The senior public servant who is at the heart of the massive re-building of post-flood Brisbane has been honoured by being named Queensland University of Technology's top graduate in the 2011 QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards today.
Colin Jensen is Chief Executive Officer of Australia's largest local government authority, the Brisbane City Council.
Mr Jensen was announced as the top award winner at a breakfast to mark the 20th QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards.
He has been named one of Australia's top 100 most influential engineers by Civil Engineers Australia magazine for four years running.
As a former Queensland Government Coordinator-General and Director-General of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, Mr Jensen was responsible for overseeing the delivery of the largest infrastructure building program (worth more than $18 billion) in Queensland's history.
Mr Jensen directed major developments, infrastructure planning, and urban growth and land use in Queensland.
He graduated from QIT (QUT's predecessor institution) with Honours in a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1986.
Today instead of focusing on the building, expansion and growth of Queensland, Mr Jensen is, in part, directing his efforts to the rebuilding of Brisbane following the devastating January floods. He has a damages bill of more than $400 million to manage and leads a large and diverse organisation.
And when it comes to making the big calls during a crisis, Mr Jensen said he values those around him.
"There are a lot of competent and clever people providing me with advice," he said.
"The challenge is to see the big picture in terms of how does all that advice fit together and then look for the correct decision amongst all of that."
Mr Jensen is not just about growth and the building of public infrastructure, he is also committed to sustainability and improving people's quality of life.
In his past roles, he was involved in initiatives to increase the amount of open space and protected environmental areas throughout Queensland as well as leading national and international efforts in intelligent transport systems.
Mr Jensen said Council was also leading the charge against climate change including offsetting all of its carbon emissions. The BCC already used 100 per cent green power, had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions below its own target and was well on its way to planting two million trees across the city.
"I have chosen to base my career almost exclusively in the service of the public, and for me that means the decisions you make now have to be for the long-term benefit of the community," he said.
Other notable winners included co-founders of Emmy Award-winning digital entertainment company Hoodlum, Tracey Robertson (Chief Executive Officer) and Nathan Mayfield (Chief Creative Officer) and Dr James Bradfield Moody, Executive Director (Development) CSIRO Australia and panellist on ABC-TV's New Inventors program.
The 2011 QUT Outstanding Alumni Award winners are:
Chancellor's Outstanding Alumnus and Built Environment and Engineering winner
Colin Jensen
Chief Executive Officer
Brisbane City Council
Special Excellence Award winners
Tracey Robertson (Creative Industries winner)
CEO Hoodlum
Nathan Mayfield (Business winner)
Chief Creative Officer, Hoodlum
James Teh
Vice president, NV Access
Outstanding Young Alumni Award winners
Lenine Bourke
Artistic director, Contact Inc
Caroline Austin
Beneficiary Communications & Accountability Delegate, International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies
Faculty of Education winner
Julie Grantham
Director-General, Dept of Education & Training, Queensland
Faculty of Health winner
Jacqui Reed
Chief Executive Officer, Create Foundation
Faculty of Law winner
Allison Stanfield
Director & CEO e.Law Australia
Science and Technology winner
Dr James Bradfield Moody
Executive Director (Development), CSIRO Australia
Media contact: Ian Eckersley, QUT media manager, 07 3138 2361 or ian.eckersley@qut.edu.au
*High res images are available for media use.
