Meet our Team
Ben Bourke
D I R E C T O R
Ben has over 17 years’ experience in the Civil Engineering and Development Industry. Along with his tertiary qualifications in civil engineering, construction management & business management, Ben’s background allows for a pragmatic approach to development and construction, cost effective design and construction solutions. When he’s not doing things like building the most high-end cubby house you’ve ever seen, racing across New Zealand or doing 48 hours adventure races, he’s managing multiple projects and smashing goals for clients left, right and centre across a vast array of projects (residential estate land development, remediation of contaminated sites, demolition, major RMS road upgrades, sensitive parkland works, large open space/landscape development just to name a few); usually while saying “it’s not the hours in the day, but the day’s in the hours”. Ben is well known for switching between personal and work conversations without so much as a breath and while that sometimes can throw an unsuspecting conversationalist, we know it’s because his brain is usually 3 steps ahead before you’ve even said “Mornin’ Ben”
Ben-ism
noun
INFORMAL•AUSTRALIAN
1. A term founded by the office to explain when Ben swaps words from common cliché phrases .e.g. “put all your ducks in one basket” or “get my eggs in a row”
Aidan Werry
G E N E R A L M A N A G E R
Aidan has a degree in property economics and 17 years’ experience working with private landowners, councils and state governments to realise exceptional outcomes for their property assets. Aidan specialises in value-creation throughout the project lifecycle, with a particular focus on development feasibility, business cases, rezoning and development management.
Never satisfied with ‘good enough’, Aidan’s drive for continual improvement makes him both ideally suited to the role of general manager and a wizard with a jar of Thai red curry paste.
Having spent the first two decades of his career working for large corporations, Aidan appreciates Benaiah’s agility and the personal touch that we bring to our projects.
On the weekends you’ll find Aidan taking his dog on a trail run, fishing with his wife and kids in the Port Hacking, or making his controversially named ‘World’s Best Lasagna’.
Stuart Dutton
P R O J E C T D I R E C T O R
Despite being the self-appointed “old man” of the team, Stuart doesn’t need coffee to keep up with the youngsters and their music. A big family man, Stuart loves spending time with the wife and kids, swims in the morning before work and loves taking out his two dogs: Ted the British Bulldog and Lenny the Rottweiler. Preferring cycling, swimming, and NFL (absolutely unsurprising in our office) Stuart presents that level of ‘cut-above’ness by being the President of his Cycling Club and having had an earlier career in Sports Management. We love it when high achievers are also diverse achievers; speaking of which, in one of his previous roles, Stuart led the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust to receive its first ever ‘green flag’ award aka international excellence in Open Space Management. This paired with over 20 years’ experience in Senior Management roles has given Stuart extensive ability and skill to tackle whatever comes his way.
Brendan Stokes
P R O J E C T D I R E C T O R
Behind Brendan’s infectious smile is a love for hot mochas and cold beers. Having Private Consultancy experience rivalling the length of his Sydney FC Membership (approaching 20 years) Brendan brings high quality engineering solutions to every project he touches. Extensive knowledge that comes only from being a Chartered Senior Civil Engineer and a dad of 5, Brendan is a key player in every project and role he takes on, including being official scorecard recorder for his son’s cricket team and Vice President of the Football Club he and his sons play for. An avid collector, Brendan has accumulated quite the assortment of toys, figurines, and memorabilia from his 80s/90s childhood. It’s surprising he has such a fondness for this era as he was once on a TV show in the 80s where he tripped and ran into a cameraman (and yes, this episode did go to air). Brendan is apparently a covert lover of with old school techno but that’s okay because he brings overt knowledge of engineering principles, specifications, and standards to the team also.
Jacob Baker
C O N S T R U C T I O N M A N A G E R
Known as Jacob 2.0 or BakerBoy, Jacob judges a pub by its Parmi (controversial). As most dads, he starts the day with a double shot piccolo, and he tends to double down by delivering not only a quality product but one that exceeds client expectations on every project. With a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and property, Jacob is our resident GC21 Contract Clerk with more PAP and CAP experiences than one would like to admit. Joining us with a background in built form construction, Jacob has worked on a variety of commercial construction projects throughout multiple sectors including education, health, and everything in between. When he’s not at work, Jacob can be found taking his little girl to swim lessons and walking his crazy dog, Huxley for a walk on the beach.
Jacob Newton
P R O J E C T M A N A G E R
Jacob comes to us with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Project Management majoring in Environmental Engineering, both with Class 1 Honours from Sydney University, however his movie knowledge apparently rivals these achievements. ‘The walking IMDB’ or Newty as he is more affectionately known, dreamt of becoming a chef when he was younger. We imagine this is due to all the travel he was able to do as a youngster, visiting parts of Europe, America and Asia. Well-seasoned in many respects, Jacob joins us from the RMS with extensive experience in various state and regional infrastructure works. From concept analysis to solution delivery, leading tender panels and managing construction crews, Jacob’s technical and interpersonal skills are second to none. You can tell Jacob is a part of the generation that grew up watching ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’ as his confirmation phrase of choice is “lock it in Eddie” and let us tell you, he is constantly locking it in… Eddie. Adding to the office’s non-dairy milk drinkers, surfers and golfers, Jacob has recently returned from an 18-month trip through South and North America, climbing mountains in Patagonia, backpacking through South America and sailing from Colombia to Panama through the Caribbean Islands, Jacob is primed to translate his high-intensity travelling into high-intensity dedication to projects!
Peter Simpson
P R O J E C T M A N A G E R
A fan of both a washed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe pour over coffee and a Coles Express $1 flat white, Pete can apparently enjoy coffee in any form. Despite riding to work and subjecting the office to yet another colleague in lyrca, Pete has been described as “a yes man with a can-do attitude” and doesn’t that just warm your heart that there are people that can still be described as such? With 13 years’ experience in Civil and Residential Projects and 3 months experience building classrooms and dorms in Tanzania, Pete is incredibly versatile and driven. He loves visiting ‘the Blueys’ to go climbing, canyoning and camping; however, these days he identifies with Bandit (the Dad from Bluey) and is more often climbing trees, building cubbies, and toasting marshmallows over a backyard fire-pit with his 2 little girls.
Kieren Tye
A S S I S T A N T P R O J E C T M A N A G E R
Kieren joins us with an Honours degree in Engineering as well as being the only person in the office who can look Ben Bourke directly in the eye height wise. Coming from a family of builders, Kieren has had the benefit of being exposed to construction projects from a young age. This has given him a great ability to solve problems by applying his technical and mathematical skills. Affectionately known as ‘Cob’ or ‘Cobba’, Kieren is a keen surfer, an exceptional soccer player at right-mid and an avid traveller - in fact he’s been to Japan, England, USA, Indonesia, China, Portugal, Spain, France, Canada and Fiji! Well seasoned not only in travel, Kieren brings a keen eye for detail to the team along with the a desire to enhance efficiency wherever possible.
Lachlan Fraser
A S S I S T A N T P R O J E C T M A N A G E R &
S U P E R I N T E N D E N T ’ S R E P R E S E N T A T I V E
Amongst the team, Lachie likes to project that he is a coffee connoisseur by drinking a batch brew, but realistically he is more accurately known for eating an entire avocado a day, usually for breakfast, on its own. Equipped with a set of RM Williams boots prior to starting at Benaiah, Lachie was ready to take the ‘Project Manager starter pack’ to new heights by wearing as much RM Williams merch as possible every day. This readiness can be observed in all that Lachie approaches, as he is equally prepared for any project thrown at him. By weekend, Lachie is a “mighty” Dragons fanatic and can usually be found watching them at Kogarah Oval, if not down the coast with his family. With a background in Quantity Surveying, Lachie clearly loves the details and numbers, but apparently not as much as he loves kangaroo sausages aka kanga bangas. We think it’s his niche taste paired with his cheeky smirk and the sheer confidence that comes from referring to himself as a ‘kung-fu prodigy’ that have made him such a valuable asset in Contract Administration and Superintendency at Benaiah.
Alex Reincastle
A S S I S T A N T P R O J E C T M A N A G E R
Alex still plays clash of clans. We’re not sure how to dissect this information, so we’ll leave that up to you, nor the fact that he went to a soccer high school yet doesn’t like the sport. What we can dissect is Alex’s experience as a Civil Design Drafter and Assistant Project Manager with reputable consultants; this has made Alex a dependable and integral part of our team. Alex’s design and drafting experience, brought into the Project Management space provides the detailed, cost saving, delay mitigating review lens our clients often rely on Benaiah for. Loving his ‘magic’ coffee in the morning (double ristretto ¾ latte) Alex has a lot to contribute and is a man of varied interests, from lawn care to his Mazda BT-50 and apparently using the phrase “goes off like a fish milkshake”.
Isabel Hodge
P R O J E C T O F F I C E R
In Australia, we often mistakenly associate British accents with intelligence and class; however, in Isabel’s case you wouldn’t be mistaken in the slightest. Diligent and reliable, she somehow balances being quiet with having a big personality, but perhaps she’s staying quiet as she is impartial on coffee (does not go unnoticed in this office for very long) Before embarking on her Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Civil) and Bachelor of Project Management, Isabel attended a selective high school, so you know she can manage well in high pressure environments, and can be seen working towards deadlines with an expert level of organisation. Regardless of how you feel about the monarchy, you know that any person who did the Duke of Edinburgh in high school have a certain level of commitment and grit behind them so it’s also no surprise Isabel has both the bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh awards.
Julie Walker
P R O J E C T O F F I C E R
Coming in from left of field for our office with a “coffee is for the weak” answer to “what is your regular coffee order?” Julie means business and not just when it comes to ‘Julie’s Slice’ which has been described as “the most amazingly delicious slice known to man”. Currently studying a Bachelor of Project Management (Built Environment) at the University of Sydney, Julie has developed a passion for quality Urban Development. A proud Cronulla resident, Julie loves Field Hockey (she played the Japanese National Softball team when she was 12) and isn’t afraid to display some tasteful sassiness around the office. Known within her friends to be the one to ask unique yet thought-provoking questions like ‘if you would witness any event in history of the world, what would it be?’ and ‘what’s your least favourite bug?’ Julie brings that unique and thought-provoking approach to her work, just don’t ask her to watch a scary movie (she hates them).
Robyn Bourke
A D M I N I S T R A T I O N
Being Ben’s mum, you can imagine Robyn brings a wealth of experience to the team, not just in administration, but also knowledge of Ben and his formative years. Robyn loves an all office email containing memes/entertaining cartoons and cutting up some fruit to offer around the office and up our fruit intake. With experience across the Property Management, Project Administration and Executive Assistant roles, Robyn is the masterful gatekeeper of all admin related things at Benaiah and we wouldn’t want to answer to anyone else in that role.