About Us

Complexity Simplified

Manifesto

We believe in creating a better quality of life in our cities and regions.

We believe developments should benefit the community.

We exist to navigate complexity for our clients, giving them the confidence to innovate and challenge the status quo.

We believe in diligence. We do it properly the first time.

One plan at a time.

Natalia
Anderson
Associate Director
Caroline
Anthony
Senior Associate
Communications & Engagement
Debrah
Barr
Associate Director
Belinda
Barrie
Senior Associate (Newcastle)
Thirza
Bean
Corporate Services Manager
Robert
Bisley
Senior Associate (Newcastle)
Elina
Braunstein
Associate Director Urban Design
Nishka
Chauhan
Assistant Planner
Hannah
Collins
Assistant Planner
Rebecca
Crockett
Senior Planner
Wade
Cui
Assistant Urban Designer
Lauren
Daly
Assistant Planner
Carlo
Di Giulio
Associate Director
Andrew
Donald
Senior Associate (Newcastle)
Melissa
Duffy
Senior Business Development
Officer
Sonny
Embleton
Associate Director
Camilla
Firman
Senior Associate
Paul
Graham
Senior Associate
Service Lead - Engagement and Place
Lucy
Hammond
Senior Planner
Carolyn
Hay
Corporate Services Officer
Simon
Ip
Associate Director
Hugo
John
Assistant Planner
Yvonne
Kanti
Senior Associate
Anthony
Kazacos
Associate Director
Hannah
Keeler
Assistant Planner
Richard
Kinninmont
Senior Associate
Nell
O'Brien
Associate
Olivia
Page
Senior Associate
Rachael
Petherbridge
Associate (Newcastle)
Chloe
Rogers
Corporate Services
Parisa
Sheikhi
Senior Planner
Rebecca
Sladen
Associate
Eddie
Tran
Assistant Planner
Sophia
Veitch
Project Planner

Our team

Our Journey

We are a collaboration of highly skilled professionals in the planning space who have hundreds of years of collective experience across the vast scope of ‘planning’ in NSW. Our experience comes from NSW, interstate and overseas and through roles in State, Local, and National governments as well as planning consultancies.

We all started our professional lives separately, but we have worked with each other, in different capacities, over the decades and have mutual respect and a shared professional integrity that enables us to provide exceptional planning advice and to work collaboratively to find a solution.

Sue Francis and David Ryan met when Sue was a consultant for Wellings Smith and Byrnes in the late 1980s. Sue and David established CityPlan Strategy and Development Pty Ltd in 2008. This is where the Gyde story begins.

In 2015, having built City Plan Strategy & Development up from 5 to 20 people, Stephen Kerr joined the party. He and David had previously worked together at Baulkham Hills in the 1990s. Juliet Grant joined in 2016 after a long stint in the planning and transport departments of the NSW State Government, and the business continued to grow.

The merging of Helen Deegan’s team in The Planning Group (TPG) with City Plan Strategy & Development in 2018 was seamless, based on a shared approach to planning.

New Directors were added to the fold in 2018. Mel Krzus, who has been with us from a graduate in 2009, became a Director in the business. Her planning skills, knowledge, and excellent client relationship skills reflect our ‘grow your own’ commitment to developing our leadership team from within. Chris O’Dell joined from the Department of Planning and added his exceptional analytics skills to the group.

We appointed Greg Incoll as Independent Board Chair in 2019to assist us with our corporate governance. With this growth and expansion of planning and business acumen, in 2020we decided we needed a new vehicle in which to move forward. Thus, Introducing Gyde Consulting Pty Ltd

We have a fantastic group of people at Gyde. It would be remiss to finish ‘who we are’ without mentioning the wonderful emerging professionals and mid-career planners we have on our team. We couldn’t do it without them.

Professional Affiliates

Australian Institute of Company Directors
Beyond Blue
Iap2 Australia
Local Government Procurement
Planning Institute Australia
Property Council of Australia
UDIA
Urban Taskforce