JANE Easthope admits she has “hit the ground running” in her new role as CEO of Canberra CBD Ltd.

Even when she stops for a coffee, she only has to glance out the window to see a to-do list before her.

“This is still a city in transition, if you go to Melbourne and Sydney you won’t see big car parks like these,” she says, waving an arm towards London Circuit.

“There is a lot to do in this area.”

But Canberra city has come a long way, Jane says, since she arrived here in the mid-1980s.

“I remember moving here and felt as though it was still teething, it’s a much more grown-up city now,” she says.

This month Jane replaced Stephen Gregory as the Civic-based organisation’s third CEO.

“It’s been a real privilege, so I hope to build on the work that others have done prior to me, to strengthen that calendar of events and strengthen partnership with the ACT Government so we can be reassured that investment will continue in the city,” she says.

And while one of Jane’s first jobs in her new role wasn’t the most glamorous – promoting new portable urinals in Garema Place – the mum of two says she is “ready for anything”.

Originally from Sydney, Jane studied degrees in landscape architecture, marketing and tourism before taking up a position at Territory and Municipal Services and later the Economic Development Directorate.

As CEO, her vision for the city is a more vibrant, “intense” atmosphere.

“It’s about building and growing as the sort of premier hub not just of Canberra, but the Canberra region as well, so people when they go shopping, they’re choosing the city over and above other centres within their region or indeed instead of Sydney, there’s no reason they shouldn’t come here,” she says.

“I’d like to see more people residing here, I want to see more pedestrian corridors, more cafes down laneways – it’s about keeping energy in the city, and that’s having people live in it.”

Major projects ahead, says Jane, include working with the ACT Government on the City Cycle Loop, the City to the Lake project and the light rail.

But with big projects come big changes, and Jane says Canberrans will have to accept the days of parking outside “and picking up dry-cleaning” could soon be over.

“People have to realise that this is the city centre, and that’s a behavioural change, it takes a while and it’s really annoying for people because they anticipate they can come and park really quickly and meet friends,” she says.

“But I think Canberrans are very adaptable, look at the pace of how we’ve grown so quickly.”

Despite the growth ahead, Jane wants to retain “that unique Canberra feel”.

“The city centre will always maintain that Canberra feel because there are height restrictions, you cannot go and build a 17-storey building like you can in Woden because of the proximity to the parliamentary triangle and the Griffin legacy, and that maintains Canberra’s uniqueness.”

That uniqueness, says Jane, is what she experiences when she walks to work from her Aranda home via Black Mountain.

“In what city can you go bushwalking while on the way to work? It’s amazing,” she says.