Leadership | US | Lendlease

Ms Wakefield Evans joined the Board in September 2013.

Ms Wakefield Evans is a business leader and non executive director with broad ranging commercial, business management, strategy and legal experience gained over a 30 year international career.

Ms Wakefield Evans was Managing Partner, International at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) in Hong Kong where she was responsible for the overall governance and strategic positioning of the business in the Asia region. In addition to holding a number of senior management and leadership roles, Ms Wakefield Evans has had a diverse career as one of Australasia’s leading lawyers. Ms Wakefield Evans has been involved in a number of significant and ground-breaking M&A transactions and has advised some of the largest companies in Australia, Asia and globally. She has extensive international experience having worked in Australia, New York and Hong Kong.

Ms Wakefield Evans was included in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac Group’s inaugural list of ‘Australia’s 100 Women of Influence’. She is a member of Chief Executive Women Inc.

Ms Wakefield Evans holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales and is a qualified lawyer in Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

• Non Executive Director of Macquarie Group Limited (appointed February 2014)
• Non Executive Director of Viva Energy Group Limited (appointed August 2021)

• Chair of 30% Club, Australia
• Director of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
• Director of UNSW Foundation Limited
• Director of Chief Executive Women

• Chairman of the Sustainability Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee
• Member of the Audit Committee
• Member of the Risk Committee

Mr Craig joined the Board in March 2016.

Mr Craig is a business leader with a successful international career spanning over 37 years in finance, accounting, audit, risk management, strategy and mergers and acquisitions in the banking, property and professional services industries.

He was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 2006 through the GFC, until he retired in June 2017. At Commonwealth Bank, he was responsible for leading 2,500 staff in the finance, treasury, property, security, audit and investor relations teams.

Mr Craig’s previous leadership roles have included CFO for Australand Property Group (now Frasers), Global CFO for PwC Consulting and a Partner at PwC.

As well as his role as CFO of Australand Property Group, Mr Craig was responsible for Property for the last 22 years of his executive career, including overseeing three significant property transformations at CBA.

Mr Craig holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, ANZ and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company
Directors.

• President of the Financial Executives Institute of Australia
• Deputy Chairman of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute

• Chairman of the Audit Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee
• Member of the People and Culture Committee
• Member of the Risk Committee

Mr Coffey joined the Board in January 2017.

Mr Coffey served as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Westpac Banking Corporation from April 2014 until his retirement in May 2017. As the Deputy CEO, Mr Coffey had the responsibility of overseeing and supporting relationships with key stakeholders of Westpac including industry groups, regulators, customers and government. He was also responsible for the Group’s Mergers & Acquisitions function. Prior to this role, Mr Coffey held a number of executive positions at Westpac including Chief Financial Officer and Group Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank. He has successfully led operations based in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia and has extensive experience in financial markets, funds management, balance sheet management and risk management. He began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia and has also held executive positions at Citibank.

Mr Coffey holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Adelaide and has completed the Executive Program at Stanford University Business School. He is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Non Executive Director of Macquarie Group Limited (appointed August 2018)

• Director of Goodstart Early Learning Ltd

• Chairman of the Risk Committee
• Member of the Sustainability Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee

Ms Proust joined the Board in February 2018.

Ms Proust is one of Australia’s leading business figures and has had a diverse career holding leadership roles in the public and private sectors for over 30 years. Ms Proust spent eight years at ANZ Group including four years as Managing Director of Esanda, Managing Director of Metrobanking and Group General Manager, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Management Services. Before joining ANZ, Ms Proust was Secretary (CEO) of the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Victoria) and Chief Executive of the City of Melbourne. 

Ms Proust has extensive board experience in listed and private companies, subsidiaries and joint ventures, as well as government and not for profits. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010 for distinguished service to public administration and to business, through leadership roles in government and private enterprise, as a mentor to women, and to the community through contributions to arts, charitable and educational bodies.

Ms Proust holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from La Trobe University and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne. In March 2021, Ms Proust was appointed a Life Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

• Chairman of Cuscal Limited
• Chairman of GQC Partners Inc
• Member of the Fujitsu Advisory Board

• Chairman of the People and Culture Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee
• Member of the Risk Committee
• Member of the Sustainability Committee

Mr Welanetz joined the Board in March 2020.

Mr Welanetz is based in the US and has significant executive, advisory, strategic and operational experience in the property and construction sectors, gained over an international career spanning over 40 years.

In his most recent role, Mr Welanetz served as Chief Executive Officer in the property division of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), based in Dubai, where he had overall responsibility for managing MAF’s property portfolio and development pipeline. Mr Welanetz retired from that position in 2018. Prior to joining MAF, Mr Welanetz spent over seven years in a global role in Blackstone’s Real Estate Group advising and identifying acquisition opportunities in retail real estate and providing strategic guidance for Blackstone’s portfolio of retail assets and retail operating companies.

Mr Welanetz also served as Chief Executive Officer of Shanghai Kinghill Ltd, based in China, with responsibility for the operations and delivery of retail and development projects in mainland China. Prior to this, Mr Welanetz was President and Chief Executive Officer, Retail at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc Americas.

Mr Welanetz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University. He is a former Chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centres and served on the board of the Galileo Property Trust, an Australian shopping centre investor.

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• Chairman of the Nominations Committee
• Member of the People & Culture Committee
• Member of the Risk Committee
• Member of the Sustainability Committee

Nicholas Collishaw was appointed to the Board as an independent Non Executive Director, effective 1 December 2021.

Based in Sydney, Mr Collishaw is an experienced property executive and non executive director with more than 40 years’ expertise gained across Lendlease’s core segments of Development, Construction and Investments. During his career he has overseen the development and delivery of a number of significant and ground-breaking projects across the commercial, industrial and retail sectors.

Mr Collishaw currently serves as the joint Chief Executive Officer of Lincoln Place Pty Ltd, a boutique funds management entity focussed on affordable retirement accommodation, and is Chairman of ASX-listed hospitality group, Redcape Hotel Group. Until his recent retirement, he was a non-executive director of ASX-listed investment manager, Centuria Capital.

Mr Collishaw’s executive career comprised a number of high-profile roles including Centuria Capital’s Chief Executive Officer of Listed Property. Prior to this role, Mr Collishaw spent eight years at Mirvac Group serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director between 2008 and 2012. He also held senior leadership positions at James Fielding Group where he was Executive Director and Head of Property, Deutsche Industrial Trust and Paladin Commercial Trust.

• Chairman of Redcape Hotel Group

• Member of the Audit Committee
• Member of the People and Culture Committee
• Member of the Risk Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee

Ann Soo Chan (“Margaret Lui”) was appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director, effective 1 December 2022. Ms Lui will stand for election at Lendlease’s Annual General Meeting on 17 November 2023.

Based in Singapore, Ms Lui is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Azalea Asset Management, which she helped to found in 2015. At Azalea, Ms Lui leads an experienced team of investment managers, overseeing a portfolio valued at US$10 billion.

Ms Lui was previously a member of the investment team at Temasek Holdings and involved in direct investments across a variety of sectors including transportation, industrial, real estate investments, and major redevelopment projects in Asia. She has a track record in restructuring, transforming and creating new Temasek businesses and led the startup of several business joint ventures including Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia, and the creation of Cityspring Infrastructure, the first infrastructure business trust listed on the Singapore Exchange. As a senior executive at Temasek, she was a director of numerous subsidiaries and JV entities and listed companies including Sembcorp Industries, a leading energy and urban development company.

Ms Lui currently chairs the Marine Services Supervisory Committee of PSA International. She also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Investment and Finance Committees of the Singapore Institute of Technology, and is a member of the Singapore Exchange’s Listing Advisory Committee.

Ms Lui holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from The National University of Singapore and has attended the Advanced Management Development Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Barbara Knoflach was appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director, effective 1 October 2023. 

Ms Knoflach is based in Frankfurt and has significant real estate, asset management, investment management, strategy and finance experience gained over an international career spanning 35 years.

Ms Knoflach was Deputy Chief Executive and Global Head of Investment Management of BNP Paribas Real Estate between 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, she held the role of CEO SEB Asset Management and Managing Director of SEB Investment, one of the Nordic region's leading asset management companies. Ms Knoflach is a founder of LifeWorkSpace, a company focused on innovative and sustainable strategies in the real estate industry. 

Ms Knoflach is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and serves in numerous associations and organisations in the real estate industry. She is Chair of CTP NV which owns, develops, manages and leases logistics and industrial real estate properties throughout Europe, is a member of the Board of Directors of Swiss Prime Site, one of the leading real estate companies in Europe, and is a trustee member of ULI (Urban Land Institute). 

Ms Knoflach holds an Economics degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz. 

Claire Johnston was appointed Chief Executive Officer Americas in November 2022, her latest role in a 26+-year history with the global real estate and investment management company. Claire oversees all aspects of the Americas business and is a member of the Global Leadership Team. 

Claire’s previous leadership roles at Lendlease include Managing Director of Google Development Ventures, where she led teams that developed four master plans to bring up to 15 million square feet of residential, retail, hospitality and associated community uses to the San Francisco Bay area.  

She also served as Managing Director of Lendlease Communities, an exclusive partnership with the Department of Defense through which Lendlease delivers design, construction, financing, environmental and asset management services for military housing and lodging, with a national portfolio comprising over 40,000 residential units and more than 12,000 hotel rooms.  

Claire also held the position of Executive Project Director of Island Palm Communities in Oahu, Hawaii, the largest residential privatization project ever awarded by the Department of Defense. Prior to this, she served as Executive Project Director for Lendlease's Docklands Melbourne Australia, a US $6bn (AUD $9.4bn) partnership with the City of Melbourne and the State Government of Victoria, where she oversaw the master plan development and delivery of commercial, residential and mixed-use assets for the urban renewal project. 

Throughout her career at Lendlease, Claire has been a champion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, having served as the first Executive Sponsor of the Pride Americas LGBTQ+ employee resource group. As CEO, she leads Lendlease’s DE&I Advisory Council. 

Claire was recently named to Globe St. Real Estate Forum’s annual Women of Influence list and was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of its Most Influential Women. She received a Bachelor of Commerce, Labor and Industrial Relations, from the University of Western Sydney and a Masters in Business (Property) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Melbourne).­ 

Dale was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lendlease Australia in July 2021 and is based in Sydney. He joined Lendlease in 1988, and has worked in a number of senior roles across the business in Australia, the United Kingdom, China and the United States.

His most recent role was Chief Operating Officer of Construction & Infrastructure in Australia. He has also held executive positions in Lendlease America’s operations including; Managing Director of Project Management & Construction, Managing Director of Military Housing; and Executive Vice President of Investment Management.

Dale has wide-spread experience in project management and construction, as well as design, development and privatisation. He believes that a successful business is a safe business, and places a priority on operating Incident & Injury Free.

He holds a Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Queensland and is a Board Member of the Australian Constructors Association.

Justin was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Asia in June 2021. He was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management in October 2021, and Chairman in August 2023. Justin is based in Singapore.

Justin joined Lendlease in 2003 and has been based in Asia since 2011. He has over 20 years of experience including strategy, corporate finance, capital markets, investment management, development and construction. 

Justin Gabbani was formerly the Chief Financial Officer, Asia. In this position, he was responsible for several key functional areas across Asia including finance, investment & capital markets, research and strategy. Prior to this role, Justin held the role of Head of Investment & Capital Markets (Asia and Europe) responsible for investments, capital raising, investor relations, product development and research for both Asia and Europe. During his time with Lendlease, Justin has held various roles in the Investment Management and Development businesses.

He holds a Bachelor of Finance and Bachelor of Commerce from Bond University, Queensland and is a Chartered Accountant (CA).

Andrea Ruckstuhl is Lendlease’s Chief Executive Officer for Europe and a member of the company’s Global Leadership Team. 
 
Prior to being appointed to his current role in July 2023, Andrea was Head of Italy and Continental Europe for the company. 
 
Andrea is a member of a community of advisors for the Berkeley SkyDeck high-tech startup accelerator, and he collaborated on the opening of the programme’s only international office, which is located in MIND | Milano Innovation District.
 
Andrea first joined Lendlease in 2005, where over the years he has held various positions including: Country Manager for Southern Europe, Executive General Manager of the CEMEA region and Business Development Director based in London.

Penny Ransom is the Group Head of Investments at Lendlease. Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate and investment group with core expertise in shaping cities and creating strong connected communities. Lendlease has a strong history spanning over 60 years and has A$42bn of real estate funds under management.

Penny was previously Chief Investment Officer and a Group Executive at Investa. Prior to this role, Penny led Investa’s Investment Management function, was Fund Manager of the ASX listed Investa Office Fund (IOF), Fund Manager of the diversified Dexus Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF), Head of Capital at Dexus in Sydney and Head of Equity UK/Europe at Lendlease in London.

Penny has 29 years of institutional real estate, transactional and investment management experience, and was previously at Lendlease for over 13 years.

Penny has a Bachelor of Business (Land Economics), a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and undertook the Said Business School, University of Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Program in 2019.

Penny is Chair of the Property Industry Foundation (PIF), a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) in Australia and is on the Board of the Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) in Australia.

Tom Mackellar has more than 20 years' experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, business performance, compliance and operations.

Since joining Lendlease, he has held several senior leadership positions across Australia, UK and Europe.

In his current role of Managing Director, Tom is responsible for leading Lendlease’s Development business - executing A$20 billion of development projects across gateway cities in Australia.

Before returning to Sydney in late 2021, Tom spent five years abroad as Chief Financial Officer for Lendlease Europe.

During this time, he played an integral role to the growth of the Company's large-scale urbanisation pipeline in Europe and the United Kingdom where the business is now delivering in excess of £25 billion of projects across London and Milan. As part of this role, Tom led the capital markets activities cementing critical relationships with capital partners to build on the large pipeline of work in Europe.

Before moving to London, Tom was Executive Director, Investment and Development at Barangaroo South. He was responsible for the structuring and negotiation of funding agreements, leasing and other commercial matters on the project.

Prior to joining Lendlease, Tom spent five years with PwC as a financial advisor to both public and private sector clients.

Toby was appointed to Group Head of Construction in November 2021 and is responsible for setting and overseeing Lendlease’s global construction agenda. He was also appointed to Managing Director, Construction for the Americas in August of 2023  

Since joining Lendlease in 1999, Toby has worked across key industry sectors including commercial office, workplace, retail, health and infrastructure. During this time, he has gained extensive experience in project management, design, construction and asset management. Toby has also played key roles in the design and delivery of large urban regeneration projects including the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition & Entertainment Precinct and the Paya Lebar Quarter project in Singapore.

Toby has held executive management positions across the Australia and Asia regions. As Managing Director, Project Management & Construction, Asia, Toby was responsible for securing and delivering all design and construction projects across the Asia region while managing the rapid expansion of this construction business. As Managing Director of Lendlease’s Services, he was responsible for leading the strategic direction and delivery of some of Australia’s largest and most complex asset management, specialist operations and maintenance projects.

Toby holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Frank joined Lendlease in 2005 and was appointed to the role of Group Chief Risk Officer in July 2021.

In this role, Frank leads the functions of Risk & Insurance, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Safety & Operational Assurance, and is responsible for driving best practice risk management activities and operational excellence across the group, supporting the delivery of Lendlease’s record global pipeline.

Prior to his current appointment, Frank was Acting Group Chief Financial Officer, with overall responsibility for managing and leading the global finance function.

Frank has held a number of key senior finance roles across Lendlease. This includes Group Deputy Chief Financial Officer, CFO for Lendlease Australia and Global CFO for the Lendlease Investment Management business.

Prior to joining Lendlease, Frank held roles with ABN AMRO and PricewaterhouseCoopers, gaining 10 years’ experience in professional services, investment banking and capital markets, specialising in the real estate sector.

Frank received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB), First Class Honours and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) from The Australian National University. He is recognised as a Qualified Chartered Accountant by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

William (Bill) Ruh was appointed to the new role of Chief Executive Officer, Digital in January 2019. In this role, Bill is responsible for leading the company’s digital business platform. This includes accelerating the digital transformation of Lendlease’s businesses and projects using data, advanced analytics and new technologies – embedding digital services, driving automation and enhancing the company’s smart cities strategy.

Bill has extensive global experience as a senior technology executive and entrepreneur across a range of industries. Prior to joining Lendlease, Bill worked for GE in California where he held the dual role as Chief Executive Officer, GE Digital and GE’s Chief Digital Officer. Bill led the transformation of GE into a digital industrial company, delivering a 2.5x increase in revenue from digital products and significantly improved productivity through digital programs.

GE’s significant global footprint has given Bill broad exposure across a wide range of international businesses and customers. He has also developed successful programs in analytics, AI and data that are the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies.

Prior to his role at GE, Bill was instrumental in the strategy and growth of the Cisco Services business through new innovations. He has an impressive track record of creating and implementing successful digital strategies across global companies, and leading cultural change to make those programs successful.

Karen joined Lendlease in January 2013 as Group General Counsel, and is based in Sydney.

Karen brings significant experience to Lendlease, having spent over 20 years in various senior roles in the property and construction industries. She commenced her legal career at Clayton Utz and was most recently Deputy General Counsel, Leighton Holdings Limited.

Before working at Leighton, Karen spent almost 15 years at Brookfield Multiplex (formerly Multiplex), where her roles included Group General Manager Corporate, Company Secretary and General Counsel.

While at Multiplex, she was involved in a number of high-profile Sydney projects, the development business in the UK, the Initial Public Offering of Multiplex, the takeover by and integration with Brookfield, the Group’s financing arrangements and led a range of mergers and acquisitions.

Karen holds a Masters of Law from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Bachelor of Commerce (Accountancy and Finance)/Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales.

Deb was appointed Chief People Officer in 2021 and is based in Sydney, Australia. She is responsible for all aspects of Global People and Culture including learning and development, talent management, culture and compensation & benefits. She is also responsible for driving the People and Culture strategy and works extensively with the Global Leadership Team and the Lendlease Board

Prior to joining Lendlease Deb held a number of senior leadership positions including National Managing Partner for People and Corporate Affairs, KPMG (Australia); Chief HR Officer at Reckitt Benckiser (RB) where she worked in Australia, the Netherlands, United States and United Kingdom. Prior to RB she held senior HR roles in News Limited, National Meat Association and Qantas airways.

Deb also sits on the Board of the Sanctuary Women’s Shelter, Hills District that provides safe housing from women escaping domestic violence.

Deb has a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology from Macquarie University and Master of Commerce, Employment Relations from University of Western Sydney.

Luisa joined Lendlease in 2017 as Group Head of Corporate Affairs, and is highly experienced in managing corporate, customer and government relations for international companies, with a focus on strong commercial and reputation outcomes.

Prior to her current role, Luisa was Vice President International Public Affairs and Communications for American Express where she was responsible for delivering the company’s corporate and government affairs agenda across eleven markets throughout Asia. During this period she also served on the Board of American Express Wholesale Currency business. Before joining American Express she held senior communication roles with Lucent Technologies and EDS.

Luisa is a highly recognized practitioner and keynote speaker on the changing nature of communications and technology innovation, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canberra and a post graduate degree in Sociology at the University of York, United Kingdom.