The federal government has appointed former Rio Tinto mining Chief Executive Kellie Parker as the new National Armaments Director, overseeing the delivery of projects worth billions of dollars.
Parker will be responsible for leading the new Defence Delivery Agency to be established on July 1 2027, with responsibility for delivering acquisition and sustainment projects (Australian Defence).
Parker has no previous experience in the defence industry, but Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said Parker was appointed for her “commercial expertise” and “strong project management background” at Rio Tinto (The Nightly).
“We wanted them on board before the DDA started. We’ve done that, and in fact, they’re on board before critical decisions are being made” (The Nightly).