People

Richard Boardman » Commercial Manager

Richard has over 12 years’ experience in commercial and transaction management roles, with a strong background in business principles, as well as the ability to negotiate and manage complex agreements.

Richard regularly serves as a commercial advisor on business decision-making, continuity planning, and the set-up, mobilisation and roll out of new projects and initiatives. Richard brings a successful history of contractual management and negotiation experience.

His recent experience includes Commercial Manager roles for Motorola and Aurizon. Richard’s recent project experience includes roles as transaction advisor and commercial lead for the Inland Rail project. Richard brings a combination of commercial, legal, negotiation and communication skills to effectively manage and grow partnerships to deliver strong project outcomes for clients and key stakeholders.

Reece Godfrey » Senior Consultant

Reece is project advisory professional with close to eight years’ experience across a range of project positions.

Her experience extends to supporting Project Managers and Executives and negotiating, executing and providing contract administration services for large and complex infrastructure projects. Reece is a highly motivated and driven team player with exceptional organisation skills and a proven track record of building strong relationships across clients and project teams and adapting quickly to new work environments and challenges.

Vian Samaka » Director

Vian is a highly experienced contract and commercial management professional with broad experience across the infrastructure and resources sectors both in Australia and the Middle East.

Vian brings a unique mix of legal qualifications and experience, and track record of effective hands-on management of major contractual and commercial agreements for large and complex construction and infrastructure projects. Vian’s recent project experience includes a commercial manager role for the Cross River Rail Project including the Tunnels, Stations and Development (TSD) PPP contract, Roma Street Station Enhancement and additional in-fill station developments.

Jeremy Whittack » Associate Director

Jeremy is a qualified Civil Engineer with a broad and unique blend of experience and expertise that he has successfully applied across a variety of roles including engineering design services, site construction, project management and business case development where he has applied his analytical skills in developing financial and economic analysis to support business case development across numerous infrastructure sectors.

Through these roles, Jeremy has gained experience in structural and stormwater design engineering and developing business cases for transport, manufacturing, social and digital infrastructure.

Kerry O’Connor » Contract Administrator

Kerry O’Connor is a certified Quantity Surveyor with a career of over 27 years. Kerry has demonstrated extensive experience in leadership, portfolio, program and project controls and commercial advisory within the civil infrastructure, defence, aviation, education and health industries.

Kerry has excelled in commercial management and advisory and program management and controls on multiple projects, with strong attention to detail and problem-solving capabilities. Kerry has applied this experience across client side, advisory and consultancy roles across publicly listed companies and Government agencies with his most recent experience as a Commercial Manager for the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority. Kerry is currently providing Contract Administration services for Queensland Hydro’s Borumba Pumped Hydro Project.

Arthur Mushambi » Contract Administrator

Arthur is solution driven Cost Manager and Contract Administrator possessing a combination of technical skill, intellect, staunch determination and attention to detail.

With over 12 years of experience in civil infrastructure projects, 8 years in Australia and 4 years in Zimbabwe where Arthur has gained extensive pre- and post-contract experience in many sectors including road and rail, education, oil and gas, retail, residential, hospitality & leisure and industrial. Arthur has experience working with various procurement methods across different projects including management contracting, ECI, design & construct, lump-sum contracts and cost-plus contracts.

Arthur is currently providing Contract Administration services for Seqwater’s Somerset Dam Improvement, Early and Enabling Works Program.

Don Piggott-McKellar » Director

Don is an infrastructure sector professional with extensive experience working across all levels of government to deliver complex projects and government programs in Australia and the UK.

Don brings cross-sector experience coupled with a successful track record managing projects across the full infrastructure project lifecycle from early feasibility, planning and approvals stages through to design, construction, operations and maintenance. As a qualified Civil Engineer and project manager with specific experience across transport, defence and social infrastructure projects, Don effectively collaborates across technical and non-technical stakeholders to drive superior project outcomes.

With over 15 years of infrastructure industry experience in Australia and the UK Don has led high performing project teams across all stages of infrastructure project development. Don has expertise and direct experience in the planning and delivery of projects under all contracting models including Public Private Partnership (PPP), design-and-construct and collaborative delivery models.

Don is currently providing Project Management services to the Rail Planning Division of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Lexi Oke » Senior Consultant

Lexi is an experienced infrastructure advisory professional with over a decade of experience. Lexi has gained extensive experience working on a wide range of rail, water, roads, construction and power generation projects in both public and private sectors. Lexi has experience across a variety of contract procurement models including PPP, ECI, D&C and Alliance.

Lexi is a seasoned project coordinator with extensive experience in transaction and data room management, quality assurance administration and documentation management where she has demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication and skills, coupled with the confidence to work in a service-orientated environment to achieve strong project outcomes. Her recent major project experience includes the Nuclear Powered Submarine Priority Works Program, Burdekin Falls Dam Improvement and Raising, Queensland Train Manufacturing Program and Inland Rail.

David Garrod » Project Director

David is an experienced Project Director with extensive expertise in pre-contracts, project integration, strategy, and benefit management within construction and engineering.

With over 20 years of experience, David has a proven track record in managing complex rail and infrastructure projects, collaborating with government agencies and top-tier contractors in both the UK and Australia. David’s expertise spans the entire project lifecycle, from initial planning and strategy to execution, monitoring, and project close-out. He excels in integrating project stages, ensuring stakeholder engagement, and aligning project objectives to deliver successful outcomes.

David is currently working as the Greenfield Package Lead on the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Project.

Blake Daniels » Associate Director

Blake is a qualified civil engineer with expertise in cost planning, design management, project management and delivery support. Throughout his career in the infrastructure sector Blake has demonstrated excellent communication and project management skills, enabling effective coordination across project teams and stakeholders. Blake has significant experience in major infrastructure projects, holding roles across transaction services, concept and detailed design and site engineering and construction.

Blake’s recent project experience includes the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail Program, Economic Development Queensland Priority Development Area assessments, and site engineering roles on the West Gate Tunnel Melbourne and the Bruce Highway Upgrade Cooroy to Curra Section C.

Michelle Robertson » Associate Director

Michelle Robertson is a highly motivated and results-driven infrastructure advisor with experience delivering high-value, high-profile and complex infrastructure projects across the road, rail and water sectors. She has played a key role in the development, procurement and delivery phases of recent major projects, with notable engagements including transaction management for significant dam projects for Sunwater and Seqwater, respectively, governance and project advisory for the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project and civil engineering and design management roles for the Brisbane Metro.

Michelle brings to SYNC Advisory’s infrastructure sector clients her commitment and track record in delivering practical and high-quality outputs. With qualifications in Civil Engineering and Business Michelle provides a strong combination of technical engineering and broader project advisory capability.

Juliette Poad » Associate Director

Juliette is a chartered Civil Engineer with extensive national and international experience across civil and rail engineering. Juliette’s skills and experience range from tender and detailed design across a number of large multidisciplinary projects in Australia and the UK and projects developed under Alliances, ECI, and Design Only contracts. Her experience includes recent client side secondments leading the Program Management Office team within Network Rail’s Supply Chain Operations team in the UK.

Juliette thrives on collaboration and coordination across multidisciplinary teams to achieve best for project outcomes and brings a driven and proactive approach, with a keen eye for detail. Juliette was a shortlisted finalist for the Women in Rail (UK) Female Rising Star of the Year 2024 award. She was also recently nominated for a Network Rail StarAct Award, recognising her efforts to improve performance and outcomes in Supply Chain Operations. In addition to her technical roles, Juliette has also fulfilled relationship management roles, providing her with experience in stakeholder engagement and strategic positioning.

Rod Bevan » Specialist Advisor

Rod is a civil engineer with over 30 years’ experience working on major infrastructure projects, in Australia and overseas.

Rod specialises in project and contract management of public infrastructure works with experience in the planning and delivery of roads, rail, water, sewage and marine projects. He has extensive experience as a Project Manager and Superintendent Representative and specialises in working with clients and their teams in all phases of project delivery, from project conception and planning, through procurement, early and major works delivery, and asset management. Some of Rod’s recent project experience includes:

Strategic Advisor, Canberra Light Rail – Raising London Circuit & Stage 2a, Major Projects Canberra (MPC)
Delivery and Commercial Advisor, Inland Rail, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
Interface and Commissioning Manager, Cross River Rail, Cross River Rail Delivery Authority.

Amalia McDonagh » Senior Consultant

Amalia is a dynamic and proactive project coordinator with extensive experience across major transaction processes and infrastructure business cases.

Amalia possesses excellent client and stakeholder relationship management skills, liaising and negotiating with integrity to build and maintain strong relationships across a multi-disciplinary team environment. Examples of Amalia’s recent project experience include:

Inland Rail project
Cross River Rail project
Gateway Upgrade North tender process
Major social infrastructure business cases
Acquisition of AirportLinkM7
Logan Enhancement Project tender process

Alexandra Costello » Senior Consultant

Alexandra is a commercial management professional with over 12 years’ experience in the infrastructure, engineering & legal industry.

She possesses a unique combination of legal, commercial and project management and advisory skills which she has successfully applied to recent priority infrastructure projects. Ali’s recent roles have included contract administration and transaction support positions across major projects including Inland Rail and Cross River Rail. Ali’s skills and successful track record allow her to positively contribute across key management and support roles on major infrastructure projects.

Hayley Robinson » Associate Director

Hayley is a civil engineer with diverse industry experience across project management and design roles on major infrastructure projects.

With a passion for innovation and sustainability, Hayley has contributed to the advancement of initiatives across the project lifecycle for a range of major infrastructure projects.

Hayley’s recent project experience includes project management, design and engineering roles for airfield upgrade projects across private sector airports and the defence sector. Hayley demonstrates a collaborative working style that allows her to contribute effectively across technical and project work streams and lead the delivery of strong project outcomes. Her experience extends to the management of stakeholder relationships where she has demonstrated her capacity to communicate technical concepts to a broad range of project stakeholders.

Robert Lappin » Commercial Manager

Robert is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with over 13 years of experience, 11 of which has been gained working on mega-projects within Australia’s mining, oil & gas, and infrastructure sectors.

During this time, Robert has represented a number of clients including BHP, Origin Energy, Santos and the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) in the capacity of a Commercial Manager or Quantity Surveyor. Robert has experience in the negotiation, award, and delivery of various different procurement and contracting strategies including: traditional, D&C, ECI, dual ECI, EPC, EPCM and collaborative incentivised target cost contracts. Robert’s recent project experience includes:

Commercial Manager Inland Rail – ARTC
Procurement and Commercial Manager – BHP Peak Downs and Olympic Dam projects
Senior Quantity Surveyor – Origin Energy APLNG project.

Robert is currently working a Commercial Manager supporting Queensland Hydro on the Borumba Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage project.

Sarah Brophy » Director

Sarah has close to a decade of advisory sector experience working across major infrastructure projects both in Queensland and at a national level.

Throughout her time in the infrastructure sector Sarah has developed excellent communication skills and demonstrated capability in coordinating and engaging across project stakeholders. Sarah has successfully applied her expertise and experience across key components of the infrastructure lifecycle including concept and detailed design, transaction management and construction and is experienced across various contract models including PPP, Design & Construct, Construct only and Alliances. Sarah has worked with a variety of infrastructure sector clients including Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Hydro, Queensland Housing Investment Fund, Brisbane City Council, Sunwater and Inland Rail.

Michelle Cooke » Project Director

Michelle is an experienced environmental project and programme management professional and has a strong track record in successful client-side roles during the planning and delivery of a range of major infrastructure, contaminated land programs and operational improvement projects across Australia.

Michelle’s previous experience includes a range of project management roles in planning and approvals, transaction and procurement, construction delivery and operations in both the private and public sector on major projects, including light rail, road, and water infrastructure (dams, pipelines, desalination). Michelle is highly adept at working in dynamic environments and leading multi-disciplinary teams, collaborating and engaging with stakeholders and applying her technical expertise to achieve successful project outcomes.

Michelle is currently wording with Major Projects Canberra as Project Manager (Design and Approvals) for Stage 2B of the Canberra Light Rail Project.

Mark Bailey » Associate Director

Mark is an advisory professional with extensive experience in the infrastructure industry across the transport, water, social infrastructure and energy sectors both domestically and internationally.

Mark has worked in key roles in the public and private sectors as a project manager, transaction lead and support, business analyst, civil engineer and senior government advisor. His engineering, policy and strategy background coupled with his natural leadership and collaborative qualities allows him to manage and deliver high-quality outputs for clients.

Mark is experienced across various contracting models including collaborative models such as Alliances. Mark has held project leadership roles across all stages of the infrastructure project lifecycle including planning, business case, due diligence, procurement, design and project delivery. Key clients Mark has recently worked with include Queensland Hydro, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Sunwater, Department of Foreign and Affairs and Trade, Government of Fiji and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service.

Damian Gould » Executive Director

Damian is a recognised industry leader with 25 years of experience in senior leadership and executive positions across government and industry.

In his previous role as Chief Executive of Building Queensland, Damian provided leadership and strategic direction in identifying and evaluating the Queensland Government’s key infrastructure priorities. Numerous major projects across transport (road, rail and ports), bulk water supply, health, justice and education were endorsed at a state and national level proceeding to procurement and delivery. This contributed to the development and implementation of a sustainable pipeline of infrastructure projects for industry and delivering broader economic, social, environmental and sustainability beneﬁts.

Damian has also held senior executive and advisory positions across government and the private sector providing leadership, strategic direction and commercial expertise in achieving successful outcomes for key infrastructure projects and programs including:

Capricornia Pumped Hydro Energy Storage
Brisbane Olympics 2032 – Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre
Toowoomba Second Range Crossing
SEQ Water Grid
Government Wireless Network Project
Queensland Reconstruction Authority establishment and project controls

Simone Rouse » Consultant

With close to a decade of experience across executive and project support roles, Simone’s highly effective communication and interpersonal skills have allowed her to establish strong working relationships with colleagues, clients and stakeholders.

Simone is able to integrate seamlessly into a variety of settings. Her skills and experience enable her to excel in fast-paced and challenging environments with multiple competing responsibilities and priorities.

Simone’s recent experience includes a bid support and coordination role with the Plenary Group, contributing to their successful bid for the Inland Rail Gowrie to Kagaru PPP. Simone has also worked in executive and project support roles for the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority and Queensland Hydro where she has applied her excellent standards of client service, professionalism, discretion, efficiency and attention to detail to assist in the delivery of high-quality and timely services.

Marko Lund » Director

Marko is an accomplished infrastructure sector professional with an extensive track record spanning more than two decades in both Australian and international markets.

With a robust background encompassing a diverse range of advisory and contracting roles including Supply Chain Specialist, Transaction Advisor, Commercial Advisor, client-side Project Manager, EPCM Senior Project Engineer/Project Manager, and Site/Project Engineer within the construction contracting sector, Marko brings a wealth of industry-specific expertise to the table.

With post graduate qualifications in project management and dual bachelor’s degrees in engineering and business administration, Marko stands out as a versatile leader who seamlessly bridges the gap between technical acumen, strategic thinking and practical project solutions. Marko has applied his technical expertise and infrastructure sector experience to enhance outcomes across a range of key recent projects including:

Pumped Hydro and offshore wind renewable energy
Transmission infrastructure
Major highway projects
Resource sector developments
Social infrastructure.

Jason Tagg » Executive Director

Jason is a highly experienced Commercial Director with 15 years’ experience in the infrastructure and resources sectors.

Jason’s experience extends from the commencement of the transaction phase, contract negotiation, and contract & dispute management, through to project close-out. His expertise encompasses managing a wide range of delivery and contracting approaches, including PPP, D&C, construct only and managing contractor contracting models, as well as collaborative approaches including the use of ECI, Alliances and Incentivised Target Cost contracts.

Jason’s extensive infrastructure projects experience, together with his proven track record of working seamlessly within integrated project teams to deliver high quality results, has contributed to successful project delivery. He has recently held commercial leadership roles on several major projects, namely Borumba Pumped Hydro Energy Storage, Canberra Light Rail Stage 2, Inland Rail and Sydney Metro.

Kieran Costello » Executive Director

Kieran is an infrastructure industry specialist advisor with over 15 years experience.

Kieran’s expertise extends across the entire infrastructure project lifecycle. He has extensive skills and experience providing technical, strategic and commercial advice within the infrastructure sector, both as an experienced engineer and management consultant (specialising in risk and transaction advice).

Most recently, Kieran held leadership roles across transaction and business case development for national transport and water projects. This included front-end strategic advice, transaction and design management roles across a broad range of infrastructure projects and programs throughout Australia.

Kieran’s successful track record in the planning and procurement of major infrastructure projects includes:

Queensland Train Manufacturing Program
Inland Rail
Sydney Metro
Melbourne Airport Rail
Sunwater Water Security Schemes
Building Future Schools Program
North West Rail Link
West Connex M4 widening

Shane McDowall » Executive Director

Shane has over 30 years experience as a professional engineer, manager and business leader across various infrastructure sectors including road, rail, water, energy and resources.

His background provides a rare combination of private sector engineering and construction experience, senior public sector roles and most recently strategic, commercial and technical advisory experience to a broad range of clients.

Shane was formerly the Deputy Coordinator General overseeing the $8 billion SEQ Water Grid and Chairman of City North Infrastructure which delivered the $4.8B Airport Link Project. He now specialises in transaction strategy and management, managing the critically important procurement phases of projects. He is highly experienced in all forms of contracting models and has recently led the following transactions:

Borumba Pumped Hydro Energy Storage
Paradise Dam Improvement Project
Inland Rail program
Cross River Rail, Rail, Integration and Systems Alliance
Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 2

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