Page 62 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2022

62 FROM THE SOURCE MATTHEW THEOHARUS
JULY-AUGUST 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
MATTHEW THEOHAROUS
EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER, LENDLEASE BUILDING
With almost 30 years’ experience across Defence and defence industry, Lendlease’s Executive General Manager Matthew Theoharous spoke with Publisher Ewen Levick about the opportunities and challenges ahead of one of Australia’s largest Defence contractors.
ADM: Can you provide an overview of your footprint in Aus- tralia?
THEOHAROUS: Over the past decade, Lendlease has been a strategic partner of the Australian Department of Defence, supporting the delivery of major infrastructure, facilities and new capability projects.
We have a strong national presence with a number of projects in delivery across all states and
territories, and as an Australian-owned
tier one construction and development
side Project Manager for the Department of Defence, so I know how important it is to deeply understand our clients’ needs before the right project outcome can be achieved.
The scale and significance of Defence projects requires a collaborative and strong engagement process, and this ap- plies to working within our own business across the spe- cialist teams of planning, design, project management and
construction, through to industry, the supply chain and the community.
We also prioritise reviewing lessons learnt to forecast and mitigate any risks before they materialise.
In regards to challenges, no industry or market is immune from the impacts of supply chain disruptions and global uncertainty. We’re constantly monitor- ing our supply chain and have contin- gencies in place to respond to chang- ing market conditions.
Attracting and retaining talent, par- ticularly in regional areas, can also be a challenge. To encourage people to join our industry and/or upskill within it, we have a strong focus on firstly pro- viding greater awareness of our indus- try. We then want to create a culture that is balanced, diverse and inclusive.
ADM: How do you successfully de- liver projects in regional Australia? THEOHAROUS: Regional projects pro- vide a great opportunity to support
and train local sub-contractors to upskill and grow their defence capability. In turn, this helps us to create first-class facilities that will deliver the next generation of Australian defence capability. This is the legacy we take great pride in delivering.
Building and maintaining meaningful relationships with the local community and industry is vital, and we do this through early and ongoing engagement. These partnerships are central to the way we share the value created by proj- ects with the Australian Department of Defence. With our
company, local engagement underpins our delivery.
Promoting and enhancing Australian industry capability has been a key fo- cus, and our people have a great sense of pride working on Defence projects. They find the work interesting, chal- lenging and rewarding, with significant opportunity for innovation and growth.
ADM: Can you give me an overview of your current work scope for Defence? THEOHAROUS: Our current workbook includes projects for the Air Force, Navy and Army, directly employing more than 300 people from Lendlease.
Examples of some of the projects
in delivery include: Air Force - Tindal
Stage 6 Redevelopment & KC-30A Fa-
cilities in Tindal, NT; Air 555/ 70001B
at Edinburgh in SA. For Navy: NCIS-3,
HMAS Stirling and Henderson, WA,
HMAS Cerberus Redevelopment in VIC, as well as Navy works in NSW – Garden Island Stage 1 (JV with PSGH), Stage 2 Redevelopments and HMAS Watson Redevelop- ment; and for Army – Land 121 5B across several sites.
ADM: Why have you been successful? What are your main challenges?
THEOHAROUS: In simple terms, our approach takes a client- first perspective, that is always the default starting position.
I spent almost 20 years of my career working as a client
PROFILE
2019 Executive General Manager (Govt) Lendlease Building
2014 General Manager (Defence Business Unit) Lendlease Building
2013 Defence Sector Leader Lendlease Building
2010 Principal (Point PM now RPS) 2006 Principal (Carson Group acquired
by Coffey)
2002 Company Director (Carson Group)
1997 Project Director – major Defence projects (Carson Group)
1994 PMCA – Defence Projects (Carson Group)
1990 Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)