In this episode of the Arete Podcast, Richard Triggs sits down with John Lewis, Co-Founder of Lewis Woolcott and Lware, to explore entrepreneurship, innovation and the changing future of major infrastructure projects.
John’s career began on construction sites in the UK after he left university early. He later returned to study construction law, moved through senior commercial and project leadership roles with organisations including ConocoPhillips, Origin Energy and GE, and eventually recognised that he was better suited to building businesses than navigating a traditional corporate career.
Today, John leads two connected but very different businesses. Lewis Woolcott provides commercial, project controls and dispute advisory services across major construction, infrastructure and mining projects. Lware develops technology designed to give project teams better visibility, stronger analytics and faster insight into cost, delay and performance.
Richard and John discuss the realities of growing two businesses, why construction has been slow to adopt new technology, and how combining industry expertise with software can solve problems traditional consulting has struggled with for decades.
They also explore the impact of AI on consulting, the tension between billable hours and greater efficiency, and why human judgement will remain essential even as data analysis becomes faster and more sophisticated.
This is a conversation about recognising opportunity, challenging accepted ways of working and having the confidence to build something the market has not seen before.
Key Timestamps
1:45 – How Lewis Woolcott and Lware work together
4:02 – Supporting major infrastructure, construction and mining projects
11:36 – John’s journey from leaving university to senior project leadership
16:15 – Realising he was naturally suited to entrepreneurship
18:09 – Why the consulting and technology businesses became separate brands
24:19 – The moment an Uber journey inspired a new approach to construction data
26:52 – How AI is changing consulting and billable-hour models
31:51 – Why major projects experience cost and schedule blowouts
34:44 – Using technology to predict delays and improve project performance
39:25 – The next stage of growth across Australia, the UK and the US
USEFUL LINKS:
John Lewis on LinkedIn
Lware’s Website
Richard Triggs on LinkedIn
Arete Executive Website
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