AACE Australian Section Committee – 2025

Kareem Khattab

President

Kareem is a Planning Manager with years of hands on experience preparing and maintaining project schedules, plans and procedures across various complex construction projects spanning mixed-use development and infrastructure fields.

Highly adept at creating design schedules, master schedules and milestone plans combined with expertise in Extension of Time (EOT) claims, cost control and tender planning. Proven ability to build strong relationships with project leadership and resources to meet project objectives. Fluent in English and Arabic.

Arend Kok

Vice President

Arend is an accomplished leader with 24 years of experience delivering strategic projects across infrastructure, oil & gas, utilities and many other sectors. With a Bachelor’s in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) and a Master’s in Data Science, he blends deep technical knowledge with proven operational expertise—consistently optimizing project controls, cost management, scheduling, risk mitigation, and digital systems.

Laurie Bowman

Secretary

Laurie Bowman CCP DRMP EVP PSP is an experienced cost engineering, project controls, and risk management leader with a strong commitment to advancing the profession across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. He currently serves as Principal Assurance and Risk Advisor within the Queensland Fire Department, where he focuses on uplifting governance, integrated risk management, and delivery capability for complex programs operating in high-uncertainty environments.

Laurie has been an active contributor to AACE International for many years and previously served as Regional Director 8 (Asia/Oceania), supporting collaboration between sections, providing professional development pathways, and fostering closer regional engagement. Through this role, he has developed strong relationships with AACE members and leaders throughout Asia-Pacific and remains passionate about building stronger connections between the Australian Section and the broader international community.

He represents Engineers Australia and the Australian Cost Engineering Society on ISO and Standards Australia committees relating to project, program, and portfolio management, contributing to the development of international standards that influence how projects are governed and delivered globally. His work reflects a strong belief that cost engineering plays a critical role in helping organisations manage uncertainty, improve decision-making, and deliver sustainable outcomes.

Laurie brings a governance-focused perspective shaped by cross-disciplinary experience in assurance, planning and scheduling, quantitative risk analysis, and integrated project controls. He is particularly interested in supporting the continued evolution of the profession as projects become more complex, data-driven, and interconnected.

Frank Vera

Treasurer

Frank is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Cost Professional (CCP). He has a BSc in Civil Engineering and is graduated with first-class honours from the University of Melbourne in the MEng (Civil with business).

He has over 8 years of professional experience gained in mining and infrastructure projects in Peru and Argentina, performing as a project engineer, project controls, planning and cost engineer.