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About Matthew Boot

30+ years on the frontline of complex capital projects

When major projects hit crisis – fire at 60% completion, geotechnical failures, schedule collapse with boards demanding answers – Matthew Boot has been the person called in to help stabilise them.

Not to observe. Not to report. To plan and execute the recovery.

That’s not a positioning statement. It’s what I’ve done repeatedly across five continents: provide assurance on the 911 Memorial in New York facing with an unmovable anniversary deadline, NZICC Auckland after a devastating construction fire, Barangaroo South through delays and a significant construction fire, Manchester Joint Hospital, NorthConnex Tunnel, Macquarie Bank’s Martin Place redevelopment supporting the development’s completion strategy.

The large consultancies send analysts with frameworks. I’ve been in the trenches. I appreciate the constraints and I help teams understand what’s critical.

My Experience

Three Decades of Landmark Projects

I’ve spent 30+ years planning, leading, and recovering complex capital projects—from single-stage construction to multi-billion-dollar master-planned urban developments across infrastructure, commercial, healthcare, entertainment, cultural and residential sectors.

My career includes over 20 years with Lendlease in increasingly senior roles:

  • Global Head of Planning & Scheduling – oversight of major projects including London’s Olympic Village, Google’s London Headquarters, the 911 Memorial in New York, Manchester Joint Hospital, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, and Brisbane International Airport Terminal Expansion.
  • Head of International Delivery – governance and assurance across Lendlease’s major international projects in Australia, Asia, UK, and the US
  • Regional Operations Manager, Asia – direct operational responsibility for projects in Singapore, Japan, China, and Malaysia
  • Head of Engineering, Barangaroo – developing and executing the planning and controls as well as overall commissioning and finalisation of the precinct.
  • Construction Director– leading the construction of China’s largest semiconductor facility, SMIC, in Shanghai

Matthew Boot accepting the global award for the rollout of Primavera P6
Leadership of planning project controls and closeout activities for the largest urban redevelopment in Australia Barangaroo

What’s Critical

In 2004, I founded What’s Critical to focus on what I do best: cutting through complexity to stabilise projects under pressure. After embedding back into Lendlease to lead the planning and delivery of Barangaroo followed by a promotion into international operations, I relaunched the consultancy in 2020.

Whats Critical was established in 2004 to provide leading project planning solutions Through 30 years of experience Whats Critical has become a trusted framework for addressing distressed capital projects

Chief Projects Officer

Most recently, I served as Chief Projects Officer at Diriyah Gate in Saudi Arabia – one of the world’s most significant heritage and cultural developments. My focus was transitioning the giga-project from a major civil and infrastructure programme to an integrated mixed-use construction operation.

This involved refining the PMO’a area of focus and shifting the project controls philosophy from rear-vision percent-complete reporting to forward-looking predictive scheduling – a change that fundamentally altered how the leadership team understood and managed project risk.

Diriyah Gate one of Saudi Arabias giga projects a landmark urban redevelopment project in Riyadh

Matthew Boot

Credentials

Contact matthew boot

Education

  • Bachelor of Building, University of New South Wales
  • Stanford University – Virtual Design & Construction Certificate Program
  • Stanford University — CIFE Summer Program

Associations

  • Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE)
  • Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • Society of Construction Law Australia (SOCLA)

Recognition

  • Global AEC Industry Award for Primavera Implementation Solution (Oracle Primavera International Conference, 2008)

Global Training

  • 250+ project planning training courses delivered across 15 countries

I don’t send a team. I show up.

My approach is founded on traditional construction planning principles, lean construction methods, and a relentless focus on critical thinking. I’ve used 4D planning techniques for over 15 years and trained at Stanford’s Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) as virtual construction and digital twin technology developed.

But technology doesn’t save failing projects. Clarity and experience does.

When I’m engaged on a distressed project, I work closely with teams, following a focused roadmap:

Phase I: Strategic Realignment

A redefinition of “success”.

Phase II: Operational Triage

Focusing on “stopping the bleeding”.

Phase III: Diagnostic Assessment

What is driving the “pace of construction”.

Phase IV: Recovery Roadmap

A new plan for the “current reality”.

Phase V: Execution Governance

Effective governance and reporting focused on “actionable insights”

You can learn more about my trusted approach here

Let me help

Is your project in need of support? Are you concerned about some early warning signals? Or are you looking to get ahead by establishing a robust execution strategy for your project?

Connect with me today to discover how I can help your project drive outcomes that both make sense and focus on what’s critical.

Contact matthew boot
The Kingsley Hotel in Newcastle I provided construction planning assurance and project closeout support
I have had extensive experience in capital project recovery services including the significantly delayed refurbishment of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney