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.

Nasa Walton 
Chief Digital Officer

Nasa leads the RTA’s Digital Business Centre, bringing experience in leading teams to implement strategic directions that underpin the organisation’s strategic plan and specialises in turning IT into enabling tools for staff.

Nasa is an award-winning Chief Information Officer who has a successful career in delivering innovative solutions. Prior to joining the RTA, Nasa held several senior leadership positions within the health industry and was the CIO of a hospital and health service for five years.

Nasa has a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management), and a Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Communications.
 

Joanna van der Merwe
A/Chief Financial Officer

Joanna van der Merwe leads the Financial and Assurance Services divisions, 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
Chief Customer Experience Officer

Samantha Watson leads the RTA’s Customer Experience division, which includes the Contact Centre, bond management, support services and dispute resolution teams. Together, these teams provide information and support services for Queensland’s residential tenancy sector.

Samantha has extensive experience in complex customer operations environments including local government, not-for-profit, health and insurance in both national and global businesses. She has strong financial portfolio management and extensive experience leading 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 People Officer

Natalie Townsend leads the People and Culture division, overseeing RTA’s human resources, training, change management, media, communication and education teams.

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 system – 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.