News & Insights
Four Decades of Thinking Big
Date
- 2025 June
This year, we celebrate Waren Warfield’s lasting contribution to RCP, which spans 40 years across multiple countries, countless cities, and some of the most complex projects delivered in New Zealand.
Waren Warfield
Waren’s story starts in Queensland in the late 1970s, when the state was undergoing a major building boom. As a young project manager in the public sector, he helped deliver hospitals, schools, police stations, and courthouses. It was a pace and scale that set the tone for the rest of his career.
In 1985, he joined RCP in Australia and gained experience in high-rise buildings, hotels, and casinos. That expertise brought him to New Zealand in Jan 1994 to work on the SkyCity development in Auckland. It was a complex, high-pressure project. Waren was brought across the Tasman to help make it happen.
Just next door, Nick Beale was managing the Sky Tower. The two worked closely, found shared ground in their thinking, and decided to keep working together. That was the beginning of RCP in New Zealand.
Since then, his impact has been wide-reaching. He’s played a central role in projects like the Auckland Hospital Redevelopment, the America’s Cup Village, the Vero Centre, University of Auckland and Eden Park. In Christchurch, he helped lead the redevelopment of Burwood and Christchurch hospitals, the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct, and more recently contributed strategic advice to Te Kaha Stadium. His advisory work continues today across major programmes like the Facilities Infrastructure Remediation Programme and Scott Base Redevelopment in Antarctica , where his experience in planning, procurement, and delivery remains invaluable.
Waren’s approach to projects has always been clear and pragmatic. Look at the issue, figure out the best way forward, make the call, and move on. He believes in putting the right people around the table and giving them room to do what they’re good at. That mindset helped RCP build a reputation for handling difficult, high-stakes jobs with confidence.
Waren continues to play a key role in healthcare infrastructure across the country. His early work in hospitals, combined with the insights of his wife Helen, a nurse, gave him a strong understanding of how health buildings need to function for staff and patients. That perspective still shapes his work today.
He’s also proud of the culture that has developed at RCP. “I’ve always wanted RCP to be a learning organisation,” he says. “A place where smart, ambitious people with good hearts can come together and do something meaningful.”
Ask anyone who’s worked with him, and they’ll tell you the same thing. Waren is sharp, thoughtful, and quietly generous with his knowledge. He’s the person you want on a tough job. The one who keeps things moving forward when they get stuck. And the one who always makes time for a conversation when it matters.
He still comes to work with the same mindset. Still enjoys the challenge. Still enjoys the people. “It’s never felt like a job coming to RCP,” he says. “It’s always a pleasure. I get to work with my mates.”
