Stephen Tyson CMInstD

COO | Engineering Executive | Director | Business Development

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

About

Experienced Chief Operating Officer with a track record of leading transformation, strategy execution, and profitable growth across public and private sector organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. I bring deep expertise in P&L management, operational improvement, and governance, with a focus on delivering sustainable, profitable growth. My leadership philosophy is grounded in the belief that aligned, purpose-driven teams are the foundation of enduring success. I’m passionate about developing people, building culture, and driving excellence across technical, client, and operational domains. Whether leading complex change programs or shaping strategic direction, I bring a disciplined, values-based approach that connects commercial outcomes with long-term capability development.

Experience

  • Chief Operating Officer at Stellar Projects Ltd
    Aug 2025 - Present · 11 mos

    Accountable for the execution of company strategy, working closely with the Chief Executive, Board, and service line leaders to foster a high-performance culture, drive operational improvements, and ensure strategic alignment across the business. Focused on enabling sustainable growth through disciplined execution, leadership development, and continuous improvement.

  • Client Director at Aurecon
    Oct 2023 - Aug 2025 · 1 yr 11 mos

    Delivering strategic and engineering consulting services to transportation clients and their senior teams across New Zealand. Focused on project shaping, design, and execution; while contributing to the growth of our broader business by designing integrated, outcome-driven solutions.

  • Director at IwiConnect
    Mar 2024 - Jul 2025 · 1 yr 5 mos

    IwiConnect is New Zealand’s first national platform transforming how organisations engage with iwi and hapū. We make iwi engagement simple, culturally aligned, and Tiriti-compliant, bridging the gap between government, businesses, and iwi. Our platform consolidates iwi and hapū data — spanning over 150 recognised iwi authorities and 2,100 hapū—into an easy-to-use, geospatially mapped database that enables timely and meaningful engagement.

  • Auckland Council (5 yrs 11 mos)
    • General Manager Operations & Optimisation - Regulatory Services
      Mar 2020 - Oct 2023 · 3 yrs 8 mos

      Led operations, strategy, and transformation across a $237M division comprising five departments: Resource Consents, Building Consents, Regulatory Engineering, Licensing & Regulatory Compliance, and Operations & Optimisation. Accountable for performance, change leadership, and service delivery across 1,500 staff, with a focus on regulatory excellence, operational efficiency, and people development.

    • General Manager - Regulatory Engineering
      Dec 2017 - Mar 2020 · 2 yrs 4 mos

      Role included: departmental management of 140 engineers, support staff and contractors, leadership and influencing, profit and loss control, planning, program and personnel management, stakeholder management, group cost control, technical development and operations optimisation.

  • Ground Engineering Leader - New Zealand at Aurecon
    Jun 2015 - Dec 2017 · 2 yrs 7 mos

    Role included: general management, leadership, business development, program and project management, employee management, stakeholder management, group cost control, project delivery and technical development (project technical reviews, training and mentoring).