Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is proud to announce the appointment of three new Assistant Commissioners who will form part of the Executive Leadership Team at QFES, responsible for keeping Queenslanders safe.
QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll said she is excited to announce the new appointments as well as additional rotations of current Assistant Commissioners.
“The recruitment process for the vacant Assistant Commissioner positions at QFES commenced in April and I am extremely proud of the level of candidates and interest expressed from not only within our department but from right across the country,” Commissioner Carroll said.
“The level of applicants is a clear demonstration that executives in the emergency services sector across the country see QFES and more broadly Queensland as a great place to work and live.
“Queensland is no stranger to natural disasters with 2018 being one of our most challenging years with the unprecedented bushfires impacting large sections of our state followed by severe weather activity off the coast in very close succession. However, QFES is well prepared to do what we do best – keeping Queenslanders right across the state safe – and I am confident that our new Assistant Commissioners will add enormous value and insights into the department.”
The three successful Assistant Commissioners are Gary McCormack from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Joanne Greenfield from Queensland Health and Scott Purdy from CFA in Victoria.
Gary McCormack joined the Queensland Fire Service in 1994 as an Auxiliary firefighter before becoming a permanent firefighter in 1995. More recently Mr McCormack has been relieving in the Rural Fire Service Assistant Commissioner role at QFES for extended periods over the past few years. Mr McCormack has proven emergency operation leadership capability and performed the role of QFES Commander State Operations for the unprecedented bushfire and flooding events of 2018/19.
Mr McCormack has been appointed as the QFES Assistant Commissioner for North Coast Region.
Joanne Greenfield joins QFES from Queensland Health and has an extensive history in leading large-scale operations in complex environments both in Queensland as well as internationally including health services for 300,000 refugees, London Helicopter Emergency Service, hospitals and clinics in Kosovo, emergency services at Kings College Hospital, food and medicine supply chains across 10 countries.
Ms Greenfield has been appointed as the QFES Assistant Commissioner for Emergency Management and Community Capability.
Scott Purdy joins us from CFA and has more than 20 years’ experience in the fire and emergency services sector leading multi-agency responses to major emergencies as well as leading large complex teams within all hazard context during prevention, preparedness, response and recovery phases of emergency management.
Mr Purdy has been appointed as the Assistant Commissioner for South Western Region.
“To ensure QFES remains agile as a modern department we are focussed on not only developing and providing opportunities for our internal people but that we are also open to fresh ideas and talent from outside the department to ensure we are always improving and enhancing our capabilities to better serve Queensland communities as well as our partner agencies.”
Below is an interim breakdown of Assistant Commissioner placements over the coming months.
Northern Region – Assistant Commissioner Dave Hermann
Central Region – Assistant Commissioner Steve Barber
North Coast Region – Assistant Commissioner Gary McCormack
South Western Region – Assistant Commissioner Scott Purdy
Brisbane Region – Assistant Commissioner Neil Gallant
South Eastern Region – Assistant Commissioner Kevin Walsh
Rural Fire Service – Assistant Commissioner John Bolger
Specialist Response and Planning – Assistant Commissioner John Watson
Emergency Management and Community Capability – Assistant Commissioner Joanne Greenfield
State Emergency Service – Assistant Commissioner Andrew Short
Human Capital Management – Assistant Commissioner Steve Smith
Far Northern Region – Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Gwin
Seconded to Brisbane Employment Location – Assistant Commissioner John Cawcutt
