MEET THE TEAM
Get to know the hard working team that contribute to the success of BG Cooke Construction.
Brad Cooke
Grace Cooke
Matt Kiesanowski
Cam Stachurski
Matt Ridgway
Matt McDonald
Brent Neill
Blair Norton
Michael Mills
Blair Wilkins
Brad Cooke
“Do the mahi! Get the treats!”
Brad has been building for 15 years, Brad became a qualified builder in 2010. His expertise, wealth of knowledge and skills in the construction industry is undeniably impressive and inspiring. Brad’s experience is predominantly in commercial construction, having worked for a well known Christchurch Commercial Company for 7 years and for 5 of those years being one of their site managers. Not only is Brad a competent builder he also operates all the machinery and his passion for concrete enables our team to take on many large projects involving concrete, we can complete any job from start to finish. Having large dreams, and drive like no other, he was ready and passionate to launch “BG Cooke Construction” in February 2017. With no trouble networking and sourcing projects, BG Cooke Construction hit the ground running with his hands-on and supportive wife Grace leading the way to a very successful future.
Brad loves to work and so when he allows himself to relax he will load up his boat and take his friends and family out to hunt some crays. A keen hunter, fisherman, diver and an incredibly loyal, loving family man and friend.
Grace Cooke
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (or lady haha), healthy, wealthy and wise”
Grace’s background in personal banking and home lending has created a strong foundation to help manage BG Cooke Construction. Before starting their family and establishing BG Cooke Construction, Grace was a business development manager for a large housing and rental company based in Christchurch. This has assisted Grace with the skills for following up project leads, exceptional communication along with her expert financial knowledge from 7 years in the banking industry. From the beginning, Grace has always supported Brad’s dreams of creating a well-known commercial construction company servicing the wider Canterbury region which has now become a reality! Brad and Grace are about the have their third baby girl in early 2020, along with building their dream home.
Grace is a keen hockey player and loves a challenge, her family, friends and looks forward to working with you. Her bubbly personality makes her extremely approachable and is a crucial team member to BG Cooke construction!
Matt Kiesanowski
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it”
Matt is one of our longest team members! Matt completed an adult apprenticeship after a career change later in life, from Bank Manager to Builder he has never been happier. Before starting with BG Cooke Construction he worked for a large commercial company in Christchurch. With Matt’s natural mathematic brain and leadership skills, he brings not only an experienced builders knowledge but the x-factor on site which makes him incredibly valuable. Effectively bringing key skills to the team and business to continue the success of BG Cooke Construction.
Matt’s interests and hobbies are all sports but especially – rugby, NRL (The Warriors), golf and spending time with family and friends.
Cam Stachurski
“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”
Cam is one of our newest team members, we were eager to get him on board with the team at BG Cooke Construction when he approached us nearly a year ago. Before working for us he also was working for a large commercial company in Christchurch. Cam has been qualified for 5 years and building for 9 years. His independence on the worksite is incredibly valuable, knowing we can leave him to get the job done. Additionally, he has a positive attitude and great communication skills.
Cam’s interests and hobbies are all sports including hunting and fishing.
Matt Ridgway
“Unleash the Beast”
Matt has been building for 10 years and has been qualified for 6 years. Matt is an incredibly hard-working, loyal team member who completes any job put his way to a high standard. Matt worked for a housing company before starting with BG Cooke Construction 2 years ago. His work ethic and honesty make him a great asset to our team!
Matt loves a backward cap, is a keen fisherman and a devoted family man!
Matt McDonald
“Go like the clappers”
Matt is one of our apprentice builders and he’s an absolute natural! His knowledge and skill with concrete preparation and the pouring of it are phenomenal. Matt is a real asset to our team, he works closely with Brad when we have large commercial concrete pours. Both Matt and Brad have great respect for each other in high-intensity work situations where time management is crucial, especially with our concrete projects. Often they are both operating Kelly floats including ride on Kelly floats which create a high quality finish to the concrete for our clients.
Matt’s a real socialite and loves his weekends! He enjoys motorbikes, music, photography and a healthy lifestyle!
Brent Neill
“It doesn’t matter whether you win by an inch or a mile, winnings, winning!”
Brent is our most recent builder to join the BG Cooke team. Before reaching out to us, Brent worked for a small company that contracted to commercial projects and sites in the city as well as small renovations around Canterbury. He is eager to learn and adopt new methods for building. Brent is a fantastic team member of BG Cooke Construction!
Brent’s hobbies include motorsport, socialising with friends, family and renovating his first home.
Blair Norton
“You Reap What You Sow”
Blair is our newest building apprentice! After travelling the world he worked on large farms in Hawarden, after working on farms for a couple of years he contacted us with ambitions of starting his new career! He is an incredibly quick learner, always confident, enthusiastic and eager to work as soon as he puts his boots on. He’s a real go-getter with that no-nonsense farmer’s attitude and he fits in perfectly with the BG Cooke Construction team!
Blair’s weeks in between work consist of training with his local country rugby club and playing footy on Saturday’s.
Michael Mills
Millsy is doing an adult apprenticeship with BG Cooke construction, he is a concreter by trade and had been doing this for the last 6 years. This means Millsy is an asset to our team for sure with the quantity of concrete we do deal with in our commercial building, house slabs and tilts. Millsy is an enthusiastic and outgoing team member at work and outside of work, who is learning incredibly quickly in the carpentry sector.
Blair Wilkins
Blair is an energetic young lad who has started his apprenticeship with BG Cooke construction towards the end of 2019. Blair is very motivated to learn and is doing so at a great pace! He’s a country lad who loves the hard mahi with all the boys and is thriving in our team.
