Jennifer Smith
Chief Executive Officer

Jennifer has a broad range of management experience and leadership skills with demonstrated achievements in financial planning, corporate governance, policy development and the delivery of services across both private and public sectors.

Prior to joining the RTA, Jennifer held various executive roles at the Brisbane City Council. These roles included Assurance Delivery and Performance Manager, Financial Projects Manager and various senior appointments within Corporate Treasury.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Business degree majoring in Accountancy from the Queensland University of Technology and is an accredited Workplace Executive Coach.

Joanna van der Merwe
A/Chief Financial Officer

Joanna van der Merwe leads the Financial and Assurance Services division, which include finance, governance and risk, investigations, government relations, project governance and business improvement.

Joanna held various executive roles at the Brisbane City Council, including Strategy and Reporting Manager, Financial Performance Manager, and Corporate Benefits Manager and various commercial finance roles in the food and home electronics industries in the UK prior to joining the RTA in September 2019.

Joanna holds a Bachelor of Business and is a Chartered Management Accountant.

Samantha Watson
A/Chief Digital Officer

Samantha Watson currently leads the RTA’s Digital Business Centre, which supports the RTA’s business systems, standard operating environments and applications; maintains records; and provides business intelligence to facilitate strategic direction and corporate decision making. 

Samantha has extensive operational and leadership experience in complex customer-focused organisational environments including local government, not-for-profit, health and insurance in both national and global businesses. She has strong financial portfolio management experience and has led many successful enterprise-wide programs including the delivery of digital platforms and transformation, service delivery framework transformation, operational process redesign, cultural change programs, customer experience strategy and customer lifecycle management.  

Samantha holds a dual degree in Business and Organisational Psychology and holds qualifications in LEAN and Six Sigma process improvement methodologies, project management and marketing.  

Natalie Townsend
A/Chief Customer Experience Officer

Natalie Townsend leads the RTA’s Customer Experience division, which includes the Contact Centre, bond management, support services and dispute resolution teams, providing personalised tenancy services and support to tenants and property managers and owners navigating the Queensland residential rental sector. 

Natalie brings extensive project experience across a range of activities from system implementation – including rolling out the RTA's human resources information system, learning management system, and performance framework and related systems – to organisational transformation activities and reform initiatives. 

Natalie holds a Diploma of Business, a Bachelor of Business with double majors in Management and Human Resource Management along with other accreditations in tools such as DISC and Talegent. 

Natalie is also a CAHRI member of the Australian Human Resources Institute. 

Cassie Broomfield
A/Chief People Officer

Cassie Broomfield currently leads the People and Culture division, overseeing the RTA’s human resources, training, change management, media, communication and education teams. Cassie joined the RTA in November 2018 and has an extensive HR background with 11+ years of public sector experience. 

Cassie is a true HR generalist and has experience in all facets of HR with specialist knowledge and experience in organisational development, payroll management, data analytics, and employee and industrial relations. 

Cassie holds a Certificate IV in Human Resources and is currently studying a Bachelor of Human Resources Management and Psychology. Cassie holds further accreditations in tools such as mental health first aid and change management.