Our Leaders

National Executive Team

Stephen Natilli

Non-Executive Director

Steve is the Executive Director of the National Group and has been involved in the building regulations industry for over 30 years.

Steve has successfully completed numerous large-scale projects across the country and has gained unique expertise over a range of project types in different legislative regions throughout Australia.

Steve has been involved in the development and building surveying profession for over 20 years and has served on many industry bodies including Property Council of Australia committees, Standards Australia committees and is currently on the Board of the Association of Accredited Certifiers.

Michael Leighton

Managing Director

In January 2026 Michael Leighton was appointed as McKenzie Group Consulting’s Managing Director.

Having served as an integral part of the leadership team since 2011 and operating in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer from 2023, Michael demonstrates exceptional capability in driving operational excellence across the business. He brings strong commercial acumen, industry knowledge and a clear vision for growth.

Prior to this, Michael held the position of Queensland Business Partner from 2011 to 2023 which saw him responsible for the management of the state’s operations. During this time, Michael honed his experience across a diverse range of projects including a variety of large-scale health, multi-residential, institutional, industrial, retail and high-rise commercial development.

Geoff Pearce

General Manager (Eastern Regions)

Geoff has been with McKenzie Group for over 20 years, joining the business in 2003 and has been a key member of the Senior Management team since 2015.

Geoff held the position Partner from 2017 to 2024 and remains a key senior leader in the business following his January 2025 appointment as General Manager (Eastern Regions) managing operations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Geoff brings extensive flagship public and transport infrastructure project experience to the group, having successfully completed numerous large-scale projects across New South Wales & the Australian Capital Territory.

Geoff has also been involved in the development and building surveying profession for over 10 years and has served on many industry bodies including various Property Council of Australia (PCA) committees.

Vanessa Hinge

National Lead, Growth & Strategy

Vanessa has been with the business for over 15 years, joining McKenzie Group in 2010 based in our Sydney office.

Vanessa’s talent in delivering exceptional technical surveying advice and building code consultancy saw her rise to a Senior Building Surveyor position within our New South Wales business in 2014.

Vanessa continued to hone her expertise throughout this time and was heavily involved in the successful delivery of numerous large-scale projects across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory with some of Mckenzie Group largest national and institutional and clients.

In 2024, Vanessa’s recognised strength in driving business growth and strategic initiatives, and ability to develop innovative strategies to expand market share saw her take a new role as McKenzie Group’s Lead in business growth and strategy where she leads a data-driven decision-making framework, leveraging business intelligence and analytics to drive informed strategic decisions.

National Leadership Team

Andrew Cialini

State Manager (SA)

Based in McKenzie Group’s Adelaide office, Andrew joined the business in 2025 as the General Manager (Southern & Western Regions) managing operations in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Andrew has over 35 years industry experience in the structural engineering and building surveying disciplines.

Throughout this time, Andrew founded and grew a successful building surveyor company, held director, executive and regional roles in large multi disciplined international organisations and, also in government, as the inaugural State Building Surveyor of Victoria.

His project experience is broad across all sectors and building types with a strong commercial understanding and particular strengths in aged care, health, and defence projects.

Andrew Naylor

State Manager (ACT)

Andy has over 15 years’ experience in the building certification industry and currently works in the capacity of Senior Associate based in our Canberra office.

Andy is passionate about the building surveying profession and was recognised for his expertise when he was awarded Master Builders (ACT), Professional of the Year in 2018.

In 2023, Andy became a member of McKenzie Group’s Executive Group and as our Regional Lead (ACT) and is responsible supervising our Canberra based Building Surveying teams, their project delivery and internal technical operations.

Andy’s vast range of experience across the public and private sectors enables him to contribute significantly to the success of our Australian Capital Territory and Regional New South Wales Building Surveying teams.

Angela Chambers

National Lead (Accessibility)

Ange specialises in Access Consultancy and joined McKenzie Group in 2012.

Ange’s primary professional background as both an Accredited Access Consultant and Building Surveyor underpins her ability to provide expert advice on current legislative requirements against the minimum technical provisions and providing recommendations to assist in the creation of a universally accessible environment.

In 2024, her specialist expertise across a broad spectrum of Disability & Equal Access design saw Ange appointed as McKenzie Group’s National Access Consulting Lead.

Ange has experience in a diverse range of projects including public realm, government, transport, health, infrastructure, sporting, tourism, education and commercial.

Brigitte Thearle

National Technical Coordinator (Surveying)

Brigitte has been with the business since 2009 when she joined McKenzie Group as an Assistant Building Surveyor based in our Sydney office.

Brigitte’s talent in delivering exceptional technical surveying advice and building code consultancy saw her rise to a Senior Building Surveyor position within our New South Wales business in 2013.

Throughout this time, Brigitte was heavily involved in the development of internal technical operational process improvement projects, particularly in the areas of internal technical education, streamlining benchmarking standards and project delivery in our New South Wales and greater Eastern Seaboard regions.

In 2023, Brigitte’s recognised expertise saw her take the lead role in the technical space at McKenzie Group where she works to develop nationally consistent and industry leading technical capabilities within the business as well as quality and risk management functions for internal McKenzie Group technical processes.

Brigitte’s dedicated role as McKenzie Group’s National Technical Coordinator in combination with her invaluable and unique skillset, offers both our business and client’s competitive technical expertise.

Chris Scully

Associate (ESM)

Chris has 24 years of experience in the property certification and compliance industry. With an extensive background in building surveying and safety measures compliance.

As the National Technical Manager for our Compliance division, Chris is responsible for ensuring that technical excellence and high‐level quality is delivered to our Safety Measures clients nationally ensure they are meeting their state based legislative requirements.

Chris ensures that our internal project teams have the required skills and up-to-date technical knowledge to perform on each contract and oversees a through structured audit and quality assurance program to ensure these required standards are maintained.

Chris provides specialist technical advice to internal and external parties on all matters of safety measures compliance and is currently an active member of the FPA Australia Victorian State Committee.

Deon Greco

State Manager (QLD)

Deon joined the business in 2014 and has been a permanent fixture in delivering some of McKenzie Group’s largest projects.

After holding Senior Building Surveying positions within the Victorian business for a number of years, Deon was appointed as an Associate, joining our National Executive Group in 2023.

Throughout this time, Deon honed his major projects expertise having been involved in numerous major public sector and social infrastructure projects. Also responsible for managing the Victorian Building Surveying division, Deon’s strong leadership saw his rise to a Senior Associate appointment in 2025.

In 2026, Deon was recognised again for not only his leadership, but his invaluable ability to share his knowledge, expertise and project opportunities across our Building Surveying teams and was appointed State Manager (QLD) following his recent relocation to Queensland.

Jayden Wood

State Manager (VIC)

Jayden joined McKenzie Group Consulting in 2005 and currently works in the capacity of Registered Building Surveyor and Private Certifier across the Victorian and South Australian regions.

Jayden held the positions of Associate and Senior Associate from 2015 until 2024 and in 2025 was appointed McKenzie Group’s Victoria State Manager, responsible for the leadership and detailed supervision of our Victorian Building Surveying teams, quality and delivery of projects as well as key client liaison across our Victorian operations.

Over his 20+ years in the building and construction industry, Jayden has had extensive experience in all sectors particularly transport, public infrastructure residential, health care and aged care across both the public and private sectors.

In 2025 Jayden will join the Property Council of Australia’s Mentoring Program to give his extensive experience back and to the further develop our valued industry and professionals who operate within it.

Mario Caneleo-Veliz

Strategic Partnerships Manager

Mario joined the business in 2004 and has been a key member of McKenzie Group’s National Executive Group since in 2020 where he was responsible for the leadership and detailed supervision of the Building Surveying team, quality and delivery of projects as well as key client liaison.

Mario continued to hone his expertise throughout this time with the successful delivery of numerous large-scale and flagship projects across Australia’s Southern region.

With a proven track record in business development, client relationships and team mentoring, Mario is driven by building and retaining strong, diverse consulting teams and ensures that client needs are satisfied through high-quality technical service.

In 2026, Mario was recognised strength in driving business growth sees his appointment as Strategic Partnerships Manager, working across McKenzie Group’s national operations driving the business’s expanding Building Surveying and Accessibility Consulting services nationwide.

Michael Brown

Associate (ESM)

Michael joined McKenzie Group in 2021 bringing a wealth of experience to the group having operated in the Fire Protection and Essential Services industry for over 10 years, with an extensive background in Project Management and Risk Assessment and in particular, Fire Risk Assessment.

Michael has a profound knowledge of state-specific legislation in the property compliance space. This knowledge enables him to provide McKenzie Group’s clients with valuable insights into compliance requirements for their commercial property portfolios.

As an Associate for McKenzie Group’s Compliance Management (ESM) division, Michael is responsible for ensuring that utilisations and KPIs are met, and client needs are satisfied through high-quality technical service.

Additionally, Michael has a proven track record in managing strong client relationships and is driven to build and retain strong, diverse consulting teams.

Paul Curjak

State Manager (NSW)

Based in our Sydney office, Paul joined McKenzie Group in 2018 and has been a key member of the Senior Management team since 2022.

Paul’s involvement in the building certification industry commenced in 2012 and includes experience delivering both building code certification and consultancy roles.

In his capacity as a Senior Associate, Paul was responsible for the management of a multitude of diverse projects, varying in complexity and involving all classes of buildings across New South Wales. This experience now sees Paul possess a unique and extensive knowledge base of state and territory legislation.

In 2025, Paul remains a key senior leader moving into his new appointment as State Manager (NSW) where he is responsible for supervising our Sydney based Building Surveying teams, their project delivery and internal technical operations.

Stan Tsantis

Strategic Partnerships Manager

Stan has been with McKenzie Group Consulting for over 20 years, joining the business in 2003 and has been a key member of the Senior Management team since 2010.

Stan has held the position of Victorian Business Partner since 2017 and in 2025, Stan remains a key senior leader within our National Executive Group.

Having successfully delivered numerous flagship public and transport infrastructure projects across Victoria, Stan brings extensive multi-stakeholder expertise to the group.

With over 25+ years’ experience, Stan has gained unique expertise across fire technology and performance-based design solutions which underpins his ability to deliver the best possible outcome for our clients and projects.