EPPM2023 
CONFERENCE

Siva is KiwiRail’s Chief Operations Officer, overseeing all operational parts of the business including commercial revenue, freight logistics, networks infrastructure, engineering, and rolling stock asset services, areas which account for around 3000 of KiwiRail’s staff. Prior to that he was the Executive General Manager Operations, overseeing the Freight Logistics, Networks Infrastructure, and Engineering business groups. Siva joined KiwiRail in 2015 and has worked in various leadership roles, including General Manager Operations – Upper North Island and North Island Networks Services Manager. Before moving to KiwiRail Siva had more than 15 years in the roading and construction industries both as a consultant and as a contractor. 

Dr. Hastak is the Professor and Head of the Division of Construction Engineering and Management as well as a Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. He has been involved with the construction industry for the past 30 years, where he has conducted research, taught, and assisted the industry in the area of construction engineering and management, including process improvement, disaster risk reduction, infrastructure management, cost control, project management decision-making, risk management, and strategic planning. Dr. Hastak is a Professional Engineer (PE) and a Certified Cost Professional (CCP). As an academic, he has worked on numerous Construction Industry Institute (CII) projects over the past 25 years. Dr. Hastak has authored over 200 publications on process improvement, project controls, capital rehabilitation planning, strategic planning and decision-making based on his work. He has co-authored a widely used book on Infrastructure Planning, Engineering, and Economics published by McGraw-Hill (2006 and 2015). He serves on the Education Board of the Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE), where he is also the editor for the 6th edition of the Skills and Knowledge of Cost Engineering (2015) and the 2nd Edition of the CCP Certification Study Guide (2016). In addition to his strong analytical skills, Dr. Hastak utilises his verbal and written communication skills in developing training material and workshops as well as regularly teaching professional courses for the A/E/C industry.​

David has had more than 29 years of practical experience at the helm of Thermosash, NZ’s leading façade curtain wall company. His father founded Thermosash in 1973 and David joined the company in 1982 gaining experience both in NZ and at Vistawall, a large American curtainwall supplier. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer specialising in façade engineering and is responsible for system design solutions for the Group. In this role he has been closely involved with some of the most prestigious and award winning buildings around New Zealand. David has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Auckland University and is currently a member of the Ministry of Building & Housing Envelope Advisory Panel.