Member Under the Microscope
Jillian Formentin - Engineering Director, APAC, Clough
Jillian has been a changing force for diversity and inclusion in the resources industry, supporting and mentoring colleagues to reach their full potential and collectively deliver pioneering projects.
As Engineering Director for Australia and Asia Pacific at Clough, Jillian has influenced how Clough promotes STEM careers and embeds diversity and inclusion within the business.
Clough is a pioneering company that harnesses its people’s innovative thinking through engineering and construction solutions that deliver a sustainable future today. It delivers high-performing assets for the energy, resources and infrastructure industries underpinned by a dedication to innovation, sustainability, and getting the job done safely and efficiently.
A strong advocate for supporting organisations that promote women in STEM, Jillian has been instrumental in setting up partnerships between Clough and organisations that promote diversity and inclusion in the resources sector and support the growth of Clough’s future engineers.
"We need to provide stronger and more obvious pathways for women and girls to pursue STEM careers,” Jillian said.
She has championed Women Engineers at Clough, an initiative with the goal of connecting female engineers with leadership opportunities, which she says fulfills one of her key purposes, “To develop more women into senior leadership positions within Clough and in turn reduce Clough’s gender pay gap.”
One of the ways she promotes diversity and inclusion is through changing the attitude towards credentials during the recruitment process.
“High marks and more experience do not always tell the whole story,” she said.
Jillian has had input into the selection process of Clough’s annual graduate and intern recruitment intake and was a strong proponent for developing career paths for people in engineering.
After graduating from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) with Honours, she ran the Girls in Engineering Easter School.
“Females from regional schools attended a three-day residential workshop to learn about testing concrete, power system design, and general engineering,” Jillian said.
She has more than 25 years' experience across the energy, resources, engineering and construction industries.
After graduating, she commenced a cadetship with Origin Energy, formally Boral Gas, in Hobart. Acting as second in charge, she “learnt how to be a gas fitter, lead a maintenance team, schedule the gas distribution fleet, be accountable for terminal operations”.
She later became Regional Operations Manager in WA before moving to Launceston. There she became a Principal Gas Engineer at Energy Safety and was the only female engineer in the agency, and the youngest, at 29. In this role, she oversaw the town’s oldest gas network and ran the program to convert the city to LPG.
Jillian ran a successful consulting career as a Performance Specialist for companies in engineering consulting, construction, mining, and oil and gas for 15 years before joining Clough in 2021 as Business Development Manager. She was appointed Engineering Director, APAC in January 2022.
As Chair of The WA Development Board for The Hunger Project (THP) and in partnership with entrepreneurs around Australia, Jillian helped raise millions of dollars to enable people to thrive in some of the most challenging places on Earth.
Her leadership style is reflected in her work at THP. “If you develop the women to be leaders first, it makes a lasting difference in the community,” she said.
Last year she took on a special project that raised $200,000 to end hunger in a community in Ghana. This year she championed the Women Empowered Fund, which supports women living in systems of inequality by providing modern farming training programs, loan assistance to start their own businesses and education surrounding their legal rights.
She led the Incident Injury Free program for the Chevron-operated Gorgon Project (upstream) and won an award for “making the impossible possible”.
She was also involved with UWA’s Public Policy Institute and Curtin University’s steering committee for safety course.
Jillian has led community programs to empower thousands of people to reach their leadership potential, enabling communities to thrive. She is regularly involved in panels and speaking events to champion diversity and inclusion.
Through Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) she has mentored men and women of diverse backgrounds who have completed their PhD studies to begin engineering careers in the resources sector.
Jillian became WA President of EA in 2020. She was also WA President of Professionals Australia in 2000.
She is a Chartered Fellow and Engineering Executive with Engineers Australia (EA) and has a Certificate in Executive Coaching from the University of Strathclyde.
Outside Clough, Jillian is a volunteer leader with Engineers Australia National Congress and in WA held a position on the Division Committee as a former president.
She joined the Energy Club WA over a year ago and enjoys the exceptional networking and learning events.