Natasha Santha is a Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s Melbourne office and is a member of the firm’s New Mobility, Transport and Infrastructure practices. Natasha has significant experience in transport and infrastructure segments, with particular expertise in public transport operations, heavy asset procurement, major project investment evaluation, bid support and airport ground access. She regularly advises governments and infrastructure owners on the impacts of new and emerging technologies and services relating to their organizations. Natasha also works extensively across the energy value chain and brings a deep understanding of the implications of transport fleet decarbonization. She regularly manages time-critical, high-stakes projects that often involve complex strategic issues and multidisciplinary stakeholder environments. Natasha has led the development of several long-term corporate strategies (often in the context of service/technology-driven disruption), managed multidivision project teams to execute organizational change and advised on M&A transactions.

Natasha is a frequent speaker and has written many articles about new mobility. Her expert commentary has appeared in The Economist, the Financial Times and a variety of other news publications. In July 2021, Natasha was appointed to the Victorian Government’s advisory panel to deliver a zero emissions vehicle future. She is also on the Australian Government’s National Emerging Aviation Technologies consultative panel. 

Prior to joining L.E.K., Natasha worked in the energy industry at AGL Energy. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree (Electrical and Computer Systems), a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Accounting and Finance) and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Education

Undergraduate: Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Systems; Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance, Melbourne Business School

Graduate: MBA, Melbourne Business School

George Woods is a Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s Sydney office and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. He is a member of L.E.K.’s Industrials practice and leads L.E.K.’s Asia-Pacific Infrastructure practice. He is also part of L.E.K.’s global Sustainability Committee, leading the firm’s internal decarbonization efforts, including our Ecovadis, SBTI and CDP certifications.  

George brings over 30 years of consulting experience, advising major corporates, private equity firms, and the public sector across Asia-Pacific and Europe. He supports clients with corporate strategy, growth, M&A and decarbonization initiatives.

In industrials, George brings deep sector experience across diverse segments, including building products and materials, construction and other asset-intensive clients across Asia on growth and competitive matters. He specializes in developing regional strategy, competitive strategy, M&A strategy as well as new plant investment. His work often focuses on globalizing supply chains, vertical integration and enhancing customer value propositions. He has acted as an honest broker in industry-redefining mergers in cement and bricks.

George’s infrastructure experience ranges across the value chain and asset classes, including aviation, road, rail, marine, health, gas, electricity, telecoms and waste. He has advised on many leading infra transactions in the ANZ market. He has worked extensively with major opcos, investors and the public sector to assist clients with strategy development and investment decisions.

Within the infrastructure arena, George leads our airports practice. In this capacity, he has advised airport clients for over 20 years on aeronautical and commercial matters, including corporate straetgy and operating model, infrastructure decisions such as runway timing and terminal strategy, and BU strategy including route development, retail and ground transport. He has helped Australian airports deliver ground transport EBITDA uplift of over $50 million per annum, and helped one airport reduce its delays and improve on-time performance by four percent.  

He was a key commercial advisor to the Australian government on the business case for the development of the second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek, defining the scope and commercial parameters of the airport.  

George holds an MA in Mathematics from Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he was a Foundation Scholar. He also holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD, France. 

Education

Undergraduate: Master of Arts in Mathematics, Queens’ College, Cambridge

Graduate: Master of Business Administration, INSEAD