She informed the G-MW board some time ago and told staff this week that she would be leaving in July 2026.
Her seven years in the leadership role followed years of turmoil with a high turnover of managing directors.
The qualified engineer was the first female managing director in a male-dominated workplace, who drove an aptly-titled restructuring of the organisation, called “transformations’, which resulted in pruning back the staff numbers, a complete spill of leadership positions and tariff reductions for irrigators who had been complaining for years that the organisation needed reform.
In the seven years Ms Quick was at the helm, the organisation, with a $200 million budget, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 floods and, in the same year, a minor earthquake underneath the region’s biggest reservoir, Eildon.
G-MW is Australia’s largest rural water corporation and manages, stores and delivers water through about 10,000 km of delivery and drainage infrastructure to more than 25,000 customers.
The daughter of western district farmers, she knew from her teenage years that she wanted to be an engineer.
After earning her engineering degree at University of Melbourne, she established a 28-year career at Melbourne Water and was executive general manager of service delivery when she was chosen for the G-MW job, based at Tatura.
Ms Quick told Country News she was giving early notice of her intention to step down to give time for the board to find a replacement and to ease the transition for a new leader.
She intends to continue living in Shepparton in semi-retirement and wants to travel.
A further story will be published in Country News next week.
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