MAKE is led by Managing Director, Matt Ablethorpe, a highly experienced real estate executive with over 18 years working across the residential, commercial, retail and industrial sectors.  An experienced and successful leader, Matt has a demonstrated ability of building and developing cross-functional, resilient, high-performing management teams spanning finance, investment, portfolio and development and marketing. 

Matt’s property experience spans a range of sectors and disciplines which is applied at MAKE’s communities comprising a portfolio of projects with a combined end value of over $1.8b comprising 2,400 apartments and over 20,000sqm of non-residential programming with key responsibility of business strategy, site acquisition assessment, capital management, feasibility and risk analysis, due diligence and project strategy implementation including design, planning, stakeholder engagement. 

Most recently, Matt led a multi-disciplined team as Director, Development and Director, Portfolio in areas of transaction, development and portfolio management at Assemble Communities, an end-to-end build-to-rent development, investment and community manager, with an objective to affordably house moderate- and low-income Australians in response to the rise of housing affordability issues across Australian capital cities.

Matt played a key management role in scaling and structuring the Assemble business to facilitate institutional investment into affordable housing, with AustralianSuper owning a 25 per cent share in Assemble with an equity commitment of $500m for the investment into institutionally owned residential housing. Previously a subsidiary to the MAKE Group, Assemble is now a key investment and housing partner to MAKE following further investment into Assemble by AustralianSuper and Hesta in 2024.  

Previously, Matt was a Development Manager with Industry Superannuation Property Trust (ISPT) – Development & Opportunity suite of Funds (DOF).

Matt has a Bachelor of Planning & Design and a Bachelor of Property & Construction (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. He is also a qualified Certified Practicing Valuer and Associate at the Australian Property Institute.

In his role as an Associate at MAKE, Stuart Baird supports the financial and investment management of our existing portfolio of projects, including input into and execution of strategy. Stuart also works closely with the Directors to assist with the analysis, endorsement and execution of new property acquisitions and debt/equity proposals.

Stuart has eight years prior experience as an investment analyst on complex commercial advisory and financial transactions across the infrastructure and property sectors at organisations including Westbourne Capital, KPMG and Deloitte. 

Stuart brings expertise in investment analysis and business case development, including the execution and management of specialised funding solutions within the infrastructure asset class, specifically energy, digital infrastructure, water, utilities, ports, toll roads, social housing and infrastructure, property, defence, and telecommunications sectors. 

Stuart has a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Management) from Monash University.

With experience as a Development Manager and Registered Architect, Harrison brings over 15 years of experience across the full property development lifecycle to his role at MAKE.  Harrison has managed award-winning developments across both Victoria and Queensland, with a strong focus on multi-residential and mixed-use asset classes.  His design-led approach to property development draws on his experience as an Architect, having previously worked for two of Australia’s most renowned architecture firms.

Prior to his role at MAKE, Harrison worked for eight years as a Development Manager for a prominent Melbourne-based family office.  Leading the residential and commercial development portfolios, he managed the end-to-end lifecycle of a broad range of developments, honing his skills in development strategy, feasibility analysis, stakeholder engagement, project team coordination, sales & marketing and construction management.  

Earlier in his career, Harrison gained experience across various complex large-scale projects while working as an Associate for Elenberg Fraser Architects.  In this role he managed the New Business portfolio for Australia and South East Asia, working closely with some of Australia’s largest private developers. As a member of the senior management team in the Queensland office, Harrison demonstrated strong leadership skills and continued to develop expertise in commercial planning, front end design, town planning and project management.

Harrison is actively focused on the application of Modern Methods of Construction in multi-residential development, pursuing more efficient and affordable delivery models.  He has been involved in multiple pilot projects, providing him with a deep knowledge base on a variety of prefabricated construction systems.

Harrison holds a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from The University of Melbourne, an Architectural Design accreditation from the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and a Real Estate Agent's Representative License.  He remains a Registered Architect in both Victoria and Queensland and is a member of prefabAUS.

Tom Anderson has more than 20 years’ experience in the environmental services industry, both as a consultant and client. He is an experienced environment manager with a strong technical background spanning a broad range of environmental assessment and remediation activities. 

Tom assists MAKE with the environmental management of its portfolio projects, including strategic project management across numerous assessment and remediation projects. Tom is conversant in State and National environmental legislation, guidelines and policies regarding land, water and groundwater management.

Tom has held a variety of roles including director, environmental consultant, project manager, senior environmental adviser and client manager. 

Tom holds a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and Science from the University of Melbourne.

Ben Allan leads MAKE’s development projects as Project Manager, bringing more than eight years of experience in project and development management within the Victorian property market.

Ben has extensive experience across the full development lifecycle, including concept planning, development approvals, design development,  construction delivery, project handover, and settlement. His expertise spans a broad range of asset classes, including residential build-to-sell, build-to-rent, retirement living, land lease communities, social and affordable housing, mixed-use developments, commercial, and industrial projects.

Prior to joining MAKE, Ben worked as a Development Manager with leading retirement living owner, operator, and developer Levande. In this role, he was responsible for delivering large-scale senior living communities comprising apartments, townhomes, resident amenity spaces, and public realm infrastructure. Earlier in his career, Ben worked with a specialist development and project management consultancy, where he gained extensive experience delivering projects of varying scale, complexity, and contract value for a range of prominent Melbourne property developers. He also previously worked with a Melbourne-based construction firm, contributing to the successful delivery of boutique residential and commercial developments.

Ben is recognised for his collaborative leadership style, strong organisational capabilities, and ability to effectively coordinate stakeholders and project partners to achieve successful development outcomes.

He holds a Bachelor of Environments, majoring in Construction Management, from The University of Melbourne.

MAKE's Single Family Housing business is led by General Manager, Callum Knight, a highly accomplished property executive with over 20 years of experience across residential, commercial, mixed-use and masterplanned communities. Callum provides strategic leadership for MAKE's national Single Family Housing programme, overseeing governance, commercial outcomes, stakeholder relationships and programme delivery across Australia's largest institutional single-family affordable housing platform. With a strong background in development strategy, institutional capital partnerships and complex project delivery, he brings deep expertise in delivering large-scale housing programmes through government and private sector collaboration.

Callum's experience spans the full property lifecycle, including acquisitions, feasibility analysis, legal structuring, capital deployment, planning, procurement, delivery and asset optimisation. At MAKE he leads the delivery of more than 1,300 affordable homes across four states, establishing delivery frameworks, governance systems and commercial strategies that enable scalable national programme delivery while balancing stakeholder, builder and investor objectives.

Prior to joining MAKE, Callum was Director of Property at Dorman Capital, the family office of Bryan Dorman (co-founder of Regis Healthcare), where he led the group’s property strategy, overseeing a diverse portfolio of assets and development projects across Melbourne, including the Mernda Town Centre and South Yarra House. He was also Victorian State Lead and Development Director at Cedar Woods Properties, managing a portfolio of masterplanned communities, townhouses and infill apartment projects such as Jackson Green, Mason Quarter and Williams Landing, as well as partnering with government on integrated transport-oriented outcomes. Earlier in his career, Callum held senior roles at PEET and Links Living, developing deep expertise in growth area development and residential planning.

Callum holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Management from RMIT, a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance, and is a Licensed Real Estate Agent, bringing a strategic, commercially driven, and values-led approach to development and housing delivery.

Dharen Nayer is a development and project management professional with a strong track record delivering complex residential, social and affordable housing, build-to-rent and mixed-use projects across the private, institutional and government sectors. At MAKE, Dharen provides operational leadership across the Single Family Housing programme, coordinating day-to-day delivery activities and working closely with the General Manager to maintain programme performance, governance and delivery outcomes across the national portfolio. He works closely with institutional partners, builders, consultants and landowners to deliver commercial outcomes while maintaining programme, quality and governance objectives across a large-scale, multi-site housing portfolio.

His experience spans the full development lifecycle, from site acquisition and feasibility through to planning, design management, procurement, construction delivery and asset management. Dharen provides portfolio oversight across builder performance, reporting and operational risk management while leading the successful delivery of his allocated projects. His collaborative leadership style and disciplined approach help ensure consistent delivery outcomes across the broader project team.

Dharen holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Melbourne and a Certificate IV in Building and Construction. His technical grounding, combined with broad commercial experience across the development lifecycle, informs a disciplined and pragmatic approach to project leadership, prioritising proactive risk management and strong working relationships with clients, project partners and delivery teams.

Michael Scaife is a property development and project management professional with broad experience across residential, mixed-use, retail and subdivision projects throughout Victoria. His expertise spans development management, project delivery, design management, procurement, contract administration and strategic planning across both developer and consultancy environments.

At MAKE, Michael leads the delivery of allocated builders, estates and projects across the Single Family Housing programme, managing delivery from procurement through to completion while coordinating builders, consultants and project stakeholders to achieve programme, commercial, quality and governance outcomes.

Before joining MAKE, Michael was Senior Project Manager at Fathom Group, where he managed multiple apartment, mixed-use and retail developments concurrently. His responsibilities included design management, procurement, contract negotiation, superintendency, feasibility management and consultant coordination across apartment developments, SDA housing, retail redevelopment and residential subdivision projects. Earlier he worked with an integrated developer builder and focused on strategic planning, master planning and development feasibility across growth corridor and residential development projects, including significant land rezoning initiatives on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Michael also spent more than five years at Sinclair Brook delivering a diverse range of apartment, townhouse, commercial and subdivision projects for sophisticated developer clients. His project experience includes large-scale brownfield redevelopment, masterplanned communities, mixed-use projects and apartment developments, with responsibilities spanning project management, development management, authority coordination and settlement delivery.

Michael commenced his career in architectural and construction-focused roles, including construction management, shopfitting and specialist architectural concreting, giving him a strong grounding in construction methodology, detailing and delivery.

Michael brings a collaborative, commercially minded approach to development, with proven capability in leading multidisciplinary consultant teams, procurement, project risk and delivery outcomes.

Suroor Shaba is a project and construction professional with an architectural background and extensive experience across pre-construction, design management, procurement and contract administration within the residential development sector. His experience spans medium-density residential, retirement living, SDA accommodation and bespoke residential projects, with involvement across all stages of the development lifecycle; from feasibility and design coordination through to procurement and construction delivery.

At MAKE, Suroor provides commercial and contractual governance across the Single Family Housing programme, overseeing procurement, contract administration, commercial reporting, budgeting, builder contract management and project delivery support across Australia's largest institutional single-family affordable housing platform. He works closely with project managers and builders to protect commercial outcomes while ensuring contractual compliance and efficient programme delivery.

Earlier in his career, Suroor worked in estimating and contract administration roles across apartment, townhouse and custom architectural home projects, overseeing procurement, subcontractor engagement, variation assessment and cost control.

Suroor combines strong technical capability with a practical and commercially minded approach. His architectural background, together with hands-on construction and project experience, enables him to effectively bridge the gap between design intent, buildability and commercial performance.

Felia Erlang is a finance and accounting professional with extensive experience across financial reporting, cash flow management, project accounting and operational finance within the property development and construction sectors. Her experience spans residential construction, property development and project-based businesses, with strong capability in month-end reporting, WIP analysis, budgeting, forecasting and financial controls.

At MAKE, Felia provides financial governance across the Single Family Housing programme, overseeing portfolio reporting, cash flow forecasting, budgeting, financial controls, payment governance and programme performance reporting. Working closely with project delivery teams and executive management, she supports informed commercial decision-making across the national housing portfolio.

Prior to joining MAKE, Felia held the role of Financial Accountant at Glenvill Homes, where she was responsible for project completion reporting, WIP calculations, budget reconciliation, profit margin analysis and board reporting across a large residential construction portfolio. Her role also included financial variance analysis, contractor payment coordination and operational reporting to senior management. Earlier, Felia worked as Management Accountant at Harmac Construction, overseeing end-to-end month-end processes, cash flow management, project accounting and consolidated financial reporting across multiple subsidiaries. 

Felia brings a highly organised, analytical and process-driven approach, with strong attention to detail and deep understanding of financial management within development and construction environments.

MAKE's Single Family Housing development operations are supported by Development Coordinator Thomas Barbuto, who leads the operational systems, reporting and coordination functions underpinning the programme. Thomas is responsible for managing the MAKE It Home platform, portfolio reporting, programme governance and data integrity across the national portfolio, ensuring consistent, efficient and scalable delivery.

Thomas specialises in development coordination, programme reporting, workflow optimisation and digital systems management, maintaining the accuracy, structure and integrity of critical programme information. His proactive approach to systems, governance and operational improvement enables efficient portfolio management while supporting project delivery teams, institutional partners and executive reporting across the national programme.

Prior to joining MAKE, Thomas worked as a consultant with Forge Digital Solutions, where he specialized in technology innovation and workflow enhancement for clients within hospitality, packaging, and education. His portfolio includes digital optimization and systems projects for organizations. Across these engagements, Thomas helped streamline operational processes, improve system reliability, and enhance cross‑team productivity—developing a reputation for precision, adaptability, and technical problem‑solving. 

Thomas is currently undertaking a Certificate IV in Building Project Support (Contract Administrator), further strengthening his capability in development operations and project administration. With a commitment to strong operational foundations, continuous improvement, and scalable system design, he brings a valuable blend of technical acumen and project support expertise to the SfH development team.