Ben Preston
Developing Leaders & Organisations for Complex Times
In a rapidly changing world, success depends on our ability to see things clearly and bring others along with us. I help leaders and organisations develop the capabilities needed to create meaningful change.
Ben has spent over a decade delivering complex projects and helping teams deliver meaningful outcomes.
Drawing on this experience, he now supports leaders and organisations to navigate complexity and create positive change through leadership coaching and strategic advisory services.
“Ben’s presence made particularly challenging projects much easier for our staff and business. He is genuine, warm-hearted, a solid project lead, great leader and collaborator, and technically top-notch. We’d work with him again in a heartbeat.”
Core services*
*working mostly—but not exclusively—in land development, housing, sustainability and adjacent industries.
1 Leadership Coaching
Supporting leaders to realise their full potential through personalised coaching. Together, we'll develop your capacity to:
See patterns and opportunities clearly
Navigate complexity with confidence
Lead change that actually sticks
Build stronger relationships
Make decisions that drive growth and positive outcomes
2 Strategic Advisory
Helping organisations and teams identify and overcome barriers to change and move forward. I work with you to:
Understand and work with system dynamics
Turn insights into practical action
Build capability while solving problems
Create sustainable positive change
Navigate complexity successfully
“Ben has been a cornerstone of our work at Toa Homes and with Ngāti Toa over the past four years. His ability to work sensitively across complex stakeholder groups is exceptional. With quiet confidence, he brings technical depth and practical wisdom to every project.
What stands out about Ben is his genuine commitment to meaningful change. He approaches challenges thoughtfully, balancing ambitious vision with careful risk management. Toa Homes simply wouldn’t exist without his measured leadership and insight. Ben doesn’t just contribute technically – he creates pathways for genuine, sustainable progress. His approach is collaborative, grounded, and focused on creating real value. I’m grateful for our ongoing partnership and the meaningful work we continue to develop together.”
How We Can Work Together.
Every engagement begins with understanding your specific context and needs. I invite you to schedule a free 30-minute conversation to explore how we might work together.
A Different Approach.
My approach combines technical expertise with deep understanding of how complex systems actually change and grow. Rather than applying pre-packaged solutions, I help you see opportunities clearly and develop practical ways forward that work in your specific context.
This understanding, developed through study with world-leading systems thinkers and practitioners, allows me to help organisations create lasting positive change in uniquely effective ways.
About Ben.
With over a decade of experience leading complex projects across multiple sectors, my approach integrates:
Over a decade of technical experience as an engineer (Chartered Engineering Technologist) and sustainable design consultant
Extensive practice in understanding how people and complex, adaptive systems change and grow
Hands-on entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of Toa Homes and Living Systems Development
Practical tools developed through real-world challenges
Success in bridging technical, complex and experiential aspects of change
Based in Whaingaroa / Raglan, Aotearoa New Zealand, I support projects and teams globally in creating solutions that are both technically sound and deeply meaningful.
Client and Project Snapshot.
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Living Systems Development (2024 to present)
In April 2024, I co-founded a new company: Living Systems Development. A property development company with a difference, Living Systems Development’s mission is to build homes and communities that are purposefully designed for people and planet to thrive — where home ownership is accessible so families can grow with their place for generations.
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Toa Homes (2020 to present)
Starting in 2020, a group of advocates committed to a more hopeful housing future banded together to develop Toa Homes. Co-founding Toa Homes, over the next 3 years I was primarily responsible for Research and Development (R&D) as we refined a sustainable, affordable and Passive House-capable approach to housing.
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Project Leadership (2022 to 2024)
From late 2022 until early 2025, I provided project leadership and staff mentorship for Edge Impact’s built environment team through a series of projects (Crow’s Nest Station; Maribyrnong Civic Precinct; Genesis Care Campbelltown) during a time of significant organisational restructure.
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Project Co-Lead (2021 to 2022)
In 2021, long-term collaborator James Bushell (founder of Motif) and I led a series of conversations exploring the roots of the housing crisis in Aotearoa. As a result of our research, we developed the How We Live Report—advocating for a more adaptive response that recognises our complex reality.
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Te Rūnanga O Toa Rangatira (2021 to 2022)
In 2021, I worked closely with Orogen Limited, Toa Architects and the Property Team at Ngāti Toa to support the Iwi’s bid (including engineering design) as part of the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF). Keneperu Landing was subsequently the first project awarded funding under the Government scheme.
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GHDMM+ (2021)
Throughout 2021, I worked with GHD, Mott MacDonald and others to develop a joint-response to a bid to support Yarra Valley Water’s engineering delivery. My role involved running on-going training with the entire engineering team and supporting project governance to enable more place-based, regenerative outcomes.
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Te Matapihi (2020 to 2021)
In 2020, friend and collaborator Glen Lauder invited me to support Wayne Knox—General Manager of Te Matapihi—in the design and facilitation of the inaugural hui for the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) framework.
