Section Leadership

Belinda Hussey

Belinda Hussey

Chair
email: Belinda.Hussey@transpower.co.nz

Belinda is the founder and Chair of New Zealand AACE and is currently the Cost Engineering Manager at Transpower.

She is an experienced people leader with a focus on building strong teams. She has worked across the public and private sector within New Zealand to deliver business-critical outcomes for IT programme and within regulatory systems.

She is passionate about enabling teams to uplift their capability and to embed a positive and safe work culture. She places a strong emphasis on relationship building with internal and external stakeholders.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business and Administration from Massey University and a Master of Public Management at Victoria University of Wellington.

Hisham Osman

Hisham Osman

Vice Chair
email: hisham.osman@beca.com

Hisham is the founder and the Vice Chair of New Zealand AACE, He has Portfolio, Programs and Projects Management Experience for 30 Years covering a wide range of Fields including: Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals and Industrial Projects, in different countries such as: New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, UK, Saudi Arabia & Egypt. Such experience has been gained through working for several big International Companies such as Beca-NZ, ARAMCO Overseas, Technip, EDF – Electricite De France and others.
Hisham was always keen to participate as an active volunteer member for the advancement of the PM profession.
He is also Professionally Certificated as: "MRICS: Chartered Project Management Surveyor" - "MoP: Management of Portfolios" - "MSP" Management of programs" - “PMP: Project Management Professional”, “PMI-SP: Scheduling Professional”, "C-BSC- Certified Balanced Scorecard Professional" - “CPM: Certified Project Manager”, , " PMI-RMP": Risk Management Professional and PRINCE2® certificate in Project Management.

Nicole Whitley

Certification Director
email: Nicole.whitley@beca.com

Nicole is a Senior Associate Cost Manager with fourteen years’ experience across a diverse range of private and public sector projects, having worked on both the client and contractor sides. Based in Beca’s Auckland office, she leads a team of Quantity Surveyors and specialises in Financial Controls. Nicole is passionate about optimising reporting systems, tailoring deliverables to client needs, and improving processes, while maintaining strong relationships with both clients and project teams.

Khaled Diaa

Governance Director (Secretary)
email: Khaled.Diaa@turntown.com
Khaled is a project controls professional with a background in Civil Engineering. He has over 13 years of experience in planning, scheduling, cost control and projects coordination as well as delay analysis and dispute resolution.
He has moved to New Zealand in 2022 where he aided the link alliance in delivering some significant programme milestones in NZ largest transport infrastructure project ever “City Rail Link”. Khaled currently works at Turner & Townsend as a senior consultant for planning and scheduling services where he provides local team support as it relates to planning, scheduling, and project controls.
He is an AACE International® Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) since 2018 and actively looking for opportunities to raise the standards of the local project controls application and project governance capabilities in New Zealand.

Cristina Luces

Communications Director
email: cristina.luces@beca.com
Cristina is a Senior Project Manager with expertise in the infrastructure and transport sectors. She has global experience in New Zealand, Europe, and LATAM. With a Master of Engineering Project Management (MEPM), Cristina is skilled at structured problem-solving and eager to adapt to diverse industries. Her extensive planning & controls experience in project and programme management plays a pivotal role in creating stakeholder value through risk mitigation and the implementation of sustainable plans. Cristina is deeply committed to driving meaningful change in society and is excited to support the leadership of the AACE New Zealand Section. 

Mark Franklin

Events Director
email: mark.franklin@transpower.co.nz
Mark has over 13 years of experience in design, cost estimation and management roles in the industrial and power transmission sectors. He is a chartered professional engineer with mechanical engineering and economics qualifications.
Mark is currently working for Transpower as a principal engineer in the cost estimation team. This team provides cost estimation services to Transpower’s project delivery team supporting an increasingly busy capital and maintenance programme. He has a focus on improving processes and quality in this team.

Azad Sheikh

Member Affairs Director
email: azad.sheikh@transpower.co.nz
Azad is currently a Senior Cost Engineer with Transpower with the below qualifications and experience:
• Bachelor of Electrical Engineering - (BE-Hons) degree (Electrical Engineering – Queensland – Washington Accord).
• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.
• Currently in Transpower since Sep 2022.
• Senior Cost Estimator with Ventia – 6 years prior to joining Transpower).
• Project Manager, Project Engineer, Site Manager, Cost Estimator with Pacific Engineering Projects Ltd – 6 years.
o Greenfield and Brownfield LV, MV, HV and EHV Substation installation and maintenance.
• Hydro and diesel power station and substation installation, operation and maintenance

Muluken Kelemu

Certification Director
email: muluken.kelemu@beca.com
Muluken, with a Construction Engineering and Management academic background (MSc), successfully administered contracts for building and infrastructure projects of various sizes from procurement to handover during the past 15 years. He drafted and assessed various delay claims using AACE International Forensic Schedule Analysis and the SCL recommended practices, resulting in a win-win solution.
He is a PMP certified and currently working as a Project Controller in the Domestic Processor of Auckland International Airport project, which is one of the major infrastructure projects in New Zealand. He supports the management team in providing valuable insights with respect to the programme/schedule.
Muluken is currently doing his PhD at Massey University, School of Built environment, and aspires to bring a practical solution to reduce the inherent schedule risks imposed in interconnected large infratructure projects.

Gary Jerome

Training and Development Director
email: gary.jerome@aecom.com
An experienced and highly effective risk professional, with solid technical and managerial expertise in both contracting and consulting organisations.
Diligent, dependable and resilient in delivery and so able to achieve positive and enduring value in outcomes and relationships through a detail oriented, outcome focused and collaborative approach.
Passionate about delivering value to clients and stakeholders through proactive and practical advice through seeking a thorough understanding of the issues to achieve practical and pragmatic solutions to complex issues.
Specialties: Risk Management, Quantity Surveying, Project and Program Management, Dispute resolution and avoidance, Contract Management and Administration, Procurement, and Asset Management.

 Rieko Zimmermann

 Certification Director

 email: Rieko_Zimmermann@sjacs.co.nz

Rieko has 30 years of experience in the Building, Engineering and Construction Industries. He progressed from Carpenter to Senior Management roles on large-scale international multi-billion-dollar projects. He is a Planning and Project Controls expert with extensive experience in the set-up and management of Planning and Project Controls organisations across New Zealand, the Middle East, and Germany.

He has a proven track record in developing robust, data-backed planning solutions, showcasing his capability to manage large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects from feasibility through to commissioning. Rieko's analytical approach enables him to navigate complex project environments effectively, ensuring that objectives are met while maintaining high standards of quality and efficiency.

Rieko has been a member with the AACE since 2010 and gained his AACE certification as Planning and Scheduling Professional shortly after joining.