Why an independent perspective exists — and why IRB provides it.
Every discipline on a project carries a distinct and valuable responsibility. IRB was founded on the recognition that independent commercial governance is not always separately defined within the conventional project structure.
Owen Hearty is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and commercial adviser with more than two decades of experience across project delivery, commercial management, contract strategy and dispute resolution. He established IRB to provide senior, independent commercial judgement at the points where decisions are difficult to reverse, and where conventional project reporting may not provide the full picture.
That experience — spent on both the delivery side and the dispute-resolution side of major projects — revealed a consistent pattern: by the time a commercial risk is visible enough for everyone to agree on it, it has usually already become expensive. Not because any individual discipline failed, but because none of them is mandated to test the commercial decision independently, early, with no other stake in the outcome. IRB exists to provide that specific, additional function.
Education, hospitality, office, residential and industrial capital programmes.
Traditional, design-and-build and EPC contract structures.
Quantity surveying, procurement strategy, contract strategy, FIDIC contract administration, variation and final account negotiation, construction dispute avoidance and resolution, commercial risk management, and commercial governance.
IRB is headquartered in Brunei Darussalam and advises clients across Southeast Asia and selected international markets.
The experience described reflects the professional background and judgement that inform IRB's advisory approach.
Project references describe Owen Hearty's professional experience and do not imply IRB acted on every project.
Professional Status
Fellow, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)
Fellow, Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (FSCSI)
Accredited Mediator, Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre (BDAC)
Governance Experience
Founder & Managing Director, IRB Management. Non-executive board experience across professional services and technology sectors.
The IRB monogram combines three structural elements within a protective form. It represents the principles on which the practice is built: Integrity, Reliability and Balance.
Integrity
Independent, ethical and transparent advice.
Reliability
Consistent judgement, clearly communicated and delivered as agreed.
Balance
Commercial, contractual and delivery considerations assessed together, not in isolation.
Four questions, applied at the points in a project's life where independent judgement changes the outcome most. See the full framework
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