APMP ANZ Chapter awards

Congratulations to the Finalists for the APMP ANZ Awards 2026

For more details of Finalists, head to https://www.apmpanz.org/2026-award-finalists-winners

Emerging Professional Award

Jithin Joseph, Bid Manager, Alstom Transport

Recognised for his analytical approach, attention to detail, and ability to remain calm and collaborative under tight deadlines. Jithin is building a strong foundation as a future leader in the rail industry, contributing to safe, reliable, and sustainable transport solutions for communities across Australia and New Zealand.

Zachary Rose, Senior Bid Coordinator, WSP

Zachary plays a pivotal role in supporting and leading complex, high value submissions across the Defence sector — a space known for its stringent compliance, nuanced narrative expectations, and high stakes. His client centred mindset, and commitment to continuous improvement exemplify the qualities celebrated by this award.

Kirsten Faulkner, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, ConnellGriffin

Kristen plays a key role within the Business Development, Bids and Marketing team. Since moving into the proposal space, she has quickly become a trusted and relied-upon member of the bid team. As an emerging professional, she has already made a meaningful and lasting contribution to ConnellGriffin's approach to bids.

High Impact Award

Natasha Kentwell, Bid Manager, WSP

Natasha, a Bid Manager turned knowledge manager, has fundamentally transformed how WSP’s Australian Work Winning community develops bids through her innovative application of AI, her leadership in rebuilding the Knowledge Library, and her design of bespoke AI Bid Assistant agents. Her contributions reflect deep curiosity, strategic thinking, and a strong commitment to empowering others, making her a standout changemaker within WSP.

Russell Whitford, Submissions Lead, BVN

Since joining BVN, Russel has led a firm-wide uplift in bid governance and capability through his ‘Bid Better’ initiative, which involved a comprehensive review of the firm’s bid lifecycle and a prioritised action plan to strengthen the bid process and help the company win better work. A key outcome has been the development of a firm-wide submissions roadmap and the launch of BVN’s Proposal Portal – a central knowledge hub that equips teams across the practice with the tools and guidance needed to confidently deliver high-quality bids.

Lily Truong, Senior Pursuits, Strategy and Winning Work Manager, Aurecon

Lily has built a reputation as a sharp strategic thinker and trusted pursuit leader with a collaborative working style. Specialising in the Water industry, Lily also brings extensive expertise across Resources, Energy and Transport, giving her a uniquely broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing engineering clients across ANZ. Among her most significant achievements, Lily has played an instrumental role in securing several critical long-term partnerships in the Water sector, including Unitywater BBT and Urban Utilities NG4D.

Proposal Team or Collaboration Award

WSP Australia Manila Work Winning Team, “WW Team”

Their blended approach combines Australian strategic leadership with Manila’s expanding specialist skills, supported by aligned training pathways, APMP accreditation programs, and shared development goals. This partnership has created a culture of trust, transparency, and continuous improvement, lifting quality, consistency, and performance across both regions.

Kuta JV (Aurecon – WSP) for Urban Utilities

The name Kuta, drawn from the native bees of Mt Coot-tha, Brisbane, was deliberately chosen to represent how we would operate as one unified hive. The leadership of both organisations committed to genuinely integrating our proposed personnel as ‘one team’ to best serve the client. This bid was a testament to collaboration and what happens when two organisations come together to pursue a shared purpose.

CPB UGL JV for Sydney Metro West

More than 247 internal CPB–UGL JV resources and 200+ external contributors were coordinated through common governance rhythms, shared platforms and disciplined information manage-ment. The proposal team operated with maturity, intent and discipline. Collaboration was not treated as an aspiration but as a designed system; leader-ship was visible and values led; and effectiveness was demonstrated through the team’s ability to sustain quality, momentum and cohesion across a demanding, long duration tender.

Proposal Industry Contributor Award

Samantha MacMillan, Bid Manager, ConnellGriffin | Vice Chair, APMP ANZ

In addition to balancing to her career and APMP ANZ commitments, Sam also leads the Intentional Career Path (ICP) Task Force, supporting early-career outreach and stronger entry pathways into the profession. She also launched the APMP ANZ Certification Sponsorship Program to reduce barriers to APMP certification and expand access to professional development. She contributes to member experience improvements through chapter communications and digital initiatives, including involvement in the APMP ANZ Value Proposition working group and support for the Chapter website refresh and launch, aligning messaging and user experience to member needs across ANZ.

Jacqui Pike, Manager, Content Team, Bentley Systems

Jacqui’s contributions include a decade of service to the APMP ANZ Chapter committee from 2014 to 2024, where she has held multiple Chapter roles, often concurrently, and regularly stepped into gaps where support was urgently needed. Her leadership of the Intentional Career Path (ICP) initiative addressed a long-standing gap in the profession: the lack of visibility of proposal management as a deliberate and credible career choice, and is arguably the most important initiative facing the profession. A dedicated, proactive and resilient individual, and during a signifi-cant personal health battle, Jacqui quietly but profoundly shaped the generational future of the proposal profession in Australia.

Tania Field, Principal Tender Specialist, Tender Plus | Chair, APMP ANZ

Tania shapes bid strategies and formulates winning submissions on multi-million and multi-billion-dollar tenders. She expertly manages the demands of timelines, evolving scopes, and needs of vastly diverse stakeholders to ensure alignment with client and tender requirements. At Tender Plus, Tania has led high-value and complex tenders across Property Development, Transport, Design & Construction, Social Infrastructure, Professional Services, and Renewables in NSW, nationally, and overseas. She is an exceptional mentor, providing guidance and leadership to her team, and the wider National team, and to the APMP ANZ Chapter.

APMP ANZ Chapter awards

2024 Winners