Hines Hires Lendlease Vet Sefton Campbell to Lead APAC Project Management Arm

US developer and fund manager Hines is boosting its regional project management capability with the hiring of Sefton Campbell to set up and lead the firm’s conceptual construction group in Asia Pacific.

Sydney-based Campbell joins Hines after more than 14 years with Australian developer Lendlease, where he held senior construction management roles for APAC projects including the Paya Lebar Central redevelopment in Singapore.

Campbell will report to Andy Trowbridge, executive vice president for conceptual construction, Houston-based Hines said Monday in a release. The conceptual construction group handles market analysis, competitive benchmarking, architect selection, bidding, contracting and management during the pre-construction phase for Hines, which launched its first APAC-specific pooled fund last year.

“As Hines continues to expand globally, Sefton’s hire is the first step in solving the strategic need to grow the CCG team in Asia,” Trowbridge said. “His in-depth, local knowledge, experience working across all asset classes and skilled construction expertise will allow him to tailor our services in a localised manner as we work together to successfully implement our global pre-construction practice across the region.”

Varied Work Sites

Campbell’s 22-year career includes experience in urban regeneration, mixed-use, commercial and residential high-rise, health, retail and transport projects, Hines said. He most recently had worked for just over a year as a project director with Australian construction and civil engineering firm BESIX Watpac in the firm’s Sydney office.

In addition to serving as senior construction manager for Lendlease’s Paya Lebar Central, Campbell helped supervise two of the firm’s Sydney projects: the Victoria Cross integrated station development and the T1 office tower in Barangaroo.

Campbell started out as a procurement manager at forerunner Bovis Lend Lease in 2007 after working as a contract administrator for Australian construction firms Grocon and Waller.

“I look forward to working closely with our strong regional teams to grow the platform and enhance our activity and initiatives across all major product types,” Campbell said. “Hines has a best-in-class reputation for development, investment expertise, quality and innovation, and I joined to implement and enhance our value-add proposition.”

Repository of Expertise

The Hines conceptual construction group has worked on global developments spanning 258 million square feet (nearly 24 million square metres), including 41 million square feet in industrial and logistics and 30 million square feet in the living sector.

The CCG was created by late founder Gerald Hines as a resource for the firm’s regional development teams. It draws on insights gleaned from previous projects and maintains the company’s master specifications to ensure consistency across the entire development portfolio.

The group participated in the original formation of the LEED rating system and has been involved with green building and sustainability initiatives across the globe, Hines said.

Campbell’s hiring comes one year after Hines tapped another longtime Asia hand, Simon Baxter, to serve as the firm’s managing director for conceptual construction in Europe.

Before joining Hines, Baxter most recently was managing director for development and project management at Hong Kong developer Great Eagle Holdings. A 19-year veteran of project management consultancy EC Harris, Baxter had become head of Singapore for Arcadis in 2013 when the Dutch firm acquired EC Harris.