Queensland Rail CEO announces she will leave the job next year

Queensland Rail CEO Katarzyna Stapleton has told staff she will leave the job next year.

Stapleton, known as Kat, will not seek to extend her appointment, which was due to finish in April 2027.

Before joining Queensland Rail in 2019 as the chief financial officer, she held executive roles with NBN Co and was CFO for Bahrain Telecommunications company.

She was appointed as Queensland Rail’s chief executive officer in April 2022 during the former Palaszczuk Labor government.

Stapleton has been at the helm for protracted industrial action by several rail unions this year during enterprise bargaining negotiations, which led to a reduced timetable for staff to cope with a maintenance backlog.

The last of seven agreements was reached last month.

About 91 per cent of services were expected to be restored by October 12, with a full timetable implemented by the end of November.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg thanked Stapleton for her contribution as CEO over the past four-and-a-half years.

“Ms Stapleton has led Queensland Rail as the organisation recently secured in-principal agreement with its workforce across seven enterprise agreements, and I wish her success in future endeavours,” he said.

Stapleton was on a total package of $1.124 million in 2026, according to the most recent Queensland Rail annual report, making her one of the highest-paid executives in Queensland’s public sector.

A merit-based selection process to find a new CEO for QR will begin soon.

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