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 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 lead 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.

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

MAKE’s Single Family Housing strategy 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. With a strong background in development strategy, stakeholder engagement, and asset optimisation, Callum brings deep expertise in delivering large-scale, high-impact projects through both private and institutional capital partnerships.

Callum’s experience spans the full property lifecycle from site acquisition, feasibility analysis, legal structuring and funding, through to planning, delivery, and exit strategies which is now applied at MAKE to deliver over 1,300 affordable single-family homes in partnership with government and institutional capital partners as part of MAKE’s $1B+ housing program.

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.

In his role as an Associate at MAKE, Stuart 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.

Tom has more than 20 years’ experience in the environmental services industry, both as a consultant and client. He is an experienced project 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.

MAKE’s Single Family Housing development operations are supported by Development Coordinator Thomas Barbuto, an organised and solutions-focused professional who plays a key role in ensuring the smooth delivery of projects across MAKE’s Single Family Housing program. With a strong foundation in workflow management, stakeholder communication, and digital systems, Thomas brings a detailed and highly efficient approach to supporting both strategic and operational development activity. 

Thomas specialises in coordinating documentation, tracking project milestones, and maintaining the accuracy, structure, and reliability of critical development processes. His strengths in process optimisation, operational structure and system improvement support MAKE's mission to deliver efficient, scalable, and high‑quality outcomes across its growing portfolio. 

Prior to joining MAKE, Thomas worked as a digital solutions consultant, where he specialised in technology innovation and workflow enhancement for clients within hospitality, packaging, and education.  

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 MAKE’s development team.

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 8 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.

Ben Allan works across MAKE’s development portfolio as Project Manager, bringing more than 8 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.

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 supports the delivery of the Single Family Housing portfolio through contract administration, procurement management, budgeting, consultant coordination and project delivery support across a large-scale affordable housing platform.

Before joining MAKE, Suroor held senior project, design and estimating roles at Jedi Building Group, where he managed pre-construction and commercial functions across a live portfolio of residential and SDA developments, including a large-scale retirement village project. During this time, he led design coordination, cost planning, value engineering and delivery strategy initiatives, while implementing structured pre-construction systems that enhanced buildability, delivery efficiency and project risk management.

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.

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, with experience working across both developer and consultancy environments.

At MAKE, Michael supports the delivery of the Single Family Housing portfolio, applying strong technical, commercial and stakeholder management capability across all phases of the development lifecycle.

Prior to 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 projects including apartment developments, SDA housing, retail redevelopment and residential subdivision projects. Earlier, Michael worked with Soho Living where he 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 commercial project management and specialist architectural concreting, giving him a strong grounding in construction methodology, detailing and built-form delivery.

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