Transport leaders appointed fellows of Engineers Australia

The APP Group congratulates Andrew Bennet, Executive General Manager – Assurance Queensland and Western Australia, and Daphne Becquet Gonzales, Project Director, who have been conferred as Fellow of Engineers Australia.

Elected by their peers, Fellowship represents significant achievement and prominence within the engineering profession. 

To be considered, engineers must have a demonstrated commitment to the profession across a number of spheres including leadership, design and project execution, and education. 

Andrew is a civil engineer with over 30 years’ experience in the construction sector specialising in tunnelling, highway, light rail, and heavy rail projects. 

With a tenure of 20 years at The APP Group, Andrew leads a dedicated team of engineers, design reviewers and surveillance officers managing the Independent Verification of major transport infrastructure projects, including Cross River Rail, Gold Coast Light Rail, Canberra Light Rail and Sydney Light Rail. 

Andrew excels at establishing robust and streamlined systems to empower verification specialists to deliver thorough certification for entire projects. His pragmatic approach enables him to assess the pure application of project requirements against practical constraints of each site which provides practical solutions that cater to the needs of clients and contractors. 

Daphne has a background in civil engineering and more than 15 years’ experience in the construction and certification of major infrastructure developments specialising in urban roads and light rail. 

After graduating in 2002, Daphne worked for a front-line construction role with a French local government entity. In 2007, she moved to Australia and joined The APP Group where her infrastructure expertise made her a natural fit for the emerging Independent Certification team. 

Daphne has worked on several landmark infrastructure projects across Australia such as Gold Coast Rapid Transit Stage 1, Gold Coast Light Rail stage 3, Cross River Rail, and Airport Link, Northern Busway, East West Arterial-Gateway projects, allowing her to develop extensive technical knowledge and a strong network throughout the sector. 

As a team leader, Daphne takes a co-operative approach, encouraging engagement, collaboration and shared commitment to project goals. She enjoys assisting contractors overcome challenges to drive progress all while ensuring strict compliance with required standards and specifications.