Developing our future leaders through the Roads Australia Fellowship Program
Kylie Smart and Kevin Doyle are participating in a prestigious leadership development opportunity.
Kevin and Kylie caught up at the Roads Australia Fellowship workshop
Two of our star colleagues – HR Manager Capability and Systems, Kylie Smart, and Project Construction Manager, Kevin Doyle – are participating in the Roads Australia Fellowship Program, a prestigious leadership development opportunity that brings together emerging leaders from across Australia’s transport infrastructure sector.
In November, they attended the Fellowship’s two-day workshop in Sydney, where the 2025 Fellows were celebrated as they concluded their journey and the program’s largest-ever 2026 cohort was officially welcomed.
The event brought together leaders from both the public and private sectors, featured keynote speakers including Infrastructure Australia Chief Commissioner Tim Reardon, and recognised this year’s winning group from Western Australia for their outstanding road safety project.
With more than 400 Fellows now forming a powerful and growing alumni network, the program continues to strengthen capability and leadership across the transport sector. The Fellowship is sponsored by John Holland.
The Fellowship Program supports our commitment to Strategic Goal #5: Sustainable Growth, by building capability, strengthening industry relationships, and equipping our people with the skills they need to continue delivering high-quality outcomes for our clients and communities.
About the program
The Roads Australia Fellowship Program pairs emerging leaders with senior industry mentors and offers structured learning, peer collaboration, and exposure to policy, innovation, and leadership thinking across the transport sector. Fellows work in multidisciplinary teams on an industry project designed to address a current issue or opportunity.
This year, both Kylie and Kevin are contributing to projects that will help shape the future of transport, road safety and infrastructure delivery.
Roads Australia 2025 Fellowship Program group
How Kylie is shaping industry thinking on Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA)
Completing the Fellowship Program in 2025, Kylie has been part of a cross-industry project team with representatives from AECOM, Boral, SMEC and Mott MacDonald. Their project focused on proposing an innovation in road safety technology that would improve the safety of road users and road workers.
“After researching a range of options, our group felt that Australia was lagging behind Europe and other regions when it came to leveraging in-vehicle ISA [Intelligent Speed Assistance] technology to improve safe driving behaviours,” Kylie says.
“We felt Roads Australia could play a key role in unifying stakeholders to help accelerate the mandating of ISA in new vehicles here in Australia.
“Interestingly, 70% of our survey respondents said they supported mandating ISA in new vehicles.
“Austroads actually published a report back in 2003 on how effective ISA is at reducing speeding, but the Australian design rules still haven’t caught up to the technology.”
Kylie says each member of her team brought something unique to the project — connections, technical knowledge or insights that made completing the project both interesting and rewarding.
The experience also gave her a broader lens on the role Human Resources can play in shaping how and why organisations adopt new technologies like ISA.
“People need to know why something is important to help with the adoption of any change. HR can help craft and communicate that ‘why’, and without it, change can stall or be less effective,” Kylie says.
“Building capability extends beyond technical delivery – it also means understanding the technologies and innovations shaping the future of transport.”
Kylie celebrated her 15th anniversary at Seymour Whyte in 2023.
Kylie (second from right) enjoys giving back to the community with her colleagues.
Kylie says the Fellowship Program has strengthened her leadership and strategic thinking:
“There are some amazing people in our industry — senior people who are genuinely invested in the next generation and willing to dedicate their time and resources to uplift you. It was inspiring to see this in action.”
She adds that the experience directly contributes to Seymour Whyte’s Sustainable Growth focus by strengthening capability and deepening her understanding of how innovation, safety and industry collaboration intersect.
Kylie was a key contributor to piloting My Time, a flexible work program, at our Clyde Road project.
Kylie (red jacket) accepted the 2024 VINCI Construction HR Innovation Awards in France for Seymour Whyte’s My Time program.
Kylie encourages future Seymour Whyte applicants to put themselves forward. “Put your hat in the ring, but understand it’s going to take an investment of your time and effort. We all wanted to represent ourselves and our organisations well, so we made sure our work was thorough. In exchange, we learnt a lot and really built our networks.”
Looking ahead, Kylie says the Fellowship has re-energised her passion for mentoring. “Mentoring can be tough because it’s a two-way relationship and ideally needs to work for both people. When it goes well, it’s incredibly insightful and helpful to have an unbiased advocate for your growth and development.”
Kylie was a special guest speaker at Roads Australia’s 2025 International Women’s Day lunch event.
She’s a valued thought leader in our industry.
How Kevin is expanding his leadership impact through the Fellowship
While Kylie has just completed her Fellowship year, Kevin has only recently commenced his, joining the 2026 cohort. Kevin applied for the Program to broaden his network, gain industry exposure and strengthen his leadership capability.
“I had heard about the program from others and thought it would be a great opportunity to expand my network, gain more industry exposure and develop my leadership skills,” Kevin says.
He believes the structure of the program – including mentoring from senior leaders across the sector – will have a long-term impact on his development.
“The program provides practical leadership advice, guidance from a senior industry mentor and the chance to discuss leadership with others who are at the same point in their careers. Combined, these elements will help me continue to develop my leadership and career more broadly.”
Kevin is particularly energised by the opportunity to collaborate with people from all corners of the transport industry.
“The cohort includes people from the full spectrum of roles across the industry. I’m looking forward to gaining insight into areas I wouldn’t usually work in, and learning from the initiatives and developments that other organisations are putting into practice.”
He also sees the Fellowship as contributing directly to Seymour Whyte’s growth and success.
“Having more contacts within client, design and delivery organisations will help create opportunities for future work and partnerships,” Kevin says.
On a personal level, Kevin says being selected as a Fellow is both rewarding and meaningful:
“I feel privileged and honoured to have been selected by both Seymour Whyte and Roads Australia. I believe the experience and network will help me continue to grow my career – now and into the future.”
Kevin (left) helped to deliver our recently completed multi-award-winning Sydney Gateway project.
Kevin (front left) is leading our Upper South Creek Network project – a $2 billion+ program for Sydney Water.
Building capability for tomorrow
Both Kylie and Kevin’s participation in the Roads Australia Fellowship Program highlights the critical role our people play in shaping the future of our industry.
Through initiatives like this, Seymour Whyte continues to invest in leadership development, industry collaboration and career pathways that strengthen our capability and support sustainable growth across the business.
We congratulate Kylie on completing the program, and look forward to following Kevin’s progress.
