Christopher Hemphill
Company: AECOM New Zealand
Job title: Group Director Buildings and Places
About Christopher
A strategic and focused leader, I have worked for more than 20 years in the construction and engineering industry where I have gained extensive leadership and operational experience and have been involved in the delivery of several large building and infrastructure projects across both Australia and New Zealand.
I joined AECOM in 2014, where I have held several leadership roles, including national team leadership roles, South Island Area Manager and now Group Director Buildings and Places where I sit on AECOM’s Aotearoa leadership team. I have demonstrated strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills in these roles, resulting in high performance from teams while maintaining strong, trusted relationships.
In my current role, I lead a team of 150 engineers, project and cost managers across four regional offices specialising in the buildings sector while also providing support to AECOM’s other business lines, including transport, energy and our environment and water teams. In this role, I collaborate closely with our Australian and global teams to serve our clients.
I relocated to New Zealand from Australia to support the Christchurch rebuild. Prior to this, I held leadership roles in consultancy and construction organisations, bringing a diverse background to my leadership and engagement style.
Pepeha or whakapapa/family history
Ko Australia te whenua i tupu ake ōku tūpuna
I tipu ake au ki Melbourne
Engari kei Ōtautahi ahau taku Kāinga
Nō reira, ka mihi ki te maunga o
Te-Poho-o-Tamatea, me te awa o Ōtākaro
Kei AECOM ahau e mahi ana, hei Kaiwhakahaere
Ko Chris taku ingoa
What is your strategic vision for ACE New Zealand?
My vision is to harness the extensive leadership and operational experience I bring from the construction and engineering consultancy industry to support ACE New Zealand’s voice within our sector. With over 20 years working across Australia and New Zealand, leading multidisciplinary consultancy teams and delivering large-scale infrastructure and building projects has equipped me with a deep knowledge of the industry and its challenges.
Working across all our offices in Aotearoa has given me valuable insights into multiple industry sectors and clients, enabling me to bring a broad, multi-perspective lens to the Board. I will leverage the support of a global organisation to connect ACE with international subject matter experts and share best practices that empower our members. I am committed to ensuring continuity of leadership in critical areas like finance to drive ACE forward. Strong financial stewardship, robust governance, and sustainable growth are essential to ACE’s long-term success. I bring proven expertise in these areas.
Diversity and inclusion are at the core of my leadership philosophy. This is more than a corporate initiative; it is a personal commitment to champion equitable opportunities, embed diversity in every decision, and reinforce ACE's position as a champion for diversity and inclusivity.
What strengths would you bring to the ACE Board?
In my role leading a large multidisciplinary consultancy business, I have exposure to multiple industry sectors, clients, projects, and leadership teams. This broad exposure to the industry provides a wealth of feedback, knowledge and relationships that I will bring to the ACE role.
Prior to relocating to New Zealand, I held leadership roles in both construction and consultancy organisations, providing the opportunity for me to look through different lenses at the industry and to understand different perspectives and contributions that teams make. I strongly believe in diversity and inclusion and promote these initiatives within my teams and leadership teams. I have considerable learned experience transitioning a business through a more diverse focus.
I also bring the backing and support of a global organisation, which delivers some of the most complex international projects. The ability to connect ACE with our global subject matter experts presents a great opportunity to share knowledge with ACE and the board members.
Prior to relocating to New Zealand, I was also a member of industry boards and chaired an industry board, and this experience complements my industry, leadership, and technical expertise.
What does diversity and inclusion mean to you?
For me, diversity and inclusion is personal. It’s a personal and professional responsibility that I am passionate about, and I feel privileged to prioritise within the engineering community. Diversity and inclusion is about leveraging my position to advocate for equitable opportunities, challenge biases, and foster an inclusive culture in everything we do.
Diversity and inclusion are more than buzzwords, it's more than a corporate initiative and it's more than statistics and targets. While these are important, for me it’s the core belief that everyone has the right to bring their full self to work and be valued.
What’s confronting for me is that we are still having to fight globally to ensure that minority groups are included and valued, that females have a voice and seat at the table, and that the LGBTQIA+ feel safe and free to express themselves in society. It's such an important fight and one that is critical to all leaders and those who have influence.
Diversity and inclusion needs to be in everything we do and every decision we make – for better performance, larger growth and a higher level of excellence. For me, action speaks louder than words. My aim is for my impact to be real.
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