Hen's Teeth

Confidential submission

Please enter the access code provided by Pete Anderson to view the Commercial Director shortlist.

Gamuda · High Speed Rail

Commercial Director shortlist.

Three candidates worth a conversation. More in outreach. A working view of the search as it stands.

Hey Adrian,

Outreach for the Commercial Director search is still in flight — but three candidates have surfaced so far who I think warrant a proper conversation. You'll find them as full profiles below.

The broader pipeline — everyone we've approached to date — is listed in the outreach-coverage table below, so you can see the shape of the market we've covered. As candidates confirm interest and CVs land I'll promote them onto the full-profile list.

CVs for all three are embedded directly in their cards — open inline or pop out as a PDF.

Use the actions on each profile to shortlist, request an interview, or leave a comment. I'll be notified and act within a few hours.

Pete Anderson — Director, Hen's Teeth
Client
Gamuda
Location
Sydney
Priority
Critical
Status
Outreach live

Must-haves

  • Commercial leadership on major infrastructure projects >$1B
  • 15+ years in senior commercial, contracts or financial advisory roles
  • Full lifecycle exposure — tender, delivery, claims, close-out
  • PPP and government-contract commercial experience
  • JV commercial governance and partner management

Nice-to-haves

  • HSR or rail sector experience
  • Tier-1 contractor background
  • Australian major project experience

Outreach coverage

Every candidate approached for this role — live status. Submitted profiles are expanded in full below; contacted candidates will be promoted to submitted as they confirm interest and CVs land.

Candidate Current role Company Location Status
Phil Tait Senior commercial executive Lendlease Australia Submitted
Gavin Lawson Regional Commercial Manager Infrastructure John Holland Melbourne Submitted
Jackie Aggett Commercial Director Transgrid Sydney Submitted
Matthew Barham Commercial Director John Holland Sydney In outreach
Ian Waldron Commercial Director, Warringah Freeway Upgrade CPB Contractors Sydney In outreach
Danise McEvoy Commercial Infrastructure Director (ex-Sydney Metro / WestConnex) Independent / Contractor-side Sydney In outreach
Amir Kothiya Commercial Director (West Gate Tunnel JV) CPB / John Holland JV Melbourne In outreach
Russell Zimmerman Commercial Director Ghella ANZ Melbourne In outreach
Xabier Campo Barasoain Commercial Director (infrastructure) ACCIONA Spain / UK In outreach
Tim Page Commercial Director John Holland Sydney In outreach
David Willows Commercial & Project Controls Director (Hulme Link) Transgrid Sydney In outreach
Peter Sampson Commercial Director UGL Sydney In outreach
Claire Jones Commercial Director John Holland Sydney In outreach

Declined

Candidates we've approached who've told us they're not interested at this time — logged here for transparency on who's been accounted for.

Candidate Current role Company Location Status
Jacob Leslie Commercial Director — Tunnelling / Major Projects CPB Contractors Sydney Declined
Jemma Stewart EVP, Contract Management Australia Webuild Melbourne Declined
Marcus Drabble Commercial Director, East Coast Clough Brisbane Declined
Martin Tidman Commercial Director ACCIONA Sydney Declined
Simon Lillyman Commercial Director Lendlease Sydney Declined
Paula Partridge Senior Commercial Manager — Head Contract Laing O'Rourke Melbourne Declined
Daniel Remblance Senior Commercial Manager John Holland Sydney Declined

Submitted candidates at a glance

Click any row to jump to the full profile. Status updates live as you take action.

Candidate Current role Location Status
1
Phil Tait
 Senior commercial executive · Lendlease Australia Pending review
2
Gavin Lawson
 Regional Commercial Manager Infrastructure · John Holland Melbourne Pending review
3
Jackie Aggett
 Commercial Director · Transgrid Sydney Pending review

Full profiles

Click any card to expand the suitability highlights and action buttons. CV previews will be wired in as candidates send them through.

PT
Phil Tait
Acting Commercial Director, SRL stations tender · Lendlease
Melbourne · targeting Sydney move
▾

Why a fit

Acting Commercial Director, SRL stations tender · Lendlease (Melbourne).

  • Phil and I go back to NorthConnex — he was flown in from Hong Kong to anchor the commercial function on that project and we've stayed close ever since.
  • Recently stepped up to Commercial Director level after a hybrid commercial/finance stretch at Lendlease. He's a commercial head first, finance second — that's where his instincts sit.
  • Currently Acting Commercial Director on Lendlease's tender for the Suburban Rail Loop stations packages — live major-rail tender exposure, directly transferable to HSR.
  • Partner is Jemma Stewart, EVP Contract Management Australia at Webuild, who's between Sydney and Melbourne most weeks — a Sydney-based role is genuinely what they're both after, so no relocation risk.
  • Worth a conversation.

Curriculum vitae

Open full PDF ↗

Specialisms

LendleaseCommercial LeadershipTier-1 ContractorGovernment ContractsAustralian Infrastructure
LinkedIn profile ↗
GL
Gavin Lawson
Recently available · short-term engagement, Inland Rail
Melbourne, Australia
▾

Why a fit

Recently available · currently on a short-term Inland Rail engagement (Melbourne).

  • Gavin was my Regional Commercial Manager at John Holland — I know the way he works, inside out.
  • Later moved into JH's special projects team as the go-to troubleshooter on their most difficult programmes — West Gate Tunnel, CYP and others. Fully owned the claim-and-tease-through process end-to-end in some of the hardest commercial environments in the country.
  • Didn't survive the latest JH restructure — recently available and ready to move immediately.
  • Picked up a short-term gig with Inland Rail in the meantime, but genuinely open to a conversation about Gamuda HSR.

Curriculum vitae

Open full PDF ↗

Specialisms

John HollandSydney MetroRail CommercialInfrastructureAustralian Tier-1Step-up
LinkedIn profile ↗
JA
Jackie Aggett
Commercial Director · Transgrid
Sydney, Australia
▾

Why a fit

Commercial Director · Transgrid (Sydney).

  • I know Jackie personally — she was my Commercial Director on Spark NEL. Genuinely well-liked; the team was pretty gutted when she moved on.
  • When she left Spark, Marco Assorati at WeBuild worked hard to keep her — she'd simply had enough of that chapter and wanted a reset.
  • Returned to Sydney and landed at Transgrid as Commercial Director — the reset she was after, in a major-infrastructure principal-side environment.
  • Now she's had enough time out of contractor-side construction, she's open to the right conversation. I think Gamuda HSR is that conversation.
  • Sydney-based — no relocation exposure.

Curriculum vitae

Open full PDF ↗

Specialisms

TransgridCommercial DirectorRegulated UtilityMajor InfrastructureSydney
LinkedIn profile ↗