Jo Keen

Dynamic leader with a proven track record at Queensland Treasury, excelling in strategic planning and risk management. Successfully transformed corporate governance frameworks, driving a culture of continuous improvement and achieving over 90% internal customer satisfaction. Committed to fostering diversity and inclusion while mentoring future leaders in high-stakes environments.

• Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Association of Corporate Counsel
• Women on Boards
• Member Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association

• Head of Corporate, Queensland Treasury, 10/01/22, present, Accountable for leading and providing strategic management of the Corporate division (a team of 5 direct reports and a team of 170) which includes people and culture (including work health and safety), legal and right to information, corporate performance (including strategic planning and reporting, risk management, governance and internal audit), information services (including ICT strategy, data security, facilities management, procurement) and finance., Working together with the Corporate Leadership Team to create a new vision and purpose objectives for the Division to create alignment and focus on teamwork, trusted partnerships, innovation, operational excellence and value adding solutions to support business priorities., Working with the Chief Human Resource Officer to develop an Employee Value Proposition, Strategic Workforce Plan, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan, capability needs analysis and initiatives to increase employee engagement, capability and alignment., Working with the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Executive Leadership Team and Chief Risk Officer to implement better reporting, governance and enterprise and project risk frameworks and oversight, including the establishment of the Material Projects Sub-Committee., Engaging with members of the Executive Leadership Team and business partners to develop operational plans and reporting and internal audit plans to provide assurance and drive business improvement and outcomes., Driving a culture of continuous improvement and innovation leading to the implementation of information solutions to enable a greater focus on high value, high risk work., Vice Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Executive Champion for Accessibility and Inclusion, Mentor in the Queensland Treasury mentoring program., Member of the Material Projects Sub-Committee, Member of Queensland Government Insurance Fund Governance Committee, Member of various project Steering Committees., Chair of the Financial Provisioning Scheme., Working across government and with other Heads of Corporate to drive alignment and efficiencies.
• General Counsel, Queensland Rail, 07/01/18, 07/01/22, Chief Legal Officer accountable for leading and managing the legal services, Right to Information (RTI) and Privacy function., Transformation of the Queensland Rail Legal, Right to Information and Privacy team to become a valued business partner with a strong commitment to collaboration, teamwork, care, excellence and innovation and providing pragmatic, commercial, solutions focused advice. This lead team being awarded the Association of Corporate Counsel Large Legal Team of the Year in 2020, an internal customer satisfaction survey of over 90% and a reduction in the overall cost base of $2M., Implemented systems, processes, technology solutions and people strategies to increase alignment and engagement, leading to greater productivity and improved efficiencies., Implemented technological solutions and processes for the engagement with external law firms and tracking of external legal spend leading to greater accountability and efficiencies., Provided strategic, commercially focused pragmatic advice across all levels of the organization from the Board, Chief Executive and Executive Management Team to frontline workers on a wide range of legal and governance issues., Advised in relation to contractual framework for the implementation of the Cross River Rail and other key infrastructure projects. This includes working collaboratively across teams and government agencies to develop risk and governance frameworks and ensure that the project will provide a safe, efficient and accessible public transport system could be achieved., Provided advice and strategies in relation to Queensland Rail’s response to the Forde Commission of Inquiry in relation to New Generation Rollingstock., Proactively developed and implemented governance and safety governance frameworks and training to the Board and officers to manage risks to ensure compliance with legal, due diligence and regulatory obligations in the context of corporate and strategic objectives., Advised in relation to a wide range of issues including directors’ duties, safety, sensitive HR/IR issues, investigations, enterprise bargaining negotiations, procurement strategies, accessibility, property and land access., Successfully managed the corporate response to serious safety incidents including a workplace fatality. This included liaising with unions, interacting proactively with the Regulators, organising separate representation for employees, providing urgent briefings to the Board and Executive and working with operational business units in relation to Queensland Rail’s response., Managed large scale litigation and developed strategies for the early settlement of disputes commercially and cost effectively while protecting Queensland Rail’s reputation, commercial interests and relationships., Simplified contractual terms to drive greater commercial efficiencies and conducted training to assist with better contract management., Implemented a training program across the business to raise awareness of legal issues., Active member of the Executive Safety Council, founding sponsor of QR Women, Member of the LGBTI+ Working Party, Mentor in the Queensland Rail Graduate Mentoring Program.
• Executive General Counsel and Company Secretary, CS Energy Limited, 03/01/17, 11/01/17, Leading the legal, governance, internal audit, risk and compliance, communications and stakeholder relations division., Developed and implemented a new Board process and documentation to enhance strategic and commercial decision making., Developed and implemented a new strategic direction for the division including developing vision, purpose and business plan to align with corporate objectives and strategies., Advised the Board and the executive management team on a wide range of issues including conflicts of interest, due diligence, legal and statutory compliance, directors’ duties, communications and stakeholder management, application of government policies and directions, interaction with government and regulatory authorities and obligations under the National Electricity Laws and work health and safety laws., Developed strong local relationships within local communities, including presenting at womens’ forums in regional areas.
• General Counsel, Energex Corporation Limited, 07/01/11, 12/01/16, Chief Legal Officer accountable for leading and managing the legal services function., Transformation of the Energex legal team into a valued business partner with a strong commitment to teamwork, care and innovation and providing pragmatic, commercial, solutions focused advice. This lead to an increase in engagement, customer satisfaction, service levels, a focus on high value high strategic work and a reduction in overall level team cost base of $3M., Implemented systems, processes and people strategies to increase alignment and engagement leading to greater productivity, improved efficiencies and a 30% reduction in FTEs., Simplified engagement processes with external law firms and implemented processes for the tracking of external legal spend leading to greater accountability and efficiencies., Provided strategic, commercially focused pragmatic advice across all levels of the organization from the Board, Chief Executive and Executive Management Team to frontline workers on a wide range of legal and governance issues., Advised in relation to the merger of Energex, Ergon Energy, Sparq Solutions and Energy Queensland working collaboratively with government in relation to a range of documents that enabled the merger to take effect while protecting the interests of Energex and its officers., Proactively developed and implemented governance and safety governance frameworks and training to the Board and officers to manage risk and enable compliance with due diligence, safety, regulatory and legal obligations., Provided advice on the application of the National Electricity Laws including the National Electricity Customer Framework, customer connections and customer issues and complaints. This included interacting with the Australian Energy Regulator., Successfully managed relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including local governments, external regulators and affected landowners in relation to major infrastructure projects to ensure the proactive management of associated risks., Advised in relation to a wide range of issues including directors’ duties, safety, sensitive HR/IR issues, large infrastructure projects, procurement strategies, property and land access and acquisition competition issues., Successfully managed the corporate response to 6 serious electrical safety incidents. This included attending site, liaising with unions, interacting proactively with the Regulator, organising separate representation for employees, providing urgent briefings to the Board and Executive and working with operational business units in relation to Energex’s safety response. This approach led to no adverse action being taken against Energex and its employees., Collaborated with the safety team to implement of a new safety investigation process to ensure the sharing of learnings from safety incidents to prevent reoccurrence, build trust between management and field staff whilst ensuring that the interests of Energex, its officers and employees were protected., Managed the corporate response to a number of Government Inquiries including Queensland Government, Flood Inquiry and the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Inquiry into electricity network companies with no adverse findings against Energex and its employees., Managed large scale litigation and developed strategies for the early settlement of disputes commercially and cost effectively while protecting Energex’s reputation, commercial interests and relationships., Advised in relation to Energex’s primary financing facility., Monitored changes in law and developed frameworks and projects for regulatory and statutory compliance. This included engaging with operational business units to identify risks and implement steps to ensure compliance., Simplified contractual terms to drive greater commercial efficiencies and conducted training to assist with better contract management., Implemented a training program across the business to raise awareness of legal issues., Acted as Executive General Manager Customer and Corporate Relations, Group Manager Metering Dynamics, Group Manager Safety, Group Manager Data Analytics., Sponsor of Conscious Leaders Program, Safety Leadership Programs and Gender Working Party., Active member of Safety Council, Grading Committee, Safety Peer Group, Diversity and Inclusion Council, Strategy Reference Group, People Plan working party.
• Group Legal Counsel, Ergon Energy Corporation Limited, 07/01/03, 05/01/11, Reporting to the General Counsel and Company Secretary and accountable for leading and managing the legal services function., Provided advice in relation to wide range of issues facing the Ergon Energy business., Negotiated and advised on a wide range of commercial contracts and agreements including construction of large scale infrastructure, procurement of goods and services, large customer contracts for the provision of network connection services, access to and acquirement of land., Worked closely with the procurement, large and small customer connection teams to establish precedent documentation and clause banks to drive efficiencies and achieve greater business outcomes., Implemented a new suite of contracts for subdivision works, including seeking approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Tribunal., Advised in relation to large infrastructure projects and provided strategies for the resolutions of disputes arising under contracts., Led the response to a number of serious safety incidents, including providing support to affected employees, provided briefings and advice to senior management, built strong relationships with the Regulator and implemented strategies and processes to manage safety risk., Implemented a training program across the business to raise awareness of legal issues., Assisted with the implementation of a contract management process to enable key legal and operational risks to be identified prior to contracts going to market., Worked collaboratively with government departments, regulators and other government owned corporations to guide and influence policy and regulation and manage reputational risk., Worked across diverse teams and locations to define operational objectives, improve efficiencies through the creation of documents, processes and systems to improve business and customer outcomes., Reviewed and advised in relation to National Electricity Laws, customer complaints and disputes., Provided leadership, guidance and insight in relation to setting the strategic direction and initiatives for the organisation and being a member of the initial taskforce to define the parameters for the negotiation of a union collective agreement., Managed the provision of external legal services. This has included the implementation of an engagement process with external legal providers to ensure that external legal services are timely, cost effective and within fee estimates., Acted as Group Manager Transmission and Project Services responsible for the leadership and management of 800 plus engineering, project management, para-professional, and trade resources responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of substation and transmission work.
• Senior Associate & Solicitor, Clayton Utz, Minter Ellison, Mallesons Stephen Jacques and Phillips Fox, 01/01/95, 12/31/03, Conducted large scale commercial litigation (including the Court application for the approval of the scheme of arrangement for the formation of Ergon Energy), providing commercial and solutions focused advice in relation to a wide range of issues facing large organisations including safety and HR/IR matters, WorkCover claims, directors’ duties, misleading and deceptive conduct, asset sale agreements, joint ventures, contracts and commercial transactions.

• Australian Sailing, 11/01/16, 10/31/24, Non-Executive Director/Chair People and Culture Committee, Provided governance and strategic oversight with a deep commitment to driving better efficiencies, reporting and risk management, developing strong local relationships with key stakeholders, increasing participation of women and girls in sailing and working closely with the Chief Executive Officer and Head of People and Culture to develop a people strategy and plans to drive engagement and alignment.
• World Sailing, 11/01/17, 05/01/20, Member, Ethics Commission, Responsible for promoting ethical behaviour and integrity within World Sailing and sailing globally including the redrafting of the World Sailing Code of Ethics.
• Share the Dignity, 11/01/17, 11/01/19, Non-Executive Director, Providing governance and strategic oversight to enable Share the Dignity assist homeless women and the victims of domestic violence.
• Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland, 01/01/08, 12/31/16, Non-Executive Director, Provided governance and strategic oversight to provide support programs for blood cancer patients and their families.

• Association of Corporate Counsel – Large Legal Team of the Year 2020
• Australian Corporate Lawyer Association Awards - Finalist – Government Lawyer of the Year (2013 and 2014)
• Above and Beyond Award – Ergon Energy – Working together to create a new Strategic Direction
• Australia Day Young Citizen Award
• Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to undertake Masters of Laws at Temple University Philadelphia, USA

People who know my work well available on request.

• Sailing
• Kiteboarding
• Snowboarding
• Stand up Paddleboarding
• Playing the Piano

• Building high performing teams with a customer driven, commercially focused, collaborative, innovative ‘can do’ mindset.
• Leading mentoring and guiding cross functional teams to achieve KPI stretch targets, including engagement, service satisfaction, financial and operational excellence targets each year.
• Being a trusted advisor by providing pragmatic, commercially focused solutions to achieve commercial and strategic objectives whilst mitigating commercial, reputational and operational risk.
• Building strong relationships and rapport across all levels of organisations from the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Executive and Management teams to front line workers and field staff together with key external stakeholders.
• Developing governance and reporting frameworks to enable Boards and executive leadership teams to discharge their due diligence obligations and support informed decision making.
• Proactively fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation and implementing programs and initiatives to improve engagement, productivity, increase service levels whilst decreasing cost.
• Providing cultural and strategic leadership, developing and implementing Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, sponsoring leadership and safety leadership programs and mentoring field and office staff.

• Executive Conscious Leaders Program
• Leadership Immersion Program (Uganda), The Hunger Project/Business Chicks
• I4 Leadership Certification, About my Brain Institute
• Executive Development Program, Mt Eliza Business School, University of Melbourne
• Australian Company Directors Course, Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Executive Consortium Program Australian Graduate School of Management, University of NSW
• Ergon Energy Leadership Program