CEO - Shane Whitten
Shane Whitten joined the Nhulunbuy Corporation in July 2022 as Manager Corporate Services and Company Secretary following stints at Torres Shire Council as Director Corporate and Community Services and Tiwi Islands Regional Council as Chief Financial Officer and Deputy CEO.
Shane stepped into the role of Acting CEO in early 2023 and commenced as permanent CEO from January 2024. Shane is responsible for the overall operations of the Nhulunbuy Corporation Ltd in addition to the roles of Chair Nhulunbuy Town Board Incorporated, Chair Nhulunbuy Public Cemetery Trust and Chair of the Gove Peninsula Harmony Group.
Deputy CEO & Manager Aviation Compliance - Heidi Yates
Heidi has over 15 years aviation experience in small regional/remote airports.
Heidi managed a small regional airport in South Australia before moving to Nhulunbuy to take up the position of Manager Aviation & Compliance at the Gove Airport in June 2021. While the past 2 years have provided some challenges, the Gove Airport continues to be run at best practice levels and the Airport team are proud of their safety and security record. Heidi stated: "We are a vibrant community out here in the Airport precinct, all of us working together to ensure a safe and secure facility for the travelling public. The Airport community provide a lifeline for our local community, with the many on-airport charter companies and our regular passenger transport providing passenger travel in and out of Gove as well as the all-too-critical health/medical care provided by Careflight and RFDS out of Gove Airport."
Manager Strategic Infrastructure - Tony Dell
Tony has been in the role of Manager Strategic Infrastructure since mid-2021 and is responsible for overseeing the continued upkeep of Nhulunbuy’s Infrastructure in line with contractual obligations and budgets by utilising both our internal and external labour sources.
Tony has spent many years in project and management roles. Tony has also spent two years supervising plumbing projects in mainland China.
Relocating from Darwin with his partner and pet dog, Tony enjoys the lifestyle, nature and close-knit community that Nhulunbuy has to offer.
Manager Community Development - Mike Rogers
Michael "Mikey" Rogers is the Manager Community Development for the Nhulunbuy Corporation.
Now in his ninth year at the Nhulunbuy Corporation, Mike's role consists of managing Community, Events, Facilities, Communication, Tourism, Heritage and the Youth Space.
He is committed to the community, and very motivated to plan and facilitate exciting opportunities for the town of Nhulunbuy whilst being inclusive of the communities of Yirrkala and Gunyaŋara.
Mikey has an extensive background in community engagement and significant experience in event management. In 2021, he graduated with a Diploma of Events Management.
Mikey gains a lot of satisfaction out of seeing improvements across the community and will work to continue these and to meet the community, Town Board and Board of Director's expectations.
Manager Corporate Services - Desiree Rodgers
Desiree Rodgers commenced at Nhulunbuy Corporation as the Manager Corporate Services in August 2025. She has extensive experience in local government and having been in the Northern Territory before (living in a community) having applied with the Corporation for this role. She enjoys the relaxed lifestyle the NT has to offer and enjoys the outdoors.
She enjoys learning and encouraging the next generation to achieve their goals and guiding their career journey.
She is excited to be part of this organisation.