Our people
The StratWest executive team is supplemented by an expert advisory panel that has decades of experience in this market, as leaders in business, government, media, and the community.
Chair | Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue
Christopher Brown AM serves as Honorary Chair of the regional think-tank NGO, Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue.
For twenty years Christopher led two of the nation’s most powerful industry peak bodies, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia and Tourism & Transport Forum – comprising CEOs from across the upper echelons of Australia’s public and private sector leadership cohort.
He has designed and led coalitions to secure and support some of the region’s most iconic projects, such as Western Sydney Airport and the Metro Rail that connects it, Parramatta Light Rail, Moorebank Intermodal’s inland port, the Powerhouse Museum, Accor and CommBank Stadiums and the Western Sydney Parklands.
Raised and educated in Parramatta, Christopher Brown was awarded Australian Honours for his service to industry and community in 2014.
Faith Halliday is a business executive and experienced collaborator. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from UNSW and has lived and worked in Australia, North America, and Asia. She is an active optimist, a proven facilitator and a strong advocate for creating sustainable, liveable and connected cities. With her design background, she derives innovative solutions across strategy and client management.
Faith has directed the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue’s 2019 and 2024 Study Tours of East London and the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Collaborative Leadership Programs. She is an honorary Board member of the Parramatta Women’s Shelter, and an active advocate for the Clontarf Foundation, the Rev. Crews Foundation, and other regional not-for-profits. She recently chaired the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue’s Central River City Revitalisation Group – a working group established to unlock the potential of the CRC.
Faith has been involved in executive stakeholder engagement, corporate strategy and major infrastructure bid advisory projects for a range of public, private, and not-for-profit organisations.
Brett brings 20 years’ of sales, marketing and stakeholder management experience to his StratWest role.
Brett draws on his extensive knowledge of industry and government networks, to provide advice and support to StratWest’s stakeholders.
He has served in commercial, marketing and strategy roles with Business Events Sydney, Tourism Australia and Luna Park Sydney, and as a policy manager at the Tourism & Transport Forum.
Brett was one of the co-hosts who curated and led the East London Study Tour in 2019 and 2024. He has also helped deliver the Collaborative Leadership Program in recent years – both StratWest initiatives.
His primary interests in the policy sphere include tackling social inequities faced by Western Sydney communities, addressing environmental challenges, and ensuring positive physical, intellectual, and social legacies are achieved.
Jessica Commins is a seasoned property executive, with 20+ years of domestic and international experience advising retail developers, asset owners and operators, and has also worked in Equities Research for Deutsche Bank.
She spent many years at Scentre Group (formerly Westfield) as National Manager, Strategic Research, reporting directly to the Group CEO. She also supported Scentre’s operational strategies and development pipeline and established a global knowledge network for the business by forming a partnership with other Westfield offices in USA & UK. She represented Scentre in external industry forums and was involved with the company’s executive leadership development programs.
Her career history includes economics and planning consulting (Macroplan Dimasi), retail chain potential support (TJX Europe in London), a previous stint with Westfield in Centre Management and as Director of Research & Finance at Taylor Street Advisory. Recent TSA roles included advisory briefs for AMP Capital, QIC Global Real Estate, Inner West Council, Australian Turf Club and Quantium.
Jess holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Qld, and an MBA from the prestigious Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (USA).