Full background report
Simon Barnes
Former Managing Director Civil Infrastructure East
Career chronology
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Joined Decmil November 2022; managing director civil infrastructure east September 2025; departed by October 2026.: Macmahon Holdings Limited — Managing Director Civil Infrastructure East. Annual Report FY2026 (physical PDF p. 45, executive biography); Fulton Hogan appoints Simon Barnes CEO Australia (appointment notice, prior role and planned start)
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Before Macmahon acquisition in August 2024: Decmil Group Limited — General Manager Eastern. Decmil Annual Report 2023 (pp. 24–25 management biographies); Acquisition of Decmil completed (p. 1 acquisition completion)
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Commenced October 2026; announced start 12 October: Fulton Hogan — Chief Executive Officer Australia. Our leaders (Australia executive biography); Fulton Hogan appoints new CEO for Australia (3 September 2026 appointment report)
Education and qualifications
Qualifications and verification
Education dates not established · issuer reported · low materiality
Decmil reports a civil engineering qualification and MBA; independent institutional confirmation was unavailable.
Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Issuer or professional biography reports qualifications; no direct independent verification is implied.
Relevance: Relevant to assessing professional preparation.
Annual Report FY2026 (physical PDF p. 45, executive biography); Decmil Annual Report 2023 (printed p.25 Simon Barnes biography, civil engineer and MBA)
Business failures and setbacks
Decmil prior financial setbacks
FY2022–August 2024 · documented · medium materiality
The Decmil scheme booklet’s independent expert reports company net losses of A$1.8m in FY2023 and A$1.8m in the half year to December 2023, following a A$103.2m loss in FY2022. Macmahon completed its acquisition of Decmil in August 2024. The FY2022 loss preceded Baddock and Barnes joining Decmil; Vaughan joined in 2019. These are company-level outcomes.
Attribution: Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Executive roles overlapped some reported periods; the sources do not establish an individual causal contribution.
Relevance: Relevant to management of civil contracting and integration.
Decmil scheme booklet independent expert (independent expert section 5.6.1 financial history); Decmil Annual Report 2023 (printed pp.24–25 management biographies); Acquisition of Decmil completed (p.1 completed acquisition)
Governance and interests
Leadership transition from Decmil East
September–October 2026 · documented · medium materiality
Fulton Hogan announced in September 2026 that Barnes was joining from Decmil East, with an expected start of 12 October; its leadership page says he commenced in October. The exact date he left Macmahon and his replacement are not established.
Attribution: Individual involvement documented. The transition is explicitly disclosed by his new employer; its practical impact on Macmahon is not established.
Relevance: Material to continuity of the civil infrastructure East leadership.
Fulton Hogan appoints Simon Barnes CEO Australia (appointment announcement, former role and planned start); Fulton Hogan appoints new CEO for Australia (3 September 2026 appointment announcement); Our leaders (Australian executive profile, October commencement)
Suitability for the current role
Role-relevant professional experience
Through 2026-10-31 · analyst inference · low materiality
Prior civil engineering and regional contracting leadership is relevant to his former Decmil East role. He joined Fulton Hogan as Australia CEO in October 2026. The sources do not isolate individual contribution to past company outcomes.
Attribution: Responsibility not applicable. Analytical assessment based on disclosed career; it is not a finding of personal delivery or misconduct.
Relevance: Matches documented experience to the role.
Annual Report FY2026 (physical PDF p. 45, executive biography)
Evidence gaps
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Independent verification of education, credential status, full prior-employer tenures and individual outcomes is incomplete.
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Focused public-source screening is not a comprehensive court, regulatory, criminal, sanctions or credential check; some historical employer records and local-language sources were not reviewed.
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The precise departure date from Macmahon and the identity of his permanent replacement are not established.