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”.

 

Brett Buckpitt

C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D C O N T R A C T S M A N A G E R

Brett joins Benaiah with over 20 years industry experience, originally physically working in the paddock on the ‘big boy toys’, he has spend the last two decades managing construction sites and administering contract for a range projects, from Master planned green field developments to intricate infrastructure projects. Brett brings a pragmatic attitude with solutions-based thinking to every job he works on. Perhaps his only weak spot is his die-hard love of the Panthers? Although he’d again add that to his list of strengths…...

 

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.

 

Daniel Chow

S E N I O R P R O J E C T M A N A G E R

Daniel joins Benaiah with over 10 years industry experience in the development sector, with a strong foundation in both Finance and Engineering as per his tertiary qualifications. Daniels capabilities range from Design to Construction Management to Project Management, managing all phases of the development cycle from feasibility through to registrations and assts handover.

 

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.