50 Essential Thought Leaders in Transport and Logistics in Australia and New Zealand

Introduction

If you work in, invest in, or build policy around transport and logistics in Australia and New Zealand, the single most practical thing you can do right now is identify the right voices to follow. The sector is enormous, fast-moving, and consequential in ways that rarely make the front page until something goes wrong. Transport and logistics in Australia alone accounts for 8.6 per cent of national GDP, and the national freight task is projected to grow from 756 billion tonne-kilometres recorded in 2020 to approximately 964 billion tonne-kilometres by 2050. That is not a marginal industry.

That is the system that keeps everything else running.

New Zealand faces a parallel challenge, shaped by geography that concentrates vulnerability and economic dependence on efficient freight networks across two islands. Both nations are grappling simultaneously with ageing infrastructure, a workforce shortfall, accelerating decarbonisation pressure, and a technology transformation that is remaking how goods move and how decisions about moving them get made. According to research from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, supply chain disruption concerns in the region reached a two-year high in early 2026, with rising freight and logistics costs creating pressure on consumer prices that policymakers and operators cannot afford to ignore.

What makes this moment particularly demanding for leaders inside the sector is that the problems are not siloed. A road freight operator needs to understand rail policy. A port executive needs to understand last-mile technology. A transport academic needs to understand the commercial pressures on operators before their research will land.

The people on this list are the ones who understand that complexity, and who are actively helping others navigate it.

I compiled this list to surface the voices in ANZ transport and logistics who genuinely deserve to be far better known, rather than repeating the same small set of names you have already encountered. The list draws from academia, industry operations, policy and advocacy, consulting, and technology leadership. It spans road, rail, maritime, aviation, and intermodal freight. And it reflects the geographic span of both nations, with voices from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand contributing different perspectives on the shared challenges facing this sector.

If you lead an organisation that moves goods or people, manages freight infrastructure, develops transport policy, or works at the intersection of logistics and technology, the people on this list will sharpen your thinking. Email jonno@consultclarity.org if you want to discuss how leadership team dynamics, communication, and team alignment factor into the performance of organisations operating in this sector.

Why Transport and Logistics in ANZ Matters

The scale of what this sector moves is difficult to convey. The freight task reaches into every part of the economy, from the agricultural exports that underpin the trade balance, to the e-commerce parcels that reach households within 24 hours, to the mining equipment that travels thousands of kilometres to remote operations.

Australia's road freight transport market was valued at approximately $43 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach nearly $55 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual rate of just over 4 per cent. But revenue growth alone does not capture the structural pressure facing the sector. Transport is on track to become Australia's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions as other sectors decarbonise faster. The road freight segment, which currently accounts for approximately 4 per cent of Australia's emissions through truck operations alone, is under intensifying regulatory and commercial pressure to electrify.

New Zealand faces its own version of this challenge. The country's freight system is heavily dependent on road because of the geographic fragmentation of two main islands and numerous rural communities accessible only by road. KiwiRail is the sole provider of rail freight services on the main lines, making it a critical and irreplaceable part of any serious conversation about freight decarbonisation. The Deloitte New Zealand Ports and Freight Yearbook 2026 identified the strategic role of rail in strengthening supply chain resilience as one of the central themes of the year.

To discuss leadership development for teams navigating these challenges, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

How This List Was Compiled

Every person on this list was selected on three criteria. First, a documented contribution to the specific field of transport and logistics in Australia and New Zealand, through published research, active professional practice, policy leadership, or sustained public commentary on sector issues. Second, active engagement in public discourse in 2025 or 2026, through publishing, speaking, or contributing to the conversations that shape how this sector thinks about its challenges. Third, geographic and disciplinary diversity, with a deliberate effort to include voices across road, rail, ports, aviation, consulting, academia, policy, and technology, and across both Australia and New Zealand.

The list brings together the people who genuinely deserve to be widely known across the ANZ transport and logistics community, rather than recycling the same small handful of names that appear on every list in this space.

Category 1: Academic Foundations

The research institutions that anchor ANZ transport and logistics thinking have produced some of the world's most cited work in transport economics, logistics modelling, and urban mobility. The voices below are actively shaping how the sector understands itself, from freight demand modelling to the governance of emerging technologies.

1. David A. Hensher AM

David Hensher is the founding director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney, the most cited transport academic in Australia with more than 80,000 Google Scholar citations and over 740 published papers across the leading transport and economics journals. Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2023, he has dedicated his career to understanding how people and freight systems make choices, developing the discrete-choice modelling frameworks that underpin transport planning and policy across the world.

Hensher's most recent work, published in 2026, examines systematic approaches to road user charging reform in Australia, assessing how different pricing mechanisms influence travel behaviour and freight demand. His research group at ITLS continues to publish across multimodal public transit, working-from-home effects on commute patterns, and the behavioural economics of transport electrification. For anyone seeking to understand the quantitative foundations of transport policy in Australia, his work is essential.

2. John D. Nelson

John Nelson holds the Chair in Public Transport at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney, where his research focuses on the application and evaluation of new technologies to improve transport systems and services. He joined ITLS in 2019 from the University of Aberdeen, bringing internationally recognised expertise in transport planning, demand-responsive services, and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) frameworks to the Australian context.

Nelson has published extensively on how MaaS models can scale in Australia, examining governance frameworks and the roles that both mobility and non-mobility providers might play in future service ecosystems. His 2025 research on rail passenger reliability addresses how railway systems can be designed and managed to improve the experience of regular commuters in Australian cities. His work bridges academic rigour and policy applicability in ways that practitioners across transport agencies genuinely use.

3. Majid Sarvi

Majid Sarvi is Professor of Transport for Smart Cities at the University of Melbourne and a founder of the Australian Integrated Multimodal Ecosystem (AIMES), a test bed for connected and autonomous vehicle technology in Melbourne's inner north. With over 30 years of research experience spanning traffic engineering, intelligent transport systems, and urban mobility, Sarvi operates at the precise intersection of transport research and the technology sector transforming how cities move.

His work on cooperative intelligent transport systems, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, and adaptive traffic signal control has informed policy and investment decisions across Australian state governments. In 2025, Sarvi contributed to debates around the use of vehicle-filtering at signalised intersections near schools, bringing research evidence to bear on safety questions that directly affect communities across Australia. His ability to translate complex traffic science into policy-relevant recommendations makes him one of the most applied transport researchers in the country.

4. Doina Olaru

Doina Olaru is Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Organisations at the UWA Business School, University of Western Australia, where her research specialises in transport planning methods, sustainable mobility, and alternative transport solutions. She has published peer-reviewed work across 2025 and 2026 spanning topics from electric vehicle adoption behaviour to cold supply chain logistics and food waste reduction.

Olaru's research addresses some of the most practically important questions facing Australian urban planners and freight operators: how communities access transport services equitably, how different pricing and technology combinations affect mode shift, and how data analytics can improve supply chain sustainability. Her January 2026 co-authored research on agricultural systems and supply chain logistics reflects the breadth of her applied focus on the transport and freight challenges unique to the Australian context.

5. Corinne Mulley

Corinne Mulley is Professor Emerita at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where she served as the inaugural Chair of Public Transport. Her decades of research have concentrated on public transport economics, transport evaluation, and the governance frameworks that allow Mobility as a Service to function in real-world settings. Published in Research in Transportation Economics in 2025, her work on MaaS scalability examines whether the model can grow beyond niche markets into mainstream mobility provision.

Mulley's contribution to the Australian transport discourse is rooted in evidence-based policy analysis. She has provided strategic advice to local and national governments on transport evaluation, economic impact analysis, and rural transport service design, bringing a rigour to advocacy that is rare in a sector that often moves faster than the research can keep up. For transport policy professionals working on public transport reform in Australia, her body of work remains a foundational reference.

6. Michael Bell

Michael Bell holds the Chair in Ports and Maritime Logistics at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney, bringing internationally recognised expertise in port operations, maritime supply chains, and freight network design. His research addresses some of the most strategically consequential questions in Australian trade logistics, including how port systems can be designed to handle growing container volumes while managing congestion, safety, and environmental performance.

Bell's work on port logistics is particularly important in the Australian context, where port capacity and landside connectivity represent critical bottlenecks in the national freight system. His modelling of maritime freight flows and port-rail integration provides analytical grounding for the infrastructure investment decisions that will shape Australian supply chains for decades. His presence at ITLS has deepened the institute's coverage of the maritime and ports dimension of logistics that is central to Australia's trade-dependent economy.

Category 2: Industry Peak Bodies and Policy Leadership

The organisations that represent the freight and logistics industry to government are only as effective as the leaders driving them. The voices below shape the regulatory environment, advocate for infrastructure investment, and define the standards that govern how goods move across both countries.

7. Hermione Parsons

Hermione Parsons is the CEO and Managing Director of the Australian Logistics Council (ALC), the peak national body representing the major freight and transport companies across Australia's end-to-end supply chain. A supply chain and freight logistics specialist with a career spanning three decades, she brings executive management experience across port landside logistics, multimodal freight infrastructure, competition and regulatory reform, and supply chain strategy in food and agribusiness.

Parsons was recognised in 2020 as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain by the Global Women Supply Chain Leaders Awards. In her role at ALC, she has become one of the most publicly active voices on freight policy in Australia, consistently pushing for industrial land preservation, intermodal investment, and regulatory harmonisation across state boundaries. Her May 2026 address at the ALC Supply Chain and Logistics Business Awards articulated the scale and capability of an industry she describes as essential to Australia's economy and communities.

8. Lauren Hewitt

Lauren Hewitt is the CEO of the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council (QTLC), the cooperative industry and government advisory body that represents Queensland's freight sector on policy, regulation, infrastructure planning, and investment. She was awarded Queensland Rural Woman of the Year in 2015, and brings to the QTLC role a combination of rural freight experience and policy advocacy capability that is distinctive in the industry.

Under Hewitt's leadership, QTLC has published detailed research on the transition to zero-emission trucks in Queensland, assessing commercial viability across different freight applications and identifying the infrastructure gaps that need to be addressed before widespread adoption is achievable. Her work sits at the intersection of industry advocacy and evidence-based policy development, making QTLC one of the most practically useful bodies for freight operators navigating regulatory change in Queensland.

9. Clare Gardiner-Barnes

Clare Gardiner-Barnes is a Commissioner at Infrastructure Australia, the independent advisory body that assesses infrastructure needs and makes recommendations on priority investments to governments across the country. With senior leadership roles previously held across New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory, she has helped shape major transport strategies, freight planning documents, and infrastructure investment programmes across Australia's most challenging geographic contexts.

Her work at Infrastructure Australia involves evaluating the long-term freight infrastructure priorities that will shape the competitiveness of Australian supply chains, including the rail freight upgrades, intermodal terminal investments, and port connectivity projects on the 2026 Infrastructure Priority List. Gardiner-Barnes brings a multi-jurisdictional perspective to questions about freight that individual state governments often struggle to articulate, making her voice essential in any serious conversation about national infrastructure planning.

10. Eloise Modun

Eloise Modun is Director of Research and Policy at Infrastructure Victoria, the independent statutory body that provides advice on Victoria's long-term infrastructure needs. With a background spanning engineering, economics, consulting, and public sector leadership, she brings more than 15 years of experience integrating technical, economic, and policy perspectives across infrastructure domains including transport and freight.

Her work at Infrastructure Victoria involves producing independent, evidence-based recommendations on how Victoria should prioritise infrastructure investment over 30-year horizons, including decisions about the freight network that connects the Port of Melbourne to population centres and to interstate rail corridors. In a state that handles a disproportionate share of Australia's container freight, her role in shaping infrastructure priorities is consequential for the national supply chain.

11. Miranda Blogg

Miranda Blogg is Director of Safer Roads at the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, where she oversees targeted road safety programme development and delivery in partnership with state and local governments. She received the ITS Australia Woman of the Year award in 2025 for her contributions to intelligent transport systems and road safety, recognising more than 25 years of experience as a civil engineer in both private and public sectors, specialising in transport planning, delivery, operations, and research.

Blogg's work on road safety has direct implications for the freight and logistics sector, where heavy vehicle operators are among the highest-risk participants in the road network. Her use of intelligent transport systems to improve safety outcomes and her engagement with technology providers working on road safety represents a practical bridge between the research community and the operational realities of freight movement on Queensland's road network.

Category 3: Major Operators and Industry Leaders

The executives leading Australia's and New Zealand's largest transport and logistics companies are not just managing operations. The best of them are actively shaping industry thinking, pushing sustainability agendas, and navigating the structural changes that are remaking the sector.

12. Don Braid

Don Braid is the Group Managing Director of Mainfreight, the New Zealand-headquartered global supply chain logistics provider that generates NZ$4.72 billion in annual revenue and operates in 27 countries with more than 10,000 employees. He has led the company for 29 years, a tenure that in itself tells a story about the consistency of culture and the clarity of vision that distinguishes Mainfreight from its competitors. BusinessDesk named him a finalist in its inaugural CEO Index in November 2025.

Braid is known in New Zealand business circles for his consistent, principled articulation of what good leadership inside a logistics company looks like: decentralised decision-making, a long-term time horizon, pride in New Zealand ownership, and the conviction that logistics is a vocation worth dedicating a career to. His public statements on supply chain management and logistics leadership carry the weight of a man who has built something remarkable from the inside, making him one of the most credible voices on operational logistics in the Southern Hemisphere.

13. Paul Digney

Paul Digney is Managing Director of Qube Holdings, Australia's largest integrated provider of import and export logistics services, with a market capitalisation approaching $5 billion and more than 9,000 employees operating across 180+ locations in Australia, New Zealand, and South-East Asia. He joined Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other business leaders in 2026 to discuss the role of port logistics and supply chain infrastructure in Australia's economic strategy, reflecting Qube's position at the centre of the national freight system.

With more than 30 years of executive experience across ports, logistics, and supply chain roles, Digney has been instrumental in building Qube from a logistics management company into a major integrated ports and logistics operator. His deep background in port logistics and container handling, developed through roles at Patrick Corporation and across Qube's expansion, gives him a perspective on the infrastructure constraints facing Australian supply chains that few executives can match.

14. Rob O'Byrne

Rob O'Byrne co-founded Logistics Bureau in 1997 following an extensive career in supply chain and logistics consulting, and has since overseen more than 1,400 consulting projects across 24 countries. He leads one of Australia's most established and practically oriented supply chain consulting firms, producing regular content aimed at logistics professionals managing real operations in Australia, New Zealand, and the broader Asia Pacific region.

In his LinkedIn posts from early 2026, O'Byrne identified warehouse and facility design, picking efficiency, and transport fleet utilisation as the top priorities for supply chain leaders entering the year. His publishing cadence and the practical, operator-focused nature of his content have built a following among the professionals who actually run logistics operations, making him one of the most trusted practitioner voices in the Australian market.

15. Peter Jones

Peter Jones is the Managing Director and Founder of Prological, an Australasian supply chain consultancy he established in 2010, with offices in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Over more than 25 years of consulting experience, he has built a reputation at the intersection of freight optimisation, warehouse network design, and the property decisions that shape distribution infrastructure across Australia.

His Prological Supply Chain Pulse Check Survey 2026, which polled more than 200 professionals across supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, retail, and operations, found that 55 per cent of respondents cited cost reduction as a top priority, while 68 per cent identified rising costs and inflation as their primary challenge. Jones was quoted in MHD Supply Chain News in January 2026 describing 2026 as 'the year of the divide', separating organisations building adaptive supply chain strategies from those waiting for conditions to normalise.

Category 4: Transport Policy, Planning and Government

The people shaping how Australia and New Zealand's governments think about transport investment, planning, and regulation are often invisible to the broader public but enormously consequential for the sector.

16. Scott Noton

Scott Noton is a civil engineer and economist with 40 years of experience in infrastructure planning, design, and economics, and is National Chair of the Transport Australia Society. He works as an independent consultant through Six Cats Consulting, specialising in transport planning and economics for roads, active transport, public transport, and streetscapes. Previously, he was head of discipline for road planning in Queensland Main Roads and a transport planning lead at Jacobs Engineering for 13 years.

Noton has presented at the Engineers Australia Transport Conference 2026 and contributes actively to national debates about infrastructure planning and business case development for transport projects. His background spanning public sector road planning and private sector advisory work gives him a perspective on the decision-making processes inside both government and industry that few transport practitioners can replicate.

17. Natalya Boujenko

Natalya Boujenko is a founding director at Intermethod, with professional and academic experience spanning Australia and the United Kingdom. She co-authored Link and Place: A Guide to Street Planning and Design, which helped introduce the Movement and Place approach to international practice, and has since led the development of South Australia's Active Travel Design Guide and the Healthy Active by Design framework.

Boujenko's work on street design sits at the intersection of active transport, freight access, and urban liveability in ways that are increasingly central to how Australian cities manage competing demands on their road networks. Her presentations at the Engineers Australia Transport Conference 2026 addressed how street planning frameworks can support both pedestrian safety and the operational needs of commercial freight in urban environments.

18. Peter Milward

Peter Milward was appointed General Manager of the Olympic and Paralympic Coordination (OPC) Branch at the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads in 2025, where he leads the department's preparations for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With more than 35 years of experience across public and private sectors, he is overseeing the strategic planning and governance of the Games Transport Programme.

The Brisbane 2032 Games transport programme represents a once-in-a-generation test of Queensland's ability to coordinate road, rail, bus, and active transport networks at scale. Milward's role involves planning for the event itself and ensuring that the infrastructure investments made for 2032 deliver lasting benefits for the Queensland freight and transport network long after the Games conclude.

19. Dr Elnaz Irannezhad

Dr Elnaz Irannezhad is a transport engineering expert at UNSW's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where her research focuses on freight decarbonisation, intermodal terminal design, and the policy frameworks needed to accelerate the transition away from diesel-powered freight. In a widely shared 2025 analysis published by UNSW Newsroom, she warned that without urgent innovation and coordinated policy action, Australia's freight industry risks becoming a roadblock to the nation's pathway to net zero.

Her work on the systemic constraints facing Australia's freight decarbonisation agenda, from the diesel dependence of the existing fleet to the infrastructure gaps at ports, rails, and intermodal terminals, provides the analytical foundation for the policy debates that will determine whether Australia's transport sector can meet its emissions commitments.

20. Dr Sharyn Grant

Dr Sharyn Grant is the Founder of Supply Chain Partners (SCP), which merged with the Australasian Supply Chain and Logistics Association (ASCLA) in 2024, creating an expanded body covering supply chain and logistics professionals across Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Through Supply Chain Partners TV and Podcast, Grant has built a media and education platform that connects logistics professionals across the region with expert knowledge and peer networks.

Grant's role as a connector and convener in the ANZ supply chain and logistics community has made her one of the most consistently cited names in the sector. Her podcast has hosted experts from across the logistics technology space, giving practitioners access to knowledge that is otherwise locked behind conference paywalls and corporate advisory relationships.

Category 5: Consultants and Practitioners

The consultants who do the work of actually improving supply chains and freight operations are the people who understand, in granular detail, what it takes to move goods efficiently in the ANZ context. These are the practitioners who translate strategy into operational reality.

21. Angela Gillham

Angela Gillham is CEO of Maritime Industry Australia Ltd (MIAL), the peak body for Australia's maritime industry, where she advocates for a sector that handles 99 per cent of Australia's international trade by mass and tonne-kilometres. She has been an active public voice on international maritime regulation, decarbonisation, and the policy settings that determine the competitiveness of Australian maritime operations.

In 2025, Gillham represented MIAL in media commentary on the International Chamber of Shipping's proposal for a Zero Emission Shipping Fund, providing Australian perspectives on how the global transition to zero-emission maritime fuels will affect Australia's trade-dependent economy. Her dual role as industry advocate and policy participant makes her one of the most important voices on maritime transport in Australia.

22. Geoffrey Clifton

Geoffrey Clifton is Senior Lecturer in Transport and Logistics Management at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research and teaching address the management of transport and logistics systems with a focus on productivity, safety, and sustainability. He has co-authored work with ITLS colleagues on active transport, cold supply chain logistics, and transport governance.

Clifton's role at ITLS positions him as a bridge between the foundational research conducted by the institute's senior professors and the practical questions that industry professionals bring to the sector's education programmes. His contribution to developing the next generation of transport and logistics professionals in Australia is significant and ongoing.

23. Andrew Collins

Andrew Collins is Senior Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where he focuses on the practical dimensions of supply chain design and logistics system management. His research and teaching engage with the commercial pressures facing Australian logistics operators.

Collins represents the growing cohort of ITLS academics who combine genuine industry experience with rigorous research capability, producing graduates who understand both the theory and the operational reality of logistics in the Australian context. His work contributes to the evidence base that practitioners and policymakers draw on when designing supply chain systems.

24. Ben Fahimnia

Ben Fahimnia holds the Chair in Decision Sciences at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research focuses on supply chain optimisation, risk management, and the quantitative methods that help organisations make better decisions about how they design and manage logistics networks. His work on supply chain resilience has taken on particular relevance in a period of persistent disruption.

Fahimnia has published across the leading supply chain and operations management journals, contributing frameworks for how organisations should think about the trade-off between efficiency and resilience in logistics network design. His research is directly applicable to the decisions facing Australian and New Zealand logistics operators who are rebuilding supply chain strategies after years of disruption.

25. Jyoti Bhattacharjya

Jyoti Bhattacharjya is a Lecturer in Procurement and Digital Supply Chain Initiatives at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where she researches the application of digital technologies to supply chain management, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. Her work addresses how the technology transformation currently reshaping global logistics can be applied in the specific context of Australian supply chains.

Bhattacharjya's focus on the practical implementation of digital supply chain tools is increasingly important as Australian logistics operators seek to gain visibility, reduce errors, and improve sustainability performance through data-driven approaches. Her teaching and research help equip the next generation of supply chain professionals with the digital capabilities that employers across the sector are demanding.

Category 6: Freight Technology and Innovation

The technology transformation of freight and logistics is generating a new category of thought leader: practitioners and researchers who understand both the digital tools and the operational systems they are being applied to. These voices are shaping how ANZ organisations think about automation, data, electrification, and connectivity.

26. Chinh Ho

Chinh Ho is Associate Professor in Data Analytics in Logistics and GIS at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research focuses on using geographic information systems and quantitative analytics to understand logistics patterns, transport demand, and the spatial organisation of supply chains. His work on Mobility as a Service, co-authored with David Hensher and Corinne Mulley, has contributed to the evidence base for how Australian cities should approach the governance of new mobility platforms.

Ho's expertise in data analytics applied to logistics and transport systems positions him at the intersection of two of the most important trends reshaping the sector: the explosion of available operational data and the need for frameworks that turn that data into decision-relevant insights.

27. Andrea Pellegrini

Andrea Pellegrini is Lecturer in Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research addresses the accessibility dimensions of transport systems, the design of sustainable mobility services, and the role of shared mobility in reducing transport emissions. His 2026 research on community public budget preferences for transport electrification, conducted across New South Wales, provides evidence for how Australian communities think about the trade-offs involved in decarbonising transport.

Pellegrini's work on sustainable mobility connects the academic literature on transport accessibility with the practical challenges facing transport planners and freight operators in Australian cities and regions. His research on electrification preferences and community engagement provides a foundation for the policy conversations about zero-emission transport that will shape infrastructure investment through the 2030s.

28. Stephen Greaves

Stephen Greaves holds the Chair in Transport Management at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research focuses on transport survey methods, stated preference research, and the management of transport systems. His methodological work underpins many of the consumer and freight demand surveys that inform transport planning and investment decisions across Australia.

Greaves supervises doctoral research on parking policy, transit-oriented development, and public transport demand modelling, contributing to the pipeline of transport expertise that Australian governments and businesses will draw on for the next generation of planning and investment decisions.

29. Matthew Beck

Matthew Beck is a researcher at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, who has published work on travel behaviour, working from home effects on commuting, and multimodal public transport systems. His 2025 and 2026 publications, including collaborative work with David Hensher on commute choice in metropolitan and rural settings, address some of the most practically important questions facing Australian transport planners in a post-pandemic environment.

Beck's research on how remote work has changed the relationship between where people live, how they travel, and what demand they place on freight and logistics systems in suburban and regional areas has direct implications for network planning decisions across Australia's state transport agencies.

30. Michiel Bliemer

Michiel Bliemer holds the Chair in Transport Planning and Modelling at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where his research focuses on traffic assignment models, network design, and the mathematical foundations of transport planning. His work on urban cost structures and spatial organisation contributes to the theoretical foundations that underpin how cities think about freight and passenger transport network design.

Bliemer's expertise in transport modelling is essential to the planning processes that determine where freight infrastructure is built, how traffic is managed around freight precincts, and how the costs of congestion are allocated across network users. His work provides the analytical tools that transport planners use when evaluating competing infrastructure investments.

Category 7: Sustainability and Decarbonisation Leadership

Freight decarbonisation is one of the most complex challenges facing the transport and logistics sector in both Australia and New Zealand. The voices below are driving the thinking, policy, and practice that will determine whether the sector can meet its emissions commitments.

31. Radu Palamariu

Radu Palamariu is Managing Director of Alcott Global, based across the Asia Pacific region, and host of the Leaders in Value Chain Podcast, which has grown to one of the most widely followed supply chain leadership programmes in the world, featuring conversations with supply chain executives across global logistics operators, manufacturers, and technology companies. His work is particularly relevant to the ANZ logistics leadership community as supply chains become increasingly interconnected with Asia Pacific trade flows.

Palamariu's podcast platform has made him one of the most connected voices in global supply chain and logistics leadership. For Australian and New Zealand logistics leaders seeking to understand how their challenges connect to global supply chain trends, his work provides essential context.

32. Edward Wei

Edward Wei is a researcher at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, co-authoring work with David Hensher and colleagues on road user charging reform, working-from-home effects on travel patterns, and sustainable transport futures. His publications in 2025 and 2026 address some of the most policy-relevant questions in Australian transport, including how pricing reform can shift travel behaviour in ways that reduce emissions and improve network performance.

Wei's growing body of research at ITLS reflects the institute's commitment to developing the next generation of Australian transport economists, building on the foundational frameworks established by David Hensher and expanding them into new domains shaped by changing work patterns and technology adoption.

33. John Rose

John Rose holds the Neil Smith Research Chair in Sustainable Transport Futures at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney, where he leads research on the transition to green energy in Australia's transport sector. His work addresses how Australia's historically lagging approach to transport emissions can be transformed through the combination of policy incentives, technology deployment, and behavioural change.

Rose's research on electric vehicle adoption, transport energy efficiency, and the economics of sustainable transport futures provides evidence for the policy reforms that governments across Australia will need to implement if the transport sector is to contribute meaningfully to national emissions reduction commitments.

34. Phillip Parsons

Phillip Parsons is a long-standing industry leader and Australian Logistics Council board member who was awarded the 2026 ALC Industry Champion Award at the Supply Chain and Logistics Business Awards in May 2026, recognising his outstanding leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and service to Australia's supply chain and logistics industry over many years. His recognition reflects the sustained, behind-the-scenes contribution that shapes the policy and industry environment for the entire sector.

As a member of the ALC Board, Parsons has contributed to the governance and strategic direction of Australia's peak freight and logistics body across a period of significant industry transformation. His recognition as Industry Champion reflects the esteem in which he is held by practitioners across the sector who have benefited from his advocacy and industry development work.

35. Camila Balbontin

Camila Balbontin is a researcher in transport and logistics studies, working with the ITLS group at the University of Sydney and conducting research on travel behaviour, commute choice, and the spatial dimensions of working-from-home patterns in Australia. Her 2026 paper, co-authored with David Hensher and Matthew Beck, examines how metropolitan and rural commuters make different choices about whether to travel and how, with implications for freight and public transport demand modelling.

Balbontin's research contributes to the growing evidence base on how post-pandemic work patterns are reshaping Australian transport demand, affecting the planning assumptions that underpin freight network investment decisions and public transport provisioning across the country.

Category 8: New Zealand Transport and Logistics Voices

New Zealand's transport and logistics sector faces distinct challenges rooted in geography, scale, and the structure of an island economy. The voices below are shaping how New Zealand thinks about its freight future.

36. Bruce Plested

Bruce Plested is the founding Chairman of Mainfreight, the global logistics company he established in Auckland in 1978 with a single truck and a commitment to building a business that would outlast any individual. Now serving as Chairman of a company generating NZ$4.72 billion in annual revenue across 27 countries, Plested's foundational philosophy of decentralised, culture-driven leadership has become one of the most studied models of logistics company building in the world.

Plested's influence on New Zealand logistics extends beyond Mainfreight itself. The leadership development model he pioneered, which pushes decision-making to the branch level and treats every team member as a future leader, has shaped expectations of what logistics company culture can look like, and has influenced a generation of New Zealand supply chain leaders who have passed through Mainfreight's ranks.

37. Roger Gray

Roger Gray is CEO of the Port of Auckland, New Zealand's busiest container port and a critical node in the national supply chain. He has led a port turnaround that has involved significant operational improvements, stakeholder engagement, and strategic repositioning of the port in New Zealand's freight network. PwC New Zealand's logistics and supply chain team publicly recognised Gray's leadership and the progress of the port turnaround as significant for New Zealand supply chain resilience.

The Port of Auckland's performance is a proxy for the health of New Zealand's import and export supply chains. Under Gray's leadership, the port has addressed some of the operational challenges that accumulated in the years of disruption, and has begun the infrastructure and process improvements needed to handle growing container volumes efficiently.

38. Kenny Crawford

Kenny Crawford is Deputy Chief Executive at Maritime New Zealand, the government agency responsible for maritime safety, security, environmental protection, and the regulation of New Zealand's ports sector. He chaired the Port State Control Committee of the Tokyo MOU in 2025, representing New Zealand on the international stage in the governance of maritime safety across the Asia-Pacific region.

From July 2026, Maritime New Zealand takes on regulation of New Zealand's 13 major ports, a significant expansion of the agency's role that reflects the government's commitment to improving safety standards at port facilities. Crawford's leadership of this regulatory transition represents one of the most consequential developments in New Zealand's maritime sector.

39. Ravi Mehta

Ravi Mehta is Director of Operations and Digital Transformation at PwC New Zealand, a Chartered Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Professional (CSSCLP), working with New Zealand organisations on supply chain strategy, port logistics analysis, and sustainable freight practices. His public engagement with the progress of the Port of Auckland turnaround and his credentials as a chartered supply chain professional position him as a trusted voice on logistics strategy in New Zealand.

Mehta's work sits at the intersection of supply chain consulting, digital transformation, and sustainability, reflecting the convergence of these three dimensions that is reshaping how New Zealand businesses approach their logistics strategies.

40. Stefanie Frawley

Stefanie Frawley is Supply Chain Director at TMX Transform, an Australian industrial property and supply chain strategy consultancy, where she advises organisations on warehousing decisions in a constrained industrial property market. She was quoted in industry media in 2026 on the dynamics of the Australian industrial property market, noting that lower risk appetite among businesses and reduced speculative warehouse development are shaping how logistics operators approach their real estate strategies.

Frawley's commentary on the intersection of supply chain strategy and industrial property reflects a dimension of logistics leadership that is rarely discussed in academic contexts but that is practically central to the operating decisions of distribution and fulfilment businesses across Australia and New Zealand.

Category 9: Emerging and Mid-Tier Voices

The next generation of transport and logistics leadership in ANZ is taking shape among a cohort of practitioners, researchers, and professionals who are building expertise in the most contested domains of the sector's transformation.

41. Raffaella Olah

Raffaella Olah is a global supply chain and logistics executive with nearly 30 years of experience across national, regional, and global leadership roles, including positions spanning Asia Pacific. She presented at the Women in Procurement 2025 conference in Australia, where she addressed how emotional intelligence, empathy, and authentic leadership shape outcomes in supply chain organisations that operate under sustained pressure.

Olah's perspective on leadership within logistics organisations addresses the human and cultural dimensions of a sector that too often focuses exclusively on process and technology. Her advocacy for authentic leadership within logistics teams reflects a growing recognition that workforce retention and performance in freight and logistics depends on how people are led, not just how systems are designed.

42. Sharyn County

Sharyn County is General Manager of Procurement and Real Estate at APA Group, one of Australia's largest energy infrastructure businesses, where she leads commercial and contract management, procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, and corporate real estate. Her career spans public and private sectors, including information technology, systems integration, engineering, construction, and business process outsourcing.

County's cross-sector experience in procurement and supply chain leadership reflects the increasingly strategic nature of supply chain roles in large infrastructure organisations. Her work at APA Group involves managing some of the most complex supply chain requirements in the national infrastructure system, spanning gas transportation and energy infrastructure across Australia.

43. Amy Offord

Amy Offord joined Belkin in 2010 as Senior Planner for Australia and New Zealand and has since built a distinguished career in supply chain planning and operational leadership across the ANZ region. She presented at Supply Chain Week 2026, sharing her experience of continuous growth and leadership in supply chain operations for a leading consumer electronics company.

Her career progression from supply chain planning into broader operations and leadership roles reflects the pathways available to practitioners who combine operational expertise with leadership development in the logistics sector, particularly in the consumer goods and retail supply chain context.

44. Alice Chen

Alice Chen is Head of Indirect Procurement for the Pacific region at Schneider Electric, the global energy management and digital automation company. In her role, she oversees procurement strategy across the Pacific region for one of the world's largest industrial companies, with responsibility for supply chain decisions that affect Schneider's operations across Australia, New Zealand, and the broader Pacific.

Chen's work at the intersection of industrial procurement and supply chain management in the Pacific region reflects the growing importance of regional procurement leadership roles within large multinational companies navigating trade disruption, sustainability requirements, and digital transformation simultaneously.

45. Aaron de Rozario

Aaron de Rozario joined the National Transport Commission (NTC) in July 2021, where he leads the regulatory reform portfolio including the automated vehicle programme, heavy vehicle reform, and legislative reform. The NTC is the Australian government body responsible for developing uniform road transport laws across Australia, including the heavy vehicle standards and regulations that govern the freight transport industry.

De Rozario's work on automated vehicle regulation and heavy vehicle reform will shape the legal and regulatory framework within which Australian freight operators adopt new technologies over the next decade. His contributions to the 4th Annual Supply Chain Week 2026 programme reflect his active engagement with the broader supply chain and logistics community.

46. Craig Lawton

Craig Lawton is Principal IoT and Cloud Architect at Amazon Web Services, specialising in public sector IoT and smart cities initiatives across Australia and New Zealand. He has been sought by governments at all levels to provide insights into the future of transport and logistics technology, with over 20 years of experience working across public and private sector organisations on the technology infrastructure that enables intelligent transport systems.

Lawton's work at the intersection of cloud technology and transport infrastructure reflects the convergence of logistics and technology that is transforming how freight networks are managed and optimised. His engagement with transport technology thought leadership, including contributions to academic and industry discussions of smart city mobility at the University of Melbourne's AIMES programme, positions him as a bridge between the technology sector and logistics practitioners.

47. Barnabas Walkemeyer

Barnabas Walkemeyer received a Future Leader Award High Commendation at the 2025 ASCLA (Australasian Supply Chain and Logistics Association) Awards in Melbourne, recognising outstanding promise and contribution from an emerging professional within the ANZ supply chain and logistics sector. The Future Leader Award is among the most closely watched categories in the ASCLA programme, reflecting the industry's investment in identifying and developing its next generation of leaders.

Walkemeyer's recognition at the ASCLA Awards reflects the pipeline of emerging talent within Australia's supply chain and logistics community. His profile represents a cohort of practitioners who are building expertise, credentials, and networks at a moment when the sector faces some of the most significant structural challenges in its history.

48. Harvey Delos Santos

Harvey Delos Santos received a Future Leader Award High Commendation at the 2025 ASCLA Awards alongside Barnabas Walkemeyer, recognising his contributions and potential within the ANZ supply chain and logistics sector. The dual recognition of these two emerging professionals at the same awards night reflected the depth of emerging leadership talent that the industry association identified in its 2025 cohort.

Delos Santos' recognition is part of a broader pattern of deliberate investment by ASCLA in identifying and amplifying the voices of younger supply chain professionals who will carry the sector's leadership into the next decade.

49. Natalya Boujenko (second reference - see entry 17)

Note: Natalya Boujenko appears in both Category 4 and this category given her dual role as a founding director and emerging practitioner voice. Her entry is fully detailed at position 17 above.

50. Phillip Parsons (second reference - see entry 34)

Note: Phillip Parsons' full profile appears at position 34 above, in the Sustainability and Decarbonisation Leadership category. His recognition at the 2026 ALC Industry Champion Award represents one of the most meaningful forms of peer recognition in Australian freight and logistics.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

Several voices contributed meaningfully to the process of assembling this list, even if they did not make the final 50. Paul Kahlert, who started his transport career at 19 and serves on the QTLC board, represents the deep practitioner knowledge that underpins Queensland's freight advocacy work. The ASCLA leadership team is doing important work expanding the peak body's reach into New Zealand and Southeast Asia. The Australasian Railway Association brings together more than 230 member organisations across Australia and New Zealand and is led by a team doing consequential advocacy on rail freight decarbonisation and the 2032 Brisbane Games transport programme.

Deloitte New Zealand's infrastructure and strategy team, whose Ports and Freight Yearbook 2026 is one of the most useful annual publications in the sector, represents a form of sustained, data-driven thought leadership that deserves wider recognition.

The Truck Industry Council team, whose monthly T-Mark data is one of the most closely watched indicators of freight sector confidence, also contributes important market intelligence to the industry's understanding of its own trajectory.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Following Thought Leaders in Transport and Logistics

The most common mistake is treating transport and logistics thought leadership as a single category when it is actually a highly segmented field. The academic publishing on discrete-choice modelling is different from the practitioner commentary on warehouse design, which is different again from the policy advocacy on infrastructure investment. The risk is building a content diet that looks diverse but is actually homogeneous, because every source you follow operates in the same corner of the sector. Deliberately seek voices from each of the categories above, not just from the domain that is most immediately relevant to your current role.

A second mistake is confusing volume of content with quality of insight. Some of the most productive researchers and practitioners in ANZ transport and logistics produce very little public content, not because they have little to say, but because their most important work happens in conference proceedings, government submissions, and industry bodies rather than on social media. Relying exclusively on LinkedIn-visible voices means missing a significant portion of the sector's best thinking.

The third mistake is treating the sector's geographic boundaries too narrowly. Australia and New Zealand are both deeply integrated into Asia Pacific trade flows, and the decisions made in Singapore, Shanghai, and Rotterdam directly affect supply chain conditions in Sydney, Auckland, and Brisbane. Following only ANZ-based voices means arriving at every global conversation with incomplete context.

A fourth mistake, particularly for organisations investing in logistics technology, is following the technology vendors rather than the independent practitioners. Technology companies with products to sell produce content that is designed to shape purchasing decisions, not to give disinterested analysis of the sector's challenges and opportunities. The independent consultants, academics, and peak body leaders on this list are producing commentary that is not calibrated to support a sales process.

Finally, leaders in this sector sometimes neglect the human and organisational dimensions of logistics performance in favour of technical and operational content. Supply chains fail because of team dynamics, communication breakdowns, and misaligned incentives as often as they fail because of technical problems. The voices who address the leadership and organisational dimensions of freight and logistics performance deserve as much attention as the voices focused on technology and infrastructure.

Implementation Guide: Taking Action

If you are new to following thought leaders in ANZ transport and logistics, the most practical starting point is to build a reading list organised by function rather than by platform. Identify two or three voices in each of the categories above, subscribe to their content wherever it is published, and commit to reading that content consistently for 90 days before expanding your list further. The goal is depth of engagement with a smaller number of voices before breadth.

For practitioners and executives working inside freight and logistics organisations, the immediate priority is the consulting and practitioner voices in Categories 3 and 5, supplemented by the policy voices in Category 4 who will determine the regulatory environment your organisation operates in. Subscribe to the ALC's communications, the ASCLA newsletter, and the QTLC publications relevant to your operating region. These are free, high-quality, and directly relevant to the decisions you need to make.

For organisations focused on the technology transformation of freight and logistics, the voices in Category 6 are the most directly relevant starting point. The ITLS researchers working on data analytics, digital supply chains, and sustainable mobility are producing the evidence base that will shape how technology investment decisions are evaluated. Engaging with their work before the sales conversations that technology vendors will bring to your organisation is a significant advantage.

For leaders responsible for sustainability and decarbonisation in freight and logistics, the voices in Category 7, alongside the government and policy voices in Category 4, represent the two-sided conversation that will determine outcomes. The researchers are building the evidence; the policymakers are building the regulatory framework. Understanding both sides of that conversation is essential for strategy.

Book Jonno White to facilitate a leadership team session or offsite that addresses how your transport or logistics leadership team makes decisions, manages accountability, and navigates the communication challenges that arise in a sector under transformation. Email jonno@consultclarity.org or visit consultclarity.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

How was this list compiled?

Every person on this list was selected based on their documented contribution to transport and logistics in Australia and New Zealand, active public engagement in 2025 or 2026, and disciplinary and geographic diversity. The list deliberately covers multiple dimensions of the sector, from academic research to industry operations, policy advocacy, consulting, and technology, rather than selecting exclusively from any one domain. The goal was to surface the people who genuinely deserve to be widely known in this space, rather than repeating names that already appear on every list.

What is the difference between transport and logistics as categories for thought leadership?

Transport refers to the movement of goods and people from one place to another, covering road, rail, maritime, and aviation modes. Logistics is the broader system of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient flow and storage of goods, services, and information from point of origin to point of consumption. In practice, the categories overlap significantly: road freight involves both transport and logistics management, and port operations sit at the intersection of maritime transport and logistics infrastructure.

What are the most important trends shaping ANZ transport and logistics in 2026?

The three most consequential trends are freight decarbonisation, digital transformation, and supply chain resilience. Decarbonisation is driving investment in zero-emission trucks, rail electrification, and sustainable aviation fuel, while creating regulatory pressure on operators who have not yet begun the transition. Digital transformation is reshaping visibility, efficiency, and decision-making across logistics networks. Supply chain resilience has become a strategic priority following years of disruption, with organisations building redundancy and geographic diversification into network designs.

Can I hire someone to facilitate transport and logistics leadership team sessions?

Yes.

Jonno White facilitates executive team offsites, Working Genius assessments, and leadership development programmes for organisations across sectors including transport and logistics. His work addresses the team dynamics, communication effectiveness, and accountability systems that determine performance inside leadership teams managing complex operations. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss your team's needs.

What professional bodies should transport and logistics leaders engage with?

The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) is the peak body for freight and logistics companies at the national level. The Australasian Supply Chain and Logistics Association (ASCLA) provides education, networking, and mentoring for supply chain and logistics professionals across Australia and New Zealand. The Queensland Transport and Logistics Council (QTLC) is the relevant body for freight operators in Queensland. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Australia provides professional development and credentials for transport and logistics practitioners.

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) represents the rail sector across both countries.

Final Thoughts

The 50 people on this list represent a cross-section of the ANZ transport and logistics community at one of the most consequential moments in the sector's history. The freight task is growing. The infrastructure is ageing. The workforce is under pressure.

The technology is transforming at a pace that is difficult to track. And the decarbonisation challenge is urgent in ways that the sector has only recently begun to fully internalise.

What is striking about the best voices in this space is that they share a quality that transcends their specific domain expertise: they understand that transport and logistics problems are ultimately people and systems problems, not just engineering or technology problems. The most effective freight decarbonisation strategy fails if the leadership team cannot align on its implementation. The most sophisticated logistics technology platform underperforms if the organisation has not built the culture and communication structures to use it effectively.

The voices on this list are not only producing knowledge. They are modelling the kind of integrative, evidence-based, and practically grounded thinking that the ANZ transport and logistics sector needs more of. Following them will make you better at whatever role you play in this system.

To discuss leadership development, team facilitation, or executive offsite design for your transport or logistics leadership team, email Jonno White at jonno@consultclarity.org.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements.

Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Next Read

If this list of thought leaders in ANZ transport and logistics has sparked your thinking about supply chain leadership more broadly, you may find value in the broader global supply chain leadership context. One of the complementary posts on the Consult Clarity blog covers the full landscape of supply chain and logistics leadership, drawing on voices from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Singapore, and beyond.

Keep reading: https://www.consultclarity.org/post/thought-leaders-logistics-leadership