasibility analysis. With more than 20 years experience in urban development, he has led the development teams in the critical initial stages of major CIC and joint venture projects in three states.  In his current role, Malcolm oversees all land development projects in the ACT/NSW region.  He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree.

Geoff Smith, Regional General Manager, SA, NT and WA

Geoff joined CIC in July 2004 and brings with him more than 30 years’ industry experience. He is responsible for the assessment, delivery and acquisition of development projects in SA, NT and WA and  has also continued as Project Director for the Lyons Joint Venture in Darwin. Geoff combines real estate knowledge with a strong background in project management and has particular expertise in the development of masterplanned residential communities. Geoff is an Associate Member of the Urban Land Institute – USA, a member of the UDIA Executive Committee in SA and currently Vice President of the UDIA’s NT chapter.

Mark Attiwill, Project Director, Googong (Canberra)

Mark joined CIC in 2008 to lead the team on our flagship Googong project. He has over 20 years experience in all aspects of urban development and has held senior management roles at Stockland, Landcom and in his own development and consultancy practice. Mark has managed the financial structuring, design and delivery of large-scale, mixed-use masterplanned urban regeneration and greenfield communities, town centres, apartment and integrated housing projects. Many have been awarded for their design quality, innovation or sustainability initiatives. He holds a Bachelor of Town Planning degree.

Alan Miller, Project Director, Lightsview (Adelaide)

Alan has been in the development industry for over 20 years,  including 18 years with Delfin Lend Lease. At Delfin he held various roles, the most recent being that of Regional General Manager for South Australia and Northern Territory. Alan has managed several large scale urban development projects including Golden Grove (10,000 homes) and Mawson Lakes (5,000 homes, 4,500 permanent jobs ). He holds Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Commerce degrees.

Ian Dawkins, Project Director, Crace (Canberra)

Ian is experienced across multiple facets of the residential development industry. He has recognised achievements in corporate, private and government development roles, including managing masterplanned communities from project inception to sale and buildout. Ian has a background as a planning consultant, surveyor and construction supervisor and holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning and a Bachelors degree in Surveying. He joined CIC in 2009 from Stockland Residential Communities (NSW).

Gavin Kemp, Project Director, Forde (Canberra)

Gavin began his career as a Chartered Surveyor in the United Kingdom and South Africa, in the private and commercial sectors of the mining, civil engineering and building construction industries. Since relocating to Australia in 1986 he has held senior roles in contract and property management, including positions at Lend Lease and Jones Lang La Salle. Prior to joining CIC to lead the project team at Forde, Gavin spent four years as National Development Manager at Defence Housing Australia, where he was responsible for executive supervision of concept, design and delivery for multiple development and construction projects.

Lindsay Hunter, Built Form Manager (Canberra)

Lindsay has over 25 years experience in the design, development and building industry. Commencing in the architecture discipline, he has amalgamated a wealth of experience in design, construction, project management and the development of built form projects, ranging from residential through to multi-storey commercial developments. Lindsay has been with CIC since 2003 and is responsible for managing our major residential developments. In addition, he has taken on the role of company OHS representative, which includes auditing CIC’s subdivision projects.

Clare Gilligan, Business Development Manager (Canberra)

Clare has extensive experience in property development and construction with both private and public sector project delivery. She joined CIC in 2005 and most recently was Project Director in the initial stages of the new ACT suburb of Crace. Previously Clare was a Project Director with Australand in NSW delivering a large masterplanned joint venture with Landcom. Clare has extensive experience in delivering integrated and small lot housing product within masterplanned communities.

Gianni Cirelli, project Director, Sunday at Aldinga (Adelaide)

Gianni Cirelli is a town planner with post graduate qualifications in project management and property development. He joined CIC in 2007 after 13 years in the development industry. Gianni commenced his career in local government and consulting prior to joining Delfin Lend Lease where he became Regional Planning and Development Manager for Mawson Lakes. In addition to his role as Development Manager for CIC’s Aldinga Beach community managing the Sunday project, he has also had a leading role in the contracting of subdivision works and in the planning of Lightsview at Northgate.

Caroline Whitelum, National Marketing Manager

Caroline has a strong background in strategic marketing. After graduating from the Australian National University in 1990, she worked in Canberra’s leading advertising agencies where her role included planning marketing campaigns for local and national organisations.  At Grey Worldwide, her experience in the property marketing area and knowledge of the CIC business developed over many years. She joined CIC in 2007 as National Marketing Manager.

Frank Joris, Regional Sales Manager ACT/Southern NSW (Canberra)

Frank eagerly moved to Canberra from Queensland for a career with CIC, in April 2010. Prior to this he held a number of sales and management roles with the Raptis Group and the Nifsan Group in Queensland where he managed multiple teams selling complete, under construction and off-the-plan projects in large scale land estates, as well as villa and high rise developments. Frank’s sales strategies for Nifsan’s Leisure Division also involved the company’s golf courses and he managed the prestigious Queensland PGA championship events for a number of years.