Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, November 2025 — Shandell Riley has been appointed as the ANZ Head of Talent and Development at Downer, a leading provider of integrated services across Australia and New Zealand. In this pivotal leadership role, Shandell will oversee the company’s talent and learning strategy across the ANZ region, focusing on workforce capability, leadership development, and future-ready people programs aligned with Downer’s transformation agenda.
Shandell’s career at Downer began over a year ago, where she most recently served as ANZ Head of Resourcing and Talent Acquisition. In that role, she led end-to-end talent strategy across multiple business divisions, driving workforce planning, strategic sourcing, and employer branding initiatives. Her leadership was instrumental in building agile recruitment models to attract and retain high-performing teams in dynamic infrastructure and engineering environments.
Prior to joining Downer, she served as Executive Vice President, Global Talent at TOA Global, where she spearheaded global talent strategy, internal mobility, and organizational transformation programs across continents. Her work focused on leadership development, data-driven decision-making, and scaling workforce capabilities to support rapid business growth.
Before that, Shandell held senior roles in UGL as Group Manager, Resourcing, where she oversaw resourcing functions across projects, and in Fletcher Building, where she served as Talent Acquisition Manager for Australia and New Zealand. Her tenure at these organizations strengthened her expertise in strategic workforce planning and leadership pipeline development.
Earlier in her career, she worked with Super Retail Group, Anglo American, Sedgman Limited, Acumen Alliance, and Bell Gully, where she held a range of leadership and specialist roles in HR, recruitment, and IT. Shandell began her professional journey at Investec Asset Management (now Ninety One) as a Network Support Analyst, demonstrating her ability to bridge technology and talent functions—a combination that continues to shape her leadership approach.
About Downer
Downer has been solving complex challenges and enabling critical infrastructure for over 150 years across Australia and New Zealand. The company plays a key role in delivering essential services that keep communities running — from transport networks and hospitals to utilities, communications, and defence infrastructure.
As Downer continues its transformation journey, it remains committed to innovation, sustainability, and engineering excellence, driving operational efficiency and creating lasting value for stakeholders. By combining expertise across design, construction, and maintenance, Downer helps its customers achieve better outcomes and build a stronger, more resilient future.
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