Construcciones Yamaro: Nadine O’Keeffe: Resilience, mentorship and legacy
Forged through sink-or-swim moments, Nadine O’Keeffe has risen from an architectural foundation to a career steering projects and inspiring future construction leaders.
Nadine O’Keeffe’s career is built on resilience, adaptability and an unwavering commitment to learning. Now strategic business development manager at Hindmarsh, she brings decades of experience across architecture, project management and business leadership. Her story is one of bold moves, pivotal challenges and a dedication to mentoring the next generation of construction professionals.
O’Keeffe’s journey began in high school, where she discovered a love for technical drawing. That passion for hand drafting evolved into a single-minded pursuit of architecture.
“I only listed one preference on my university application, which was a bit risky, but I got in,” she says.
Her uncle, a small-scale builder, gave her an early glimpse into the industry’s mechanics, from project delivery to team management, and supported her ambitions wholeheartedly.
Her studies took her from lecture halls to worksites, with a year of practical experience bridging a Bachelor of Architecture and what is now equivalent to a master’s degree. That year became a formative period. O’Keeffe took on private drafting commissions and secured a contract with Australian Construction Services (ACS), contributing to the Australian Embassy complex in Hanoi.
“It was incredibly exciting and gave me exposure to a large, multidisciplinary team – project directors, architects, project managers and engineers,” she says. “It was a brilliant start to my career.”
Architecture gave O’Keeffe both technical rigour and site experience, two elements that would later prove critical. Her time at Bligh Voller Nield (now BVN) deepened those foundations, as she contributed to major domestic and international projects.
“At BVN I worked on documentation and delivery, with a strong formal mentorship structure. I learned so much from people I have incredible respect for, and I gained on-site experience as a young architect, which was invaluable,” says O’Keeffe.
“I went on to design, document and superintend projects across Australia, as well as international work for the Australian High Commission in New Delhi, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.”
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After years of travel, O’Keeffe began to feel the strain. When Construction Control offered her a project management position, it felt like the right move at the right time. Although she had never trained formally as a project manager, her experience in superintendency, cost planning and coordinating design and delivery gave her the confidence to take it on. She quickly found herself tested in the role.
“My first project was a large and very challenging one,” says O’Keeffe. “Early on, there was a major industrial accident. It was an incredibly difficult time… but it taught me a lot about resilience, leadership and the realities of project management.”
The experience reinforced the value of her architectural training: meticulous documentation, structured communication and attention to detail. It also set the tone for a career marked by composure under pressure.
O’Keeffe went on to deliver key projects across Canberra and interstate. She recalls the planned $600 million Newcastle CBD redevelopment with particular fondness, not only for its scale but also for the community engagement it required.
“I was travelling to Newcastle weekly, meeting with council and the NSW Government, running community consultations and preparing for pushback that never came,” she says. “We were ready for objections, but the community simply asked, ‘When do you start?’”
Though the project fell victim to the Global Financial Crisis, elements of the original vision remain embedded in the city’s evolution.
Her career progressed through senior roles at Built, where she became general manager for the ACT, before joining Hindmarsh in 2021. Nine days into her new role, the country went into lockdown.
“Suddenly, I had to win three projects online with teams I had never met and whose capabilities I was still learning, but we got through it,” she says. “We won and delivered those projects, and I later moved into the role of strategic business development manager.”
Her approach to leadership, grounded in communication, visibility and shared experience, proved its worth.
Over the years, O’Keeffe has worked on many of Canberra’s major institutions, including Australian Parliament House, Russell Offices, the Australian War Memorial, the National Portrait Gallery, Old Parliament House, the National Museum of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the High Court of Australia and the National Gallery of Australia.
“Being able to say I have contributed to those buildings feels like a legacy,” she says. “It is a very Canberra experience, and one I know not many people get to have.”
Today, O’Keeffe is leading a major institutional project. After steering the project from tender through contract negotiation, she is now focused on supporting the team as the design progresses toward development approval.
“I have an incredibly capable team, both internally and across our wider consultant group, and my role is to make sure they have the support they need to move smoothly into delivery on site,” she says. “They are organised, proactive and fully across what decisions and approvals are coming up. It is refreshing to work in such a positive and knowledgeable environment.”
Central to O’Keeffe’s outlook is the belief that true learning happens on site. She recalls taking over one intense fit-out project and immediately removing the office door her site manager had installed for her.
“I asked him to take the door off. He was adamant that I should have an office, but I wanted to hear everything happening on site,” she says. “You learn so much from sitting among the team, listening to the conversations and problem-solving in real time.”
That commitment to presence also drives her mentorship efforts. A long-time National Association of Women in Construction member and former Mentor of the Year award recipient, she credits mentorship as a two-way street.
“I learned as much from my mentees as I hope they did from me,” says O’Keeffe. “One mentee in particular created a video as part of my award nomination that completely floored me. I could not attend the awards night because I was unwell, but I was told the whole room was quite moved.”
Beyond project delivery, O’Keeffe has embraced initiatives that amplify construction’s social responsibility. Her participation in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout with the Women Building Change group remains one of her most powerful experiences. On a freezing Canberra night, with temperatures plunging to minus nine, O’Keeffe and 28 other women camped outdoors, exposed, exhausted, but united in purpose.
“It really makes you think about what homelessness means in reality,” she says. “Our team brought a completely different energy to an event that is usually male dominated.”
While O’Keeffe had been anxious about meeting her fundraising target, she ended up quadrupling it.
Today, she balances her role at Hindmarsh with the same curiosity that first drew her to technical drawing. Whether leading tenders, supporting site teams or shaping institutional projects, she remains energised by the constant evolution of construction.
“That is my favourite thing about this industry – you learn something new every day,” says O’Keeffe. “It is never static. There is always something new, technologies, materials, construction methodologies, or a new client whose business you need to understand.”
For those looking to follow in her footsteps, O’Keeffe says: “Get out on site, ask questions and communicate. Do not just sit behind a keyboard. Pick up the phone, attend meetings in the office and on site, and be present.”
It is a philosophy that has guided her from her first architectural sketches to a career shaping some of Australia’s most recognisable buildings.
Nadine O’Keeffe’s story is one of turning obstacles into opportunities, each experience strengthening her belief in the value of presence, collaboration and building teams that leave a lasting legacy in the construction sector.
The post Nadine O’Keeffe: Resilience, mentorship and legacy appeared first on Inside Construction.
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