People
Meet our team.
Mark Simister
Founder and CEO
Mark is a global expert in shaping the built environment.
A dynamic, visionary and confident leader, Mark has deep expertise in collaborative contracting, program management, and operations management. He excels in guiding high-performing teams to address significant corporate challenges across diverse industries, including regulated and non-regulated sectors of public infrastructure, commercial developments, and telecommunications.
Mark’s versatile skill set emphasises collaborative team leadership, strategic planning, change facilitation, and a strong focus on customer and commercial performance.
Mark is passionate about creating empowering environments for teams to thrive, fostering innovation and challenge in a secure setting. His ability to swiftly assess and develop solutions for organisational challenges includes procurement, framework assessment, contract selection, and change implementation. His approach resonates with the evolving business landscape’s demand for change and innovation.
Acknowledged as a creative thinker, Mark brings an ability to listen, rapidly learn, and assess situations. He works collaboratively at board and executive level to develop commercially sustainable solutions. Being flexible and resilient, with excellent problem-solving, strategic relationship, and change implementation skills, Mark clearly and openly communicates goals and transformational pathways.
By applying his power, water, transportation, and commercial development experience, Mark has achieved outstanding value across multi-billion-dollar programs and integrated delivery partnership frameworks.
Mark was previously APAC Head of Infrastructure and Programs for construction company, Mace, where he was responsible for leading high performing teams to proactively address significant, often high profile, client challenges.
Mark has previously led successful program operations such as London Victorian Water Mains for Thames Water, Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Program for Vero Insurance, and Fitzroy Region Transport Network Recovery Program for Transport and Main Roads Queensland.
Beyond program delivery and change, Mark has engaged in significant government infrastructure initiatives:
- Reform of Major Infrastructure Procurement – a joint review between NSW and Victoria treasuries
- House Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee – public inquiry (14 September 2021) into procurement practices for government-funded infrastructure discovery and planning
- Advisor on executive leadership in major projects program, John Grill Institute for Project Leadership, University of Sydney.
Key Achievement: Partnering for Success
While Head of Delivery Management (Enterprise Infrastructure PMO) at Sydney Water, Mark was the architect of Sydney Water’s ground-breaking and award-winning collaborative infrastructure procurement framework: Partnering for Success (P4S)
P4S includes three Regional Delivery Consortia appointed to manage design, construction and maintenance, and facilities management in each of its three regions (North, South and West) for the next 10 years. P4S established Sydney Water as the first international early adopter of the ICE Project 13 best practice framework and the first major infrastructure company in Australia to use the full suite of NEC4 contracts (which also align with the NSW Government’s ten-point plan for infrastructure delivery) to deliver new works.
P4S builds upon the six-year transformation of Sydney Waters’ Infrastructure PMO, which achieved Sydney Water’s most successful capital delivery performance on record. In 2018, the team’s efforts were recognised by the UK Major Projects Association – Global Client Models Study as “an exemplar responsive model, which is improving commercial efficiency with customers at the heart of the strategy”.
Partnering for Success received widespread global recognition:
- Gold Winner, International Project Management Association, Project Excellence Awards, 2020
- Global Clients Models Study, Major Projects Association, 2018
- Process Improvement Award, Australian Business, 2019
- Award of Excellence, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW 2019 Award of Excellence, 2019
- National Change Management Award, Australian Institute of Project Management, 2019
- Australasia Supply Management Award, Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Chain, 2019
- Process Innovation of the Year Award, Australian Contractors Association, 2019
- Partnering Champion, International Partnering Institute, 2019
- Brandon Hall Group Gold Excellence in Learning, 2019.
