At its core, GMB Water has been established pursuant to Section 42 of the Local Government Act 1999 (SA) to oversee and operate Mount Barker District Council’s expanding wastewater and recycled water services.
The establishment of the Subsidiary enabled the Council to recruit specialist expertise and capability to effectively and efficiently oversee and manage the increasing scale and complexity of the operation and delivery of wastewater and recycled water services.
The Board of Directors, appointed by Council, are responsible for setting overall strategy, policy and direction to take forward to operation and expansion of the Council’s wastewater and recycled water services. The Board meets at least every three months.
Mark Gobbie, Chair
Mark has over 40 years’ experience as a professional engineer and general manager in infrastructure delivery and water utility operations with specialist expertise in water and wastewater. Mark is currently Chair of Water Research Australia, and his previous professional experience includes General Manager, and acting Chief Executive, roles with SA Water. Mark is also an experienced Company Director, bringing a wealth of knowledge in ‘best practice’ governance, having served on the Board of Diving South Australia (Chair) for the past four years. In addition to this, he was also a past President of the SA Branch of the Australian Water Association; a former Chair of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering Advisory Board at the University of Adelaide; a trustee of the Edwardstown Football Club (SA) and provides Board Advisory services to a number of private sector companies through his own business. Mark has been a member of the Mount Barker District Council’s Wastewater Service informal advisory board for the last 3 years and has been appointed the inaugural Deputy Chair of the Subsidiary by the Board to ensure continuity in the transition of the Council’s wastewater and recycled water services to the Subsidiary. Appointed: November 2024
Isabella Villani, Deputy Chair
Isabella brings deep governance, commercial and transformation expertise to the board of GMB Water. A Non-Executive Director since February 2025 and Deputy Chair since March 2026, Isabella chairs the Audit and Risk Management Committee, bringing disciplined oversight of financial reporting, enterprise risk, regulatory compliance and assurance as the organisation establishes itself as an independent water utility serving more than 15,000 household and business customers. Her board career spans utilities, government enterprises, financial services and the not-for-profit sector. Isabella currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of national charity DV Safe Phone, where she chairs the People and Culture Committee. Her previous board roles include Deputy Chair of Water Partners, Australia's only registered not-for-profit water broker, Director of LanguageLoop, and director appointments with Auscontact Association and Speech Pathology Australia. Professionally, Isabella is Founder and Executive Chair of Exceed Global, a national advisory firm working across utilities, financial services, government and healthcare. She is a globally published author of Good to Great CX and Transform Customer Experience, and a sought-after keynote speaker on leadership and organisational transformation. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors with Order of Merit, Isabella brings disciplined governance, contemporary capability in cyber and AI oversight, and a strong commitment to community impact. Her experience supports GMB Water's delivery of safe, sustainable and high-quality water services for one of South Australia's fastest growing regions. Appointed: February 2025
Susan Filby, Non-Executive Director
Susan is an experienced Non-Executive Director, former Executive of large business enterprises in diverse industry sectors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Law Degree. Demonstrating strong, energetic and effective leadership in several Government and private sector utilities and service businesses, she has had a particular focus on corporate positioning, risk appreciation, financial sustainability, customer service performance, community interface and building owner returns and reputation. Having worked in both State and local government, they have included publicly scrutinised and highly charged environments, high profile public asset and social licence management and mission-critical change. She has been actively involved in complex legal and regulatory service environments, which have demanded successful outcomes in strategic positioning and operational performance, pricing, sustainability, governance and compliance and regulator, stakeholder and customer engagement and relationships, including with the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCoSA). Susan has been appointed to a number of strategic and advisory Boards, including 10 years on the SA Water Board, the State Government Development Policy Advisory Committee (precursor to the Planning Commission), SA Financing Authority Advisory Board, Rural Solutions Advisory Board, Hills Transit Board and the Energy and Water Industry Ombudsman Board. She was also inaugural Chair of the SA Power Networks Customer Consultative Committee. Appointed: February 2025
Lionel Ho, Non-Executive Director
Lionel has over 25 years’ experience in the water industry where he has worked in a diverse range of strategic and operational roles within SA Water. He is currently SA Water’s Senior Manager Water Expertise leading a team of over 40 water professionals. Lionel was a Director of the Water Industry Alliance from 2015-2019 where he served as the Deputy Chair for two years. He previously served as the Chair and Vice President of the Australian Water Association (AWA) SA Branch Committee and sat on the Strategic Advisory Council of the Federal AWA. Recognition of Lionel’s contribution to the water industry is demonstrated through his award of the Premier’s Water Medal in 2023. Furthermore, he was recently presented with the AWA’s Exceptional Service Award, the Association’s highest individual honour where he is only the 9th recipient of this award in the Association’s 60-year history. Lionel is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and completed his PhD in 2004 from the University of South Australia. He has a distinguished research and technical background having authored over 130 scientific publications. Appointed: January 2026
Carmine Ciccocoppo, Non-Executive Director
Carmine is an experienced Board Member, CEO and Director with over a decade of board level experience spanning the environmental, water, and circular economy sectors incorporating both Not for Profit and Commercial organisations. Carmine is currently CEO and MD of Osmoflo responsible for the overall strategy, financial performance, risk management, compliance and governance of the Group of some 300 staff spanning 3 continents and with annual revenues exceeding AUD120 million. Appointed: February 2025
Helen Edmonds, Executive Director and Chief Executive
Helen joined Mount Barker District Council as Head of Wastewater in 2022, responsible for running the council owned and operated wastewater service as a standalone business within council. With a degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Fluid Mechanics Helen has worked in the water industry for more than 30 years including a year in industry while still a student in the UK, working as a consultant to Scottish Water, working as a consultant and for Auckland's water utility in New Zealand, and since moving to South Australia has worked as a consultant and also for SA Water. Helen was appointed Chief Executive of GMB Water in November 2025. Appointed: November 2024