Matthew Rae

MCOM, BAEC, NV1  Clearance

Matt is a highly accomplished procurement, commercial, and supply chain leader with more than 25 years of experience delivering strategic sourcing, contract management, commercial leadership, supplier relationship management, and procurement transformation initiatives across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Pacific.

His career spans senior leadership roles across mining and resources, oil and gas, energy and utilities, infrastructure, ports, telecommunications, manufacturing, FMCG,  and government sectors. Matt combines deep procurement expertise with strong commercial acumen, business partnering capability, and practical delivery experience, enabling organisations to achieve sustainable commercial outcomes while strengthening governance, supplier performance, and stakeholder confidence.

Throughout his career, Matt has successfully led procurement functions through periods of significant organisational change, establishing high-performing teams, implementing enterprise procurement strategies, and delivering measurable value across both capital and operational expenditure portfolios. He is recognised for his ability to build trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels, align procurement outcomes with business objectives, and successfully deliver in both strategic and operational environments.

Matt has held senior leadership positions with Beach Energy, APA Group and OneSteel, where he led large-scale sourcing initiatives, procurement transformation programs, supplier relationship management frameworks and category strategies across capital and operational expenditure portfolios exceeding $600 million. His experience extends to establishing national procurement and supply chain functions, supporting enterprise asset management transformation, delivering major capital projects, and implementing sustainable procurement initiatives that improve commercial outcomes, mitigate risk and support long-term business performance.

Matt has successfully partnered with leading procurement advisory organisations including ArcBlue, Proxima Group, Augment and JD Consultancy, supporting clients in the planning, execution and delivery of procurement strategies, capability uplift programs, contract negotiations and complex sourcing initiatives.

At Rae & Sara, Matt works closely with government agencies, infrastructure owners, utilities, and private sector organisations to deliver procurement and commercial outcomes that are practical, defensible, commercially sound, and aligned to broader business objectives. His hands-on approach, combined with extensive leadership experience, enables clients to confidently navigate complex procurement challenges from strategy development through to contract award and supplier management.

Justin Sara

BAPPSCI, BMGT, MPubADMIN, MCIPS, FGIA, MAICD, JP

Justin is a highly respected procurement and governance professional with extensive experience leading complex, high-value procurement initiatives across government and regulated environments. Throughout his career, he has successfully delivered strategic procurement programs that balance the diverse objectives of public sector organisations, including value for money, industry participation, regional economic development, social procurement outcomes, ethical procurement, and robust governance.

Justin has a particular passion for leveraging procurement as a catalyst for positive social and economic outcomes. He has led numerous initiatives focused on increasing Aboriginal business participation and economic inclusion, helping organisations embed Indigenous procurement objectives into their sourcing strategies and procurement frameworks. He has also provided specialist consulting services in the development of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) procurement frameworks, policies, and maturity assessments for State Government agencies.

His expertise spans procurement strategy, category management, commercial negotiations, governance, probity, supplier engagement, capability development, and organisational procurement transformation. Justin has successfully negotiated complex commercial arrangements with some of Australia's largest organisations, including HP, DXC Technology, Qantas, Hays, Randstad, Alinta Energy, AGL, Microsoft, Caltex, BP, and NEC. He has also supported suppliers pursuing government opportunities through the development of bid strategies and Industry Participation Plans.

Justin is recognised as one of Australia's leading procurement probity practitioners, having acted as both Probity Advisor and Probity Reviewer on major procurement projects across South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory. His experience ranges from major infrastructure projects exceeding $1 billion in value through to community service commissioning, social services procurement, and Aboriginal community programs. He has also assisted agencies in responding to supplier complaints, conducting procurement reviews, and delivering probity and governance training to evaluation teams and executive leadership groups.

At Rae & Sara, Justin combines deep procurement expertise, governance leadership, and commercial acumen to help organisations deliver procurement outcomes that are transparent, defensible, socially responsible, and commercially successful.