Leadership Team
The Sarah name has been a prominent South Australian owned and operated construction brand for over 60 years. The businesses within the group are Sarah Constructions and Hindmarsh Plumbing.
Joint Managing Directors
James & Tim Sarah
James and Tim have been involved in business for 30 years and live and breathe the values of strong relationships, high quality solutions and long term sustainability. They strive to ensure that Sarah is a great place to work and forge a career.
James has formal qualifications in building and holds an MBA. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
He has been the President of the Australian Institute of Building and the Property Council, of which he is an Honorary Life Member.
Tim is a Chartered Accountant with an Economics Degree and an MBA.
Both James and Tim are Fellows of the Institute of Company Directors, and are professional directors with roles on various external boards.
Chief Executive Officer - Sarah Group Holdings
Matt Woodrow
Matthew Woodrow is a progressive and strategic thinker, well known for his ability to lead business transformation and realise organisational potential. He is an authentic and trusted leader, who thrives in situations of complexity with composure, wisdom and purpose.
Matt has highly developed skills in strategic planning, financial control, governance, commercial & risk management, and corporate finance. He is also leading positive change in the areas of digital transformation, sustainability, and social impact. Further, Matt is a preeminent executive in the property and construction sector, having been recognized by industry as the Young Property Professional of the Year.
Matt has a broad set of qualifications, including a Master of Business Administration, a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting and a Bachelor of Commerce. He has also graduated from the AICD Company Directors Course, and undertaken various relevant subjects within the Construction Law Master’s at Melbourne University. Matt has also had the privilege of attending both the Harvard Business School in Boston and INSEAD in Singapore completing courses on Innovation and Leadership respectively.
Chief Executive Officer - Sarah Constructions
Adrian Esplin
A strategic and inspirational leader, Adrian’s career spans more than 30 years in commercial construction and development. As the Sarah Constructions CEO, Adrian is passionate about leading and developing our people, creating safe workplaces and driving continuous improvement.
Adrian excels in the ability to narrate the business direction and vision to allow the autonomy and the space for our people to bring the vision to life and to drive collective success.
“At Sarah we value our people and the relationships we build internally with each other. This creates the DNA to build great relationships with everyone we work with – our culture of People First”
Serving on various business and community boards aligns with his commitment to the wider community and the Industry. Adrian is currently Director of Youth Inc, an adjunct lecturer for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Adelaide, an immediate past SA Division President of the Property Council and National Board Director of the Property Council.
Chief Executive Officer - Hindmarsh Plumbing
Ben Harrington
After returning to his hometown of Adelaide in 2016, Ben Harrington joined Hindmarsh Plumbing as Commercial Manager before being promoted to General Manager in 2019, and now, CEO.
Ben, who is a qualified CPA accountant, previously worked for leading global construction company Multiplex in both Melbourne and Sydney where he acquired invaluable experience as part of the finance team.
Ben is proud to lead Hindmarsh Plumbing’s team of more than 140 plumbers, apprentices and support staff, as custodian for the 50-year-old business, which is synonymous with trust and quality plumbing solutions in the South Australian marketplace.
Over the past two years, Ben has enjoyed broader industry participation, as a member of the Master Builders Association of South Australia council. Ben believes that a well-informed and collaborative industry helps drive quality, safety and efficiency.
Outside of work, Ben enjoys spending quality time with his young family, gardening, golf and a good glass of red.
Group Executive – Corporate Services
Chanel Diab
As Group Executive – Corporate Services, Chanel is responsible for overall group strategy which underpins and enables delivery of the operational business strategic plans.
Chanel leads the corporate services teams who deliver end to end support to the Sarah Group Operational businesses. These services include financial compliance, risk management and internal audit, financial planning and analysis, payroll and company secretary services.
Chanel is Chartered Accountant, holding a Graduate Diploma in Accounting, Bachelor of Accounting and is Graduate of the AICD Company directors Course. In her spare time, she loves exploring the outdoors with her young family. She has a passion for travel, and combining this passion with giving back she serves as a Board Director and Treasurer on the Holidays Explorers Inc board.
Group Executive – Human Resources
Stefan Popovic
As the Group Executive for Human Resources, Stefan leads talent strategy across the Group, working closely with executives to align business strategy, culture and purpose.
Stefan is further responsible for HR teams across the Group in providing end-to-end support and advice across talent acquisition, performance management, workforce planning and analytics, health and wellbeing, learning and development, employee and industrial relations.
Stefan has advanced qualifications across psychology, human resources and business providing for a broad and balanced perspective. He holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science, Master of Human Resources Management and Master of Business Administration. With a passion for helping people thrive at work, Stefan has further completed an Advanced Graduate Diploma of Psychology.
Passionate about improving the pathways and opportunities in construction, Stefan is a member of both the Industry Skills Council for Construction, Mining and Energy, HRM Program Advisory Group for the University of South Australia and has participated as a mentor for AHRI.
Group Executive – Information Technology
Steve Sturm
As Group Executive – Information Technology, Steve leads the overall group technology which enables and supports delivery of the wider group strategic and operational business plans.
Steve is further responsible for the teams who deliver end to end support to the Sarah Group Operational businesses. These services include Strategy, Architecture, ICT, PMO, Cyber, Applications and Support.
Steve holds a Master of Business Administration and is Graduate of the AICD Company directors Course. He is also a Board Director and serves on Audit, Risk and Compliance Committees for Not-For-Profit organisations.
In his spare time, he loves getting out and about and spending time with his family. He has a passion for cycling, surfing and football and combining this passion with giving back he is also involved with local sporting clubs in various roles.
Group Executive – Property
Tim Selby
As the Group Executive – Property, Tim is responsible for Sarah Group’s commercial property portfolio, including day-to-day asset management, leasing and tenancy strategy, and proactively sourcing and acquiring new property investments. Tim is also responsible for Sarah Structured Projects, focusing on partnering with our core construction clients to deliver turn-key development outcomes that meet their long term property needs.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and a Post graduate Degree in Property (Valuations). He is an Associate of the Australian Property Institute with 18 years’ experience in commercial real estate. Tim has strong technical expertise in feasibility/analysis, has deep knowledge on underlying property metrics, and prides himself on his ability to build strong relationships with all stakeholders in the property lifecycle.
In his spare time, Tim rides his bike throughout the Adelaide Hill and enjoys playing golf, socialising with friends and quiet Sunday’s at home with his young family.
Group Executive - QHSE
Dena English
Dena has been driving a culture of safety at Sarah for more than 7 years. Combining an engineering background and current law studies with a practical approach, Dena is an expert at translating complicated compliance standards into implementable, best practice business methodologies.
Operating with integrity and conviction, Dena encourages others to embrace a mindset of continuous improvement to support business growth, innovation and achieve best outcomes.
With a passion to increase female participation in safety and construction, Dena is a mentor for women in construction.
Advisory Board - Sarah Constructions
Kim Cheater
Kim is a retired Partner with PwC and has over 34 years professional experience. He led PwC’s Governance, Risk Management and Cyber Security Consulting practice in Adelaide for over 20 years and was also the Adelaide Managing Partner. Kim provides independent and objective advice to the Sarah Group Advisory Board on governance and risk management. He is a Fellow with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow with the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kim is also the Chair of the South Australian Museum and Chair of Alwyndor Aged Care, a Board member of ReturnToWorkSA (and Chair of their Audit & Risk Committee), a member of the Flinders University Governing Council (and Chair of their Audit & Risk Committee) and Chair of the Warriparinga Advisory Team that supports Southern Cultural Immersion, a Kaurna owned business that manages the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre. He was previously Deputy Chair at UnitingCare Wesley Bowden.
Julie Cooper
In addition to her role on the Advisory Board of the Sarah Group, Julie is Chair of Defence Technology Company, Nova Systems Pty Ltd.
She is a non-executive director on the Boards of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Credit Union SA, and the Adelaide Crows Foundation. She has also been Chair of the South Australian Film Corporation and a non-executive director on the Boards of ASC Pty Ltd and Helping Hand (Aged Care).
Before embarking on a Board career, Julie spent more than 25 years as a senior leader in the Brewing, Banking, and Defence sectors across Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She was also a Management Consultant for McKinsey & Company, operating out of the Firm’s London office.
Julie is a member of the International Women’s Forum Australia (IWFA) and a Fellow of the AICD.
Adrian O'Dea
Adrian is a Partner, current leader of Deloitte South Australia’s Public Sector practice and former Chief Operating Officer of Deloitte Australia’s Financial Advisory business. Adrian has approximately 25 years’ experience in providing financial advisory services to both the public sector and corporate and private markets.
Prior to this, Adrian was the lead partner of Deloitte’s South Australia Financial Advisory team and lead Partner of two separate service offerings within the national Financial Advisory practice.
Adrian has advised the public sector on complex business case development and feasibility studies as well as advised transactions valued in excess of $5bn, leading numerous engagements for public unlisted and privately held companies. These engagements range from strategic and operational reviews to complete M&A lifecycle and infrastructure transactions.
Adrian is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He has a Bachelor of Accountancy from The University of South Australia and a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Adelaide.
Adrian is a Board Advisor to Sarah Group, and a member of the Capital Committee.
Advisory Board - Sarah Group
Carolyn Mitchell
Carolyn is an experienced non-executive director. Previously, Carolyn was a Commercial Lawyer, specialising in the areas of commercial advice, insolvency, and trade practices for over 25 years. Legal practice has given her the ability to identify major issues of governance, risk management, and legal compliance and to then set about improving those areas.
Carolyn is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Directors.
Since leaving legal practice, Carolyn has built a substantial portfolio of non-executive director roles, including currently holding the Chair role for Credit Union SA, Netball SA, Tonkin Consulting, The CanDo Group and Haighs Chocolates.
Advisory Board - Hindmarsh Plumbing
Ian Stone
A Charted Accountant with decades of executive and board experience across automotive, insurance and financial services, corporate restructuring and professional education, Ian utilises his national and international experience to drive real value and growth for organisations in an environment of constant change.
He is passionate about creating value through innovation, culture and business transformation, and brings deep experience in strategy, risk management, governance, change management, compliance and financial management to boardrooms, nationally and internationally.
As an experienced non-executive director, Ian uses his extensive local and global experience to guide and mentor organisations through inevitable periods of ambiguity, change, transformation and innovation.
Stephen Godfrey
Stephen’s experience in the plumbing industry spans more than 30 years. His vast knowledge of the commercial, health, apartment and industry sectors is unparalleled. Having owned and managed 2 of the longest running plumbing businesses in the country, C.L. Godfrey and CDC Plumbing & Drainage, Stephen understands the requisite need for financial discipline and operational improvement.
He has a passion for collaboration and has been an integral part of multiple successful consortiums undertaking Public Private Partnership projects, including the New Royal Adelaide Hospital. Stephen’s inherent business management and leadership skills support businesses to undertake strategic growth with a commercially balanced approach.
He has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Monash University, Melbourne.
