Global Speakers

Warren has a diverse professional background, predominantly management consulting both in Australia and 10 years in South-East Asia, across many industries and with a property focus for the past decade. His property experience includes research and advice across many property asset classes – office, retail, residential, industrial, aged care and retirement living for institutional, government, private and not-for-profit organizations.

Most recently Warren has been part of the project advisory team at Turner & Townsend Thinc. His interest in prefabricated construction dates back to 2010 when he first considered modular options for an apartment development, and was reignited in 2014 when he undertook for Thinc a review of the many advances being made in offsite construction. Warren holds Economics (Hons), Accounting, and Applied Finance qualifications.

Ms. Marks is a member of Modular Building Institute (MBI) and serves on its Public Relations committee. She is a highly sought after keynote speaker for many international conferences on construction. Recently, Amy was appointed by the Government of Singapore to a two-year position on an International Panel of Experts focused on Construction and Productivity. She is also the founder and moderator of the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Group on LinkedIn. As an MMC Consultant, Amy works with clients all over the world to enable the optimization of off-site elements into projects’ design.

Mechanical and metallurgical engineer Eddie Pallotta has been with the Hickory Group since 2010, joining after excelling in the automotive industry in both Australia and internationally for General Motors. Combining technical knowledge that spans mechanical design, manufacturing, material selection, welding and corrosion with a broad range of management and people skills, Eddie has been an important part of the Group; improving process and design on both the conventional construction and prefabricated sides of the business.

John is an outstanding leader with 21 years high level management experience specialising in modular construction. Combining practical onsite experience with years of senior management in the construction industry working with Australia’s largest modular manufacturer in senior roles before moving to Hickory as General Manager for WA & QLD. John brings his high rise modular manufacturing and project delivery experience to CIMC MBS to further solidify the reputation CIMC is establishing within the Australian modular building industry.John is a passionate campaigner for modular solution in Australia and is a highly respected thought leader amongst his peers. John is regularly invited to speak at industry evens, sharing his knowledge of both modular and conventional construction.

Damien is a Founding Director & Board Chair of PrefabAUS and Industry Engagement Manager of the newly established ARC Centre for Advance Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (ARC-CAMPH). In 2007, Damien Crough began working with renowned Australian architect Nonda Katsalidis and Hickory Group to develop and bring to market the prefabricated Unitised Building system. Damien’s skills, knowledge and experience with the UB System were used to grow and develop the business in Australia, where he was the driving force behind new projects in his role as Hickory’s Building Systems Business Development Manager.

In 2015, Damien left Hickory to establish Advanced Offsite Group, a specialist consultancy which enables clients to improve and enter new markets with existing offsite technologies. Damien also works with clients that are new to the Offsite industry to identify opportunities for the use of the Offsite supply chain and effectively incorporate these elements into the design, procurement and project execution phases of construction projects.

Drenka is a civil engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the property and construction industry.  She gained extensive experience in project management working in roles including Project Engineer with AMP Property Investments and Construction Manager with Accor Hotels. Drenka’s enviable industry niche is the cost effective design and construction of hotels where she has been responsible for the design and construction of 18 new hotels in the last 16 years, including, most recently, the Rydges Sydney Airport and the revitalization of the iconic Hydro Majestic Resort. Drenka Andjelic is current Chair of the Property Council of Australia’s NSW Hotel Property Committee for 2015/2016.

Stephen has over 20 years’ experience in structural engineering, with particular expertise in buildings. He has substantial experience in the delivery of projects utilizing digital design and Building Information Modelling (BIM) for the co-ordination and delivery of designs for manufacture and prefabrication. Having worked on many world-class projects in both Australia and the United Kingdom including the 2012 Athletes’ Village and Wembley Stadium in London and World Tower in Sydney, he is a champion of prefabrication and is an industry leader in the design of precast concrete and prefabrication systems, with significant experience in advanced computer finite element modeling and lateral stability analysis of high rise structures under wind and earthquake loading.

Besides winning multiple awards for his contribution to the science community, Dr Ngo has also played a key role in the PrefabAUS. He has carried out significant research collaborations with industry and government agencies to perform R&D experiments of prefabricated modular components of building structures (facades, wall panels and floor slab systems). He has successfully coordinated a large Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing funded by ARC and industry. The national and international research interactions have given Dr Ngo widespread recognition amongst the scientific community and industry as an expert in design and manufacturing of building components and systems using high performance materials.

Andrew Fowler is widely respected in the NSW construction industry as both a builder and a manufacturer of modular solutions. He loves nothing more than to look at the structure of a building and work out a way to build it smarter – unlocking efficiencies from a time, cost, sustainability and quality point of view. With over 25 years experience in the industry, building is in Andrew’s blood. He grew up on construction sites and in 2003 established Austruss, a proudly Australian company that designs, manufactures and installs frames, trusses, bathroom pods and modular construction elements.

John Lucchetti is a Principal in Wood & Grieve’s Melbourne office. He has a particular emphasis on the modular and prefabricated construction field and is always focused on opportunities to improve technology and construction methodology in this area. This involves connecting his extensive network of contacts and acting as a trusted and valued advisor for his clients.  He is actively involved in the Australian construction industry and is a co-founder and board member of the Modular Construction Code Board as well as being a Director of prefab Australia.

Renaud Momtbrun is a Fire Engineering Project Engineer in Wood & Grieve’s Melbourne office.  Renaud has gain significant experience on modular building construction and has undertaken significant assessment and advanced fire modelling on this type of construction.  He believes that the potential of modular construction is currently not being fully exploited due to the lack of research and analysis on the effect of fire on the structural elements forming the modules.  Renaud is actively working at finding solutions allowing better understanding of the fire resistance of modular construction.

Bill McCorkell is passionate about architecturally-designed sustainable homes and the intersection of architecture with prefabrication and new technologies. Prior to founding ArchiBlox, Bill was Director of Melbourne architecture and interior design firm Techne, and Director of McCorkell Constructions which has contributed to his well-rounded design and building skill-set today. Bill brings explosive talent to his work as an architect and a clear vision to the business to provide beautifully designed, sustainable architecture. His energy and enthusiasm for architecture and prefab, supported by solid industry knowledge, captures the imagination of clients.

With over fifteen years modular building experience and a tertiary qualification in multidiscipline engineering, Lee has focused primarily on concept design, through to manufacturing, and handover. Lee has an impressive International track record, developing and honing skills from the best in major European, Asian and Australian manufacturing facilities. He has been responsible for the design and delivery of over two hundred modular projects in Australia and Europe with a diversified range of clients across construction, telecoms, hospitality and resource industries.

Dr. Vivian Tam’s research interests are in the areas of environmental management in construction and sustainable development. She is currently the Associate Editor of International Journal of Construction Management and the Research Group Leader for Sustainable Construction Management and Education Research Group under the School. She has published at least 2 books, 19 book chapters, 161 referred journal articles and 76 referred conference articles.

John has over 40 years of experience in the building construction industry. In recent years he has been a consultant project manager focusing on distressed projects. He is an active committee member and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Building (AIB) as well as a committee member of the Master Builders Association (Newcastle). He has served varying roles including his term as Vice President (MBAN) and President (AIB-NSW). He currently chairs the judging panel for the Professional Excellence Awards. His engagement with Government includes international and local representation of the building industry at numerous focus groups, round table discussions and forums, in addition to being a member of the disciplinary committee of the Building Professionals Board.

Colin joined AE Smith in 2013 after having worked in the UK for the past 10 years on DfMA Projects. He has had the opportunity to work with some of the best in the industry like Crown House Technologies, an Engineering company owed by Laing O’Rourke, specializes in providing DfMA off-site manufacturing solutions to the construction industry and is considered an industry leader in prefabrication and modular construction. Working collaboratively with designers, engineers and project managers, as well as clients, architects, developers and builders, Colin ensures AE Smith’s customers receive maximum financial benefit by understanding and implementing DfMA for construction.

Luk has over 10 years’ experience in technical and commercial functions in the engineering, semiconductor and mechanical industry. With Sarens, Luk started as Key Account Manager responsible for a diverse range of projects in the mining, Oil& Gas and infrastructure. Since 2014 he took the role of National Sales Manager targeting projects with his sales team based in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Luk is a very motivated engineer with a special drive for Business Development. He’s dedicated to the heavy lift industry with the vision that it is of utmost importance to inform you of Sarens innovative lift and shift solutions. Luk has a master in Electrical-Mechanical engineering from the Katholic University Leuven in Belgium. Right after his studies he explored the industry with long term assignments in Korea, Kong-Kong and Japan before arriving in Sarens Oceania in 2012.