Our Team

John is the analyst and thinker behind Gridline NZ, using judgement and decision-making skills honed since he started in the sector in 1987. John thrives on bringing people together into project teams which deliver excellent outcomes for clients. He enjoys the complexities and challenges presented by every project, whether large or small, and takes great satisfaction in giving every client the real-life version of the drawing-board images.

John was recruited from the UK in 2004 by Westfield (now Scentre Group in NZ), for which he worked for nearly 20 years leading numerous major and often complex design and construct projects. Among these, he led the preconstruction team on the four-year, $800m Westfield Newmarket project, a logistically challenging development which had to be delivered in an 18-month build and fit-out timeframe. In his other roles he led the project team which delivered the seismic upgrade works to the Scentre Group portfolio.

John has also previously undertaken works in the banking sector and completing new builds and fit-outs for Barclays and Lloyds Banks (UK). He has also led teams delivering multi-store roll-outs for BT Cellnet and other major UK brands.

Hayden is Gridline NZ’s enabler, resourcing the business to ensure the company meets its commitments to clients on time, every time. Hayden leverages his wide industry experience to add value in leadership and management for Gridline NZ. He enjoys hands-on client relationships and engaging with the operational teams; negotiating the scope of work and communicating the responsibilities to achieve compliance; and realising successful outcomes through maintaining a customer focus.

Hayden’s history in the sector includes his own residential building head contractor and commercial carpentry subcontractor businesses. Previously a National Sales Manager for multinational businesses and General Manager for New Zealand enterprises, Hayden segued into the development of RenoBuilders, leading this residential business which ran multiple sites concurrently. He then co-founded (with Simon Davis) and operated the multimillion-dollar DS Construction specialist commercial carpentry business.

Hayden has a Bachelor of Commerce in management and marketing from the University of Auckland and is a graduate of Rangitoto College.

Bernard has 46 years’ experience in the management of highly complex and demanding power generation, civil engineering, logistics and building projects in New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia, Africa, USA and Australia. He has held leadership and management roles on large scale projects and brings a wealth of recent and relevant experience in the pre-construction planning and the delivery of construction projects.

Bernard has demonstrated an outstanding ability to manage complex projects and has innate skills in consultative project management through formal and informal partnering with clients, consultants and other project stakeholders. Bernard consistently maintains excellent relationships with clients and the overall project delivery team.

For Gridline NZ, Bernard brings specific skills in constructability and risk assessments, supplier and subcontractor capability reviews and his experience in working closely with clients to understand their key project drivers and expectations.

With over 25 years in the construction industry, Simon has a large spectrum of experience, including commercial and residential. Whether big or small, he enjoys the complexities that all projects offer, and he thrives on creating and leading excellent teams and delivering successful outcomes. He enjoys mentoring and developing junior staff.

Simon began his career with MD Building in Wellington, mastering residential building and progressing into commercial construction, where he worked as a site manager on the construction of Westfield Queensgate. As Simon’s passion for building management grew with this experience, he formed Davis Construction based in Wellington. With a strong team thriving under his leadership, Simon grew his business and expanded into the Auckland market.

On the back of this success Simon turned to new challenges, founding DS Construction alongside Hayden Searle. The company specialised in carpentry works and undertook notable projects such as Westfield Newmarket and seismic upgrade projects across multiple Westfield sites in Auckland.