The Formus Team
Ben Fairfax MANAGING DIRECTOR
Ben, Co-founder and Managing Director of Formus Property, brings over 33 years of expertise in various aspects of property development. His experience spans land acquisition, civil engineering, town planning, master planning, legal and financial structuring, design and construction, marketing and sales, and overall project development delivery. Ben has successfully managed strategic alliances with financial institutions and joint venture partners in diverse property sectors, including industrial, commercial, mixed-use residential, and retail.
Maintaining a partnership approach has always been a core principle in Ben's business philosophy. His comprehensive understanding of the property process, from concept to completion, has been instrumental in driving growth and success across various property sectors in his previous business endeavors.
In 2009, Ben co-founded Bluestone Property Solutions, which later merged in 2012 to become Capital Bluestone. The vision was to achieve long-term success and sustainability in projects, contributing to positive change in communities through well-planned, integrated developments. This joint venture approach resulted in a development pipeline exceeding $2 billion, with partnerships with clubs, churches, and community groups, including the Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club at Woolooware Bay Town Centre, Kogarah RSL, Bondi Junction RSL, the Seventh Day Adventist and Hillsong Church prior to the business being acquired by an International Group in 2019.
Recognising an opportunity, Ben established Formus Property to provide a transparent joint venture model for collaboration with landowners in the Club, Community, Corporate, and Private sectors. The goal is to transform and maximise the potential of existing property assets through an integrated development approach, ensuring long-term sustainability and positive community impact.
Ben has a track record of successfully establishing businesses around core values and a partnership model, emphasising collaboration and transparency.
This commitment positions Formus Property the preferred partner in all future dealings.
Adam Lucas CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Adam is Co-founder & Executive Director of Formus Property and has over 20 years of property & development experience. He has a focused on large multi staged mixed use projects and has held senior positions in private and listed development firms, managing complex development projects with a combined end value approaching $6bn AUD. With broad development knowledge and strong 'mixed use' project experience, he brings the critical pieces together and has consistently done this on Australia's largest Urban Regeneration Projects.
From establishing the vision and site master plan & design development through complex planning approvals, marketing, sales/Leasing, funding toconstruction delivery. He challenges every step, identifying and mitigating risks and driving revenue.
Adam has managed some of Australia's largest Urban Regeneration projects in ‘Woolooware Bay’, ‘Darling Square’ and 'One Sydney Harbour' in Sydney's Barangaroo South precinct.
Adam most recently led the Residential Development Team on the 'One Sydney Harbour' project through design development, planning approvals, record setting sales campaign, funding and conversion into construction delivery. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect 'Renzo Piano' the project has an end value well in excess of $4bn and consists of three tall towers at up to 250m in height. It is one of the most significant projects of its kind in Australia.
Adam first worked with Co-Founder Ben at 'Bluestone Property Solutions' from its inception in 2009 as its first team member, working closely on the tender, acquisition, design, planning and delivery of several projects including the 'Woolooware Bay Town Centre' in partnership with the 'Cronulla Sharks Leagues Club'. This major mixed-use project with an end value of $950m ensured the survival of the club by delivering a sustainable return.
Nic Culnane DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Nic joins Formus Property as a Project Director with 30 years of major project experience working for publicly listed fortune 500 companies, privately owned companies and state government entities in Australia, Singapore, and England. Nic has held senior executive and senior management positions where he has specialised in delivering complex development, building and infrastructure projects across various industries with project values scaling up to A$1.7bn AUD.
Nic’s drive enabled state government entities to unlock challenges to deliver public infrastructure projects in urban renewal precincts, over and around heavy and light rail including residential apartments, commercial office, primary and secondary schools, health and wellbeing centres and multi-jurisdictional courts. Whilst in the private sector, Nic has managed design, tender and contract administration of civil infrastructure, residential, commercial, refurbishments and upgrades to pharmaceutical, residential, and commercial facilities around the world.
Having worked for principal contractors, consultants, developers, and state government, Nic understands the key challenges, opportunities, motivations, and value drivers in the creation of and delivery of assets. Being solutions focused, he draws upon his extensive experience managing design, procurement, delivery, commissioning, and settlement processes to mitigate project delivery risk and maximise development returns.
Nic’s charitable values have drawn him to preside over, provide services to and to volunteer for not-for-profits.
Nic’s depth of experience and proven track record in successfully delivering complex projects make him an invaluable member of the Formus team, consistently driving excellence and innovation in all his endeavours.
Amy Gibb FINANCIAL CONTROLLER
Amy joined Formus in October 2023 and brings a wealth of knowledge, using forecasts and strategic modelling to help the company achieve its financial goals. She oversees several operational functions and heads the strategic planning process. Amy works with the executive team at Formus to provide insights and advice that drive the company’s high performance.
Amy has over 20 years accounting experience specialising in small to medium sized enterprises, privately held companies and high net worth individuals. Prior to joining Formus, Amy worked in public practice at Deloitte as a Forensic Accountant then as a Finance Specialist at Insurance Australia Group.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Professional Accounting) from Macquarie University and is a member of Certified Practicing Accountants.
Amy’s depth of experience and strategic acumen make her an invaluable member of the Formus team, consistently driving the company towards achieving its financial and operational goals.
Wayne Moodie SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER & CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS
Wayne brings over three decades of property industry experience, with a hands-on and diligent approach that has led him into Senior Asset Management, Investment Management, and more recently, Development Management roles. His professional journey involves collaboration with both International and Local Investors, working with listed and private landowners. Wayne has actively engaged with various stakeholders in strategically repositioning and redeveloping some of Australia's foremost Real Estate Assets.
Over the course of his career, Wayne has taken on leadership responsibilities for real estate portfolios across multiple Australian States and Territories, as well as in New Zealand. He’s held senior leadership roles, managing portfolios for institutional investors such as AMP Capital, Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM), Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), Nortel Networks, and Queensland Investment Management (QIC).
Wayne's expertise extends across a diverse spectrum of property sectors, including Clubs, Commercial, Education, Entertainment, Industrial, Residential Mixed Use & Land Subdivisions, Seniors Living and Retail Shopping Centres.
He’s played a role in the success of some of Australia's iconic Real Estate Assets, including Castle Towers Castle Hill (NSW), Centrepoint Tower Sydney (NSW), Chatswood Chase (NSW), DFO Homebush (NSW), Garden City Booragoon (WA), Karrinyup (WA), Macquarie Centre (NSW), The Entertainment Quarter (NSW), Tuggeranong (ACT), Warringah Mall (NSW), and Westpoint Blacktown (NSW).
Wayne joined Formus in 2022, aligning with Ben and Adam, to pursue his passion for collaborating with landowners. His focus is on identifying and implementing the most beneficial and optimal use of land in the best interest of the landowner
David Read DESIGN MANAGER
David brings over 20 years of international architecture and design management experience between Australia the UK and Dubai through pre and post-contract stages across a range of building and construction types from small boutique to large mega-scale multi-phase Residential, Commercial, Hotel and Retail mixed-use developments.
Internationally David has been the lead design consultant on a range of projects including the Al Ain 25,000m2 football stadium and surrounding 1000 key mixed-use development in the UAE + various healthcare, education and sustainable IT start-up facilities in the UK.
More recent local project design management roles include a 35,000m2 Residential, Hotel, Retail mixed-use development in Hurstville + a 28,000m2 commercial mixed-use development in at Norwest Business Park at Bella Vista.
As a highly pragmatic and collaborative operator, David is motivated by a focus on efficiency in design and construction with a view to working with design & engineering consultants and contractors to deliver considered products into the market for maximised revenue.
Lily Pittard DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
With over 7 years of experience in the property development industry, Lily Pittard has established herself as a highly motivated and organised professional with a strong track record of delivering complex projects across various sectors. Having recently relocated from Western Australia to Sydney, Lily has been pivotal in managing and delivering award-winning developments across Perth.
During her tenure at Hesperia Property, Lily led key projects such as the Murdoch Square Health and Knowledge Precinct and the Leederville ABN Office, where her role as Development Manager involved overseeing the planning, design, and delivery phases. She played a critical role in managing stakeholder relationships, ensuring compliance with Greenstar accreditation, and steering projects through crucial milestones, all while maintaining budgets and driving the projects to successful completion.
Lily's expertise extends across sectors including commercial, industrial, residential, retail, and hospitality. Her ability to manage project funding models, risk mitigation, and complex stakeholder engagement has been instrumental in her success. Her leadership on projects like the Courtyard by Marriott at Murdoch Square and the Electric Lane development in Leederville has earned her recognition within the industry, including several prestigious project awards.
Beyond her project management skills, Lily has also chaired the Hesperia Philanthropy Committee, where she managed events and collaborations with non-profits, showcasing her dedication to corporate social responsibility.
Lily holds a Bachelor of Business with a major in Marketing from Swinburne University and has completed professional development courses in advanced communication, negotiation skills, and performance management.
Cassie Staples ASSISTANT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Assisting in establishing project briefs and strategies, timelines, market analysis, proposals and submissions, Cassie provides reliable and ongoing support in achieving project objectives.
Cassie first worked with the Founders of Formus property on the Woolooware Bay Town Centre project. On this project Cassie was heavily involved in the sales and marketing function, delivering outstanding results, selling out entire stages of apartments in a matter of hours. Cassie also went on to be a critical part of the community engagement process, dealing with the many and varied stakeholders of the project, delivering a cohesive and integrated community.
Cassie went on from her position on Woolooware Bay to enjoy a celebrated career as a professional athlete, representing Australia in the Women’s Rugby 7’s team. This level of commitment and focus now flows into her work at Formus Property.
Working closely with the executive team, Cassie’s role continues to expand, proving her to be an integral part of the future of Formus.