Judges Kevin Cohen
Katie Hibbert
Kevin commenced his carpentry and joinery apprenticeship in 1972. He completed his trade qualifications and Clerk of Works. Kevin is a company director of a successful family business, CoWyn Building Contractors Pty Ltd. During that time working in the building industry, Kevin was involved as a site foreman, project manager and he coordinated apprenticeship training. Kevin has been involved in a number of varied projects which include churches, schools, industrial buildings and aged care complexes. He now acts as a judge for the Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Construction Awards.
Senior Inspector with Harm Prevention and Compliance Programs, Construction Metro SafeWork NSW. Currently an Inspector, with 15 years of service and experience across construction — specialising in the electrical trade, heavy industry, and transport.
Peter Deane Peter has a Civil Engineering Honours Degree from UNSW and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia. With 40 years’ experience in the construction industry in Australia and overseas, Peter’s input has ranged from the role of General Manager running state operations for major companies such as Lend Lease and Abigroup, to that of Project Director for major projects (acting for both owner/developer and contractors), and to the managing of Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) schemes and Alliances involving government and non-government partners. Projects and input have been geographically spread across Australia (including remote Northern Territory), the United Kingdom and Singapore, with significant projects including the first major modern designed shopping centre in Singapore (Centrepoint), the Galleria Morley Shopping Centre in Perth, and the Sydney Superdome (Qudos Bank Arena) and P1 Car Park for 2000 Sydney Olympics. Stephen Edwards Stephen completed a Civil Engineering Honours degree at UNSW in 1967. In 1968 he was called up for National Service and after graduating as a Second Lieutenant spent the remainder of his two years as an instructor at the School of Military Engineering, mostly teaching Demolitions and Mine Warfare. Following his discharge from the Army, Stephen completed a Master of Engineering Science Degree (Construction) and then headed to London where he worked for a large commercial builder. After gaining further project management experience back in Sydney, Stephen and his wife Jenny established Stephen Edwards Constructions Pty Ltd in 1980. This family company has grown to have 105 employees and an annual turnover of $110 million in 2021. ‘SEC’ specialises in government, commercial and aged care projects and is now largely run by two of Stephen’s sons. Stephen has been an active member of the MBA for 42 years.
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Katie began her career as an Apprentice Signal Electrician with RailCorp (now Sydney Trains) at 15 years old. Progressing through the ranks to Work Group Leader and then Team Leader, she remains the youngest woman (within Sydney Trains) to complete her trade as an Electrician, becoming fully qualified on her 19th birthday. Her personal drive for workplace safety comes from the tragic loss of a friend in a workplace accident in 2016. Moving to SafeWork NSW as an Inspector in 2019 has seen involvement in the development and roll out of projects such as Working At Heights, Scaff Safe, Solar Installations and recently Silica. Katie has a passion for protecting and promoting the health and safety of vulnerable workers such as apprentices and young workers in the Construction industry. Currently completing a law degree, her ultimate aim is to continue to advocate for better safety on worksites in the Construction industry with an education before enforcement approach. John Humphreys John was responsible for managing the design and construction of the Gore Hill Project for Lindsay Bennelong Development. John has a wealth of experience acquired throughout a career in property development spanning the residential, commercial, industrial, retail, and transportation sectors. John’s involvement on scores of major mixed-use developments with similar opportunities and constraints to the Gore Hill project enables him to provide valuable insight to the development team. Significant projects which John has influenced include the commercial office buildings at Sydney Airport Centre, and the $500 million City Quarter re-development of Camperdown Children’s Hospital. He was part of the CPG Developments team that designed and constructed the $350 million Kooindah Waters Residential Golf Resort and the Rushcutters Bay ADVANX residential development. Recent projects include the Masters Hardware Store at Northmead, the new Ronald McDonald House at Westmead, High Grove residential estate at Box Hill, NSW and the New Clarendon Homes Baboon enclosure at Zambie Wildlife Retreat. John has a Diploma in Quantity Surveying from UNSW. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARDS 2021 MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF NSW
