People

Dianne Davies is a born multi-tasker with razor-sharp organisational skills.

As Office and Wellbeing Manager at Mitchell Vranjes, she supports the team by handling financial and administrative details. She’s responsible for everything financial, including bills, invoicing, forecasting and budgets, quotes and project tracking for team leaders, health and safety in the office and on-site, insurance, subcontractors, and building and equipment maintenance. She somehow finds time to organise office parties and client events as well.

Dianne held several admin and PA roles in her career, honing those organisational skills. Working in the health and wellbeing industry and gaining a Diploma in Natural Health helped her understand the needs of people in the workplace. She draws on her hospitality experience to plan parties and events.

In her free time, Dianne is almost as busy – going to Pilates or the gym, entertaining, or working on home renovation projects.

Ian Foxall isn’t afraid to ask a silly question if it helps him learn exactly what a client is looking for. After all, as Project Delivery Manager, homing in on client requirements is a key part of his job.

In his role at Mitchell Vranjes, Ian oversees project delivery and client experience. He balances outcomes and efficiencies, ensuring we have the resources, finances and planning to deliver a project. He also leads the drafting team, ensuring they deliver high-quality work on time.

Ian grew up in the UK and started his career in steel detailing in 1997. Shortly after, he moved into 3D CAD drafting and worked on large-scale projects all over the world. As a Structural Drafter in a consultancy, he learned to use an extensive range of products, including Revit, Tekla and Microstation. Ian moved to New Zealand in 2002 and joined Mitchell Vranjes in 2014, quickly becoming an integral part of the team.

Even after 26 years in the industry, Ian is always learning. He enjoys working on challenging, innovative projects and finding better, faster, more practical ways of getting the job done. Whatever the project, he wants the client to be impressed with the team’s performance and happy with the outcome.
When he’s not on the job, Ian can be found on the golf course or walking with family and friends.

Karen Beck wears many hats with aplomb. A super-organised people person, she likes that no two days on the job are the same and enjoys figuring out what makes people tick. Her role at Mitchell Vranjes is flexible and multi-faceted, with the mix of tasks changing week by week depending on the needs of the business.

With experience in recruitment advertising, Karen knows her way around an ad placement and how to hire great people. That expertise comes in handy in several roles. As HR Manager, she handles recruitment, policy writing, monitoring staff wellbeing and managing training. She spends a significant chunk of each day thinking about ways to make the office a better workplace and liaises with the leadership team to make it happen.

Karen is also Marketing Manager – taking care of website design, social media and marketing materials, and upholding our brand values. Despite being busy, she’s a positive, upbeat member of the Mitchell Vranjes team, bringing energy and enthusiasm to everything she does.

Outside the office, Karen can be found shuttling her teenagers to sports, gardening, or – her words – hooning around her rural property on the ride-on mower.

Andy Olsen has 40 years’ experience in leadership and governance roles in the consulting engineering profession in New Zealand, Australia and Asia including the management of design teams for commercial, industrial and health sector buildings. His capability includes identification and management of risks associated with engineering design and construction phase services for building and infrastructure projects.

Jun Mai isn’t intimidated by a huge construction project. After 16 years as a structural drafter, he loves the sense of accomplishment when a massive project goes from model to reality.

As leader of our drafting team, Jun’s job involves day-to-day people and workflow management. He keeps the team on track, ensuring they have the knowledge, information and tools to complete each project accurately and on time. When he’s not supporting her team, he’s building 3-D models using Revit and other drafting software – along with detailed 2-D drawings for documentation.

Jun has worked on all sorts of projects, from residential builds and warehouses to large multi-storey buildings, earthworks and ground-surface modelling. He’s worked with a wide range of materials and build styles, using all types of CAD software. In short, he knows his stuff when it comes to structural drafting.
When he’s not in the office, Jun is out watching sport, snowboarding, and spending time with his kids.

Wesley Bell started working at Mitchell Vranjes as an intern partway through his Engineering degree. The business was much smaller then, so he had to get stuck in, adapt, and learn on the job. <7> years later, he’s using his knowledge and experience to deliver outstanding work and help his colleagues grow their professional skills.

As a Senior Structural Engineer, Wes works on a range of projects. His particular focus is the design and construction of facilities for a health provider – he’s worked on at least ten major projects in this area in his time. These projects tend to be long-running and complicated, with multi-storey buildings, high-rise towers and other complex elements. Working on construction sites as a teenager gives him a realistic perspective of how designs translate on-site. This helps him stay on track and deliver the client a better result – he can be flexible and collaborative, focusing on the outcome rather than his design details.

Wes is a Technical Trainer for the team, responsible for in-house and external training and overseeing the graduate programme. He also leads a team that develops and proposes process and workflow improvements using automation and other tech systems. It’s a busy role, but he loves the challenging, fast-paced nature of it. He particularly enjoys training and mentoring newer employees, helping them develop their design and technical skills so they can move forward in their careers.

On weekends, Wes works on new recipes , plays disc golf and relaxes with friends.

Chunyi Yang spends her weekends in the garden, planting neat rows of flowers and veggies decorated with stones collected on her travels. While her work at Mitchell Vranjes is very different, she brings the same meticulous dedication to the role.

Chunyi’s engineering career started with a Bachelor of Engineering in 2018. Before joining the MV team, she gained experience in various roles, working on seismic assessments and strengthening, multi-storey design and commercial and industrial projects. That depth of experience informs her role at MV.

As a Structural Engineer, Chunyi works closely with clients, drilling down to precisely define the scope and requirements of a project before it begins. From there, she works on design, including 3D modelling and virtual scoping, collaborates with the design and build teams, and ensures every task is ticked off on time. Driven and focused, she loves the challenge of delivering success within a strict budget and timeframe.

Natalie Olsen is a people person. In keeping with her natural skill set, all her jobs have had human resources and communication at the core.

As People and Culture Coordinator at Mitchell Vranjes, Natalie is responsible for all HR admin, including recruitment and onboarding, managing payroll systems and data, tracking leave and responding to staff questions. Organised, approachable and trustworthy, she always has an answer at hand – and she’s willing to go above and beyond to solve a problem.

Natalie enjoys being part of MV and thrives on the team’s energy, drive and passion. When she’s not at work, she’s equally people-focused, spending her weekends connecting with family and friends.

As Mitchell Vranjes’ Structural Team Lead, William’s job involves communicating and collaborating with a wide range of people – clients, consultants, builders, tradies and other team members.

William leads a structural engineering team, managing projects from start to finish. He ensures they’re delivered on time, to scope and – most importantly – that every build is structurally sound and cost-effective. He’s also responsible for training and mentoring his team, helping them develop their skill sets. It’s a busy job, but he enjoys the challenge and gets a lot of satisfaction from watching his team members progress in their careers.

After 11 years as a Structural Engineer, including three as team lead, William has a lot of experience to draw on. His depth of knowledge is particularly useful for complex, multi-faceted projects that need a lot of input to ensure they come together.

On weekends, William spends time with friends and family and tries to squeeze in some exercise.

As a professional director and commercial adviser Kirsty has held a range of roles in corporate finance, banking, law and regulation.

Kirsty is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, a certified member of INFINZ and a member of Global Women.

A proud Scotswoman, she has a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and a post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, from the University of Edinburgh

While making sandwiches might seem miles away from working in structural engineering, Kavinda Widanapathirana says that there are some similarities. Working at Subway years ago helped him build strong listening and people skills that serve him well today.

As Structural Team Lead, Kavinda manages the workload of his team, providing support and mentorship, and ensuring projects run on time and under budget. A qualified Structural Engineer, he works on the technical side of the job as needed. He’s also involved with networking and client outreach, seeking new clients and selling the Mitchell Vranjes brand. In all parts of the job, his ability to listen and give people a voice is a valuable asset.

Kavinda believes in putting people’s wellbeing first – because it’s the right thing to do, and because happy people are motivated and efficient. He works closely with his team and clients, keeping communication open so the client always knows where their project stands. For him, one of the most satisfying parts of the job is leading a project to success and delivering the good news to the client.

Outside of engineering, Kavinda is a semi-professional snowboarder and Sim racer – although these days, he spends most of his free time with his young family.

For Structural Engineer Peter Lisle, every day at work is interesting. Whether he’s creating drawings for a new structure, talking with a client, solving a tricky design problem, or supporting fellow team members, he enjoys the challenge and variety of his work at Mitchell Vranjes.

A chartered professional engineer, Pete has an eye for constructability and project limitations, which helps him flag potential issues and cost overruns early. He can consider all the variables involved with a given project, come up with the cleanest, simplest solution, and communicate with the client so they can make an informed decision. For Peter, it’s all about delivering the best solution on time, on budget and up to customer requirements, so everyone’s happy with the result.

As Technical Leader, Pete provides technical support and guidance to the whole MV team. He’s also in charge of researching and developing new technologies to help the business reach its goals, technical training for engineers and drafters, and developing and implementing new design processes.
On weekends, Peter can be found surfing the waves on the West Coast.

For Nick Covich, a career in engineering was almost inevitable. Growing up in a West Auckland family of builders and construction workers and surrounded by diggers, trucks and heavy machinery from a young age, he started working on construction sites at age 17.

That experience turned into a keen interest in building and engineering, and his career grew from there. After completing his New Zealand Certificate in Engineering and later a Bachelor of Engineering, he worked for several local councils in Auckland, doing everything from structural design, roading, water main and sewer design to contract management and supervision for civil engineering projects.

His work also included working for a large Precast manufacturing plant in the late 1980’s Nick joined the Mitchell Vranjes’ team in 1995. His early years saw him working on both structural and civil projects, but he’s been focused on the structural side of things for the last 15 years. Now, as Technical Director, he spends less time behind the wheel of a truck and more time collaborating with clients, designers and other stakeholders to ensure his projects run smoothly. Nick thinks of structural engineering as part art, part science and part teamwork, and loves diving into complex issues. A born problem-solver, he has a knack for cutting through the noise and finding the simplest, most cost-effective way forward and is always keen to explore new technologies including Base isolation and Dampers

Off-site, Nick enjoys all motorsports and supports his son in his Speedway Midget racing hobby in the United States. He’s also a keen traveller who tries to experience new places and cultures as often as he can.

In Simon Moore’s first job, he was a labourer on residential home builds, laying bricks, pouring grout, and anything else that needed doing. That experience helped him gain real-world construction and design knowledge, which eventually led to a drafting qualification and a career in the industry.

Simon spent his early career working for architects before joining Mitchell Vranjes. He’s been part of the team for more than 30 years, working on jobs of all types and sizes – residential, commercial and industrial. His job involves producing structural drawings in Revit, working with engineers to problem-solve and develop effective designs, and sharing his in-depth knowledge with the drafting team.

Even after decades in the industry, he still enjoys seeing drawings come to life – and likes working as part of a collaborative, result-focused team.
A foodie at heart, Simon spends his weekends eating out at restaurants and soaking in music at concerts and shows.

Having a laugh (and the odd drink) with clients isn’t an official part of Andrew Clarke’s job description, but it does help him strengthen relationships and communicate effectively. As Managing Director, Andrew’s role is multifaceted, from building those client relationships, guiding and supporting the management team, mentoring staff, setting goals, managing budgets, reviewing designs and conceptualising design elements.

After graduating in 2004, Andrew started his career as a site engineer, visiting construction sites to assess progress and check details. That experience helped him understand how an on-paper design becomes a real-life building – and he applies that realistic, pragmatic insight to everything he does. After moving to Mitchell Vranjes in 2007, he continued to build his skillset, working on different structural forms, design management, and project management with support from senior colleagues. In 2019, he took on the role of Managing Director.

Now, Andrew shares his depth of knowledge with his workmates and clients, whether that means mentoring a new engineer or educating client teams on structural design basics. He loves seeing his team put new skills to use on the job and working with clients who want to learn and do better. His role is busy, but he’s always available to help the team resolve design or management issues, or to talk through a concept with a client.
When he’s not on-site or in the office, Andrew is coaching his kids’ sports teams, mountain biking, or just relaxing with friends and family.

As a recent graduate, Humaid Nawab thought he’d be spending the early days of his career on small, simple jobs – he’s been pleasantly surprised by the varied, challenging work at Mitchell Vranjes so far. Humaid works on projects large and small to develop practical solutions alongside senior engineers, and he makes site visits to ensure work meets design specs.

Before completing his Bachelor of Engineering and joining the MV team, Humaid had various part-time jobs. Hospitality and retail helped him build effective communication and customer management skills, while tutoring taught him how to drill down to the fundamental principles of a concept to make it easier to understand. Those skills, along with precise attention to detail and a fierce work ethic, shine through in everything he does.

While he’s just starting as a structural engineer, Humaid is already building a solid base of knowledge and experience.
In his spare time, Humaid is usually out and about, playing cricket or football with friends.

Sara Juddery is in charge of project paperwork at Mitchell Vranjes – and it’s no small task. Precise and detail-oriented, she manages a large number of ongoing projects without missing a beat, ensuring that clients, staff and other stakeholders have the information they need when they need it.

Before joining the MV team in 2021, Sara worked in immigration and property administration, building the skills she uses in her current role. As Office and Project Administrator, she sets up and maintains project details on our project management platform, prepares fee proposals, assigns contract details, and develops spreadsheets to track project and client information. She’s also tasked with office administration and invoicing.

When she’s not perfecting spreadsheets, Sara is out and about walking in nature.

For Carlos Chen, engineering was the perfect way to turn his love of maths and physics into a career. As a Structural Engineer at Mitchell Vranjes, he relishes the chance to find simple, elegant solutions to real-world problems and watch 2D designs come to life.

Carlos has a Civil and Environmental Engineering degree, but that’s not the only knowledge that informs his job. Working in the family hospitality business and retail jobs as a student taught him to communicate with people from all walks of life and calmly deal with high-pressure situations. Although his current role rarely involves unruly customers or stolen merchandise, those communication and conflict resolution skills are valuable.

As a Structural Engineer, Carlos creates drawings and 3D models, works closely with other team members, and communicates with clients and other stakeholders. He ensures that work is completed on time and – more importantly – that every element is safe and buildable. He enjoys the varied, challenging nature of the work – that materials, methods and technologies are continually changing – and likes working with open-minded clients who can understand the thought process behind design decisions.

Outside the office, Carlos spends his time relaxing with friends or getting active – running, hiking or sweating it out at the gym.

Even after working in the industry for nine years, Angus Bell still gets a buzz from seeing a project go from conversation to drawing and from a 3D model to a physical structure. As a Structural Engineer and site supervisor at Mitchell Vranjes, he sees that progress in real-time. His role involves a bit of everything – design, construction monitoring and assessments, and working with contractors and other design team members.

In a previous role, Angus was an on-site contractor. This experience gave him a solid grounding in construction knowledge and an instinct for practicality and buildability. That understanding flows through to his work – he knows how to design with fast, cost-effective construction in mind.
Angus is always looking for new technologies, tools and ways of working. Whether dealing with clients, contractors or the structural team, he believes that cultivating a strong team culture makes all the difference – when people trust each other and communicate effectively, innovation, efficiency and great outcomes follow.

On weekends, Angus spends his time out in nature, camping or sailing.

In just four years, Isaac Ke has built an impressive base of practical engineering experience across construction, infrastructure and public facilities. As a Site Engineer at Mitchell Vranjes, he brings that broad perspective to every job, helping him offer practical insight to clients and colleagues.

Isaac qualified as an engineer in 2019 and spent three years working for an international contractor in Christchurch and Auckland. The job involved a diverse range of projects for government and council clients, including road construction, water infrastructure, hospitals and tunnelling.

In his current role, Isaac represents Mitchell Vranjes during site inspections. He works closely with construction teams and site managers to ensure that our designs are being followed and that work is progressing. He’s also involved with design work across a range of projects. Isaac loves that his job lets him connect with different people and gain fresh perspectives. A problem-solver and pragmatist at heart, he enjoys uncovering the most practical, cost-effective design solution for every project.

Isaac even uses his engineering and design eye outside the office. A keen DIY-er, he’s completed some major renovation projects around his home.

As a young man, Jake Togher spent a lot of time on construction sites. Working as a manual labourer gave him hands-on experience and an appreciation of the complex moving parts involved in a construction project. Years later, that experience still informs his work – he ensures every plan is realistic and achievable on-site.

As a Structural Engineer at Mitchell Vranjes, Jake works with clients, communicates with other teams and contractors, performs site investigations and markups, and develops calculations and plans for residential, commercial and industrial projects. He’s not afraid to get stuck in to get the job done – whether that means working late or helping his colleagues finish their tasks.

Jake is always looking for ways to build his skillset and learn new things, seeking projects that challenge and extend him. The MV team helps – he likes that there’s always someone in the office to bounce ideas off or explain a concept.

When he’s not at work, Jake’s getting active. He spends winter weekends playing or reffing on the football field and summer breaks training for races.

Felix isn’t afraid to ask silly questions. As a recent graduate and newly-minted engineer, he’s endlessly curious about the industry – and keen to learn from experienced colleagues as he builds his skills and knowledge.

After qualifying with first class honours in 2022, Felix joined the Mitchell Vranjes team as a Structural Engineer. While his experience as an engineer is only just beginning, he brings to the job enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and people skills developed by working as a University Resident Advisor and as a salesperson in various retail stores. These soft skills help him communicate effectively with his team members and clients.

Felix is eager to be exposed to as many projects as possible as he learns. Right now, he’s responsible for designing structural elements – from simple retaining walls to diaphragms of multi-storey buildings. Whatever the job, he works closely with senior team members to make sure everything is up to scratch.
Outside the office, Felix stays active through weightlifting, jump-rope and football.

Jonathon Smith’s Dad was a builder, so he spent his childhood building little structures from offcuts and his teenage years working as a labourer on construction sites. His high school years saw him messing around on computers and excelling in his technical drawing classes. Structural Engineering combined those two skill sets into a career – and he was on his way.

As Senior Structural Engineer at Mitchell Vranjes, Jonathon supervises and supports engineers and drafters, creates and monitors project schedules and budgets, and oversees construction work for ongoing projects. He also prepares calculations and design drawings for new structures, ensuring that every document is up to scratch.

Jonathon qualified as an Engineer in 2008 and, as a young grad, worked in Christchurch’s red zone following the 2011 earthquake. This experience showed him the value of structural engineering in keeping people safe and finding tangible solutions to serious problems. He brings that depth of understanding, an eye for detail and extensive knowledge of loads, materials, stresses and strains to everything he does.

Although his job involves major developments and commercial builds, Jonathon also finds the smaller, more personal projects rewarding. In residential builds, he enjoys working closely with owners and sees the real-world impact of his work – solving a seemingly small problem can make a significant difference in someone’s life.

When he’s not at work, Jonathon is busy with his young children or – funnily enough – spending DIY time improving his own home.

For Shaun Gross, a backyard retaining wall is just as important as a 40-million-dollar public building. Every project deserves thoughtful design and a successful outcome. He sees his core role as designing structures that stand up to the rigours of everyday use and the unexpected – storms, earthquakes or human error.

A qualified Civil Engineer with fifteen years’ experience in civil and structural engineering, Shaun understands every facet of a project, from scope and design to consent and construction. He cares deeply about outcomes and works closely with clients to ensure they’re on the same page before moving forward. He can break complex concepts down to their fundamentals, making them easier for clients to take on. That kind of thoughtful communication is what makes him so successful in his role.

Managing a team of Engineers, Shaun works with the structural engineering and design teams at Mitchell Vranjes and collaborates with external contractors and other stakeholders. He’s old-school in some ways, preferring to hash out calculations with pen and paper before using a computer.
When he’s not on the job, Shaun’s relaxing with his young family, playing board games or watching movies at home.

Sophie Shi has many talents, including painting, piano – and structural engineering. That last skill makes her a valuable part of the Mitchell Vranjes team.
As Senior Structural Engineer, Sophie handles projects from end to end – preparing design documents, reviewing documents for consents, working closely with other engineers and building relationships with her clients. Precise and efficient, she ensures that everyone stays on track so work is completed on time and budget, with minimal issues.

Sophie’s experience stretches across a range of build types and materials. Since completing her Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) degree, she’s worked on multi-storey timber apartments, LVL portal frames, three-storey walk-ups, retaining walls and steel structures for commercial and industrial clients. She sees every project as unique, with its own set of challenges and opportunities, and relishes the chance to dive into a new build. She likes working with clients who aren’t afraid of innovation and are prepared to spend money and time to get the job done right, first time.

Outside the office, Sophie spends her time relaxing with friends and family.

Most engineers prefer working on big, exciting new developments and innovative modern builds – but not Raco Xu. While she enjoys all her work, alterations and seismic strengthening projects are her favourite. There’s something satisfying about giving an old building a second life.

With 15 years’ experience in the industry across industrial, commercial, educational and residential projects, Raco has a deep understanding of design, construction and how the two interact. As a Senior Structural Designer, she creates design documents and drawings, oversees projects, and supports less-experienced team members in their work. Practical and pragmatic, she’s always looking for ways to make her projects more efficient and cost-effective without compromising build quality.

When she’s not in the office or on-site, Raco spends a lot of her time at parks and playgrounds with her daughter.