The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Senator Sandy Macdonald, Special Minister of State, The Hon Gary Nairn MP and the Chairman of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), today announced the appointment of Mr Michael Del Gigante as DHA’s Managing Director. The appointment, by the Board of the DHA, took effect from 4 August 2006. “We are fortunate to have secured Mr Del Gigante for this position. He has a very strong business and customer service background,” Senator Macdonald said.

“DHA is a Government Business Enterprise with over $6 billion worth of residential properties under its management, and a highly successful property investment product,” he said. “Mr Del Gigante has the right mix of skills to guide the organisation at a time when it is responding to recent legislation placing it on a more commercial footing, while continuing to maintain the very high standard of services it provides to our Defence families,” said DHA’s Chairman, the Hon Peter Jones AM.

Mr Del Gigante was appointed Acting Managing Director of DHA on 1 September 2005, and was DHA’s Chief Operating Officer from early 2004. Before joining DHA, Mr Del Gigante was Chief Executive Officer of TransACT Communications, and Chief Financial Officer of ActewAGL prior to that. Mr Del Gigante has held senior positions with the World Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation in Washington DC. He has also worked for a large American telecommunication company (Verizon – previously GTE) both in Europe and the United States, and for the Banco di Santo Spirito in Italy. He is a Fellow of CPA Australia and of the AICD. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Royal Australian Mint.

DHA was established in 1987 and provides high quality housing and relocation services to members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and their families, to meet the operational requirements of the Department of Defence. The Authority manages around 17,000 residences across Australia and acquires houses through a mix of construction, purchase and leasing. Every year, DHA arranges around 30,000 relocations for ADF members and their families. Through an innovative Sale and Leaseback Program (SLB), DHA develops quality residential properties in key locations across the country, sells them to investors and then leases them back.