Andrew Buckley, 50
Managing Director of Cardno group, Brisbane
Mechanical engineer, University of Queensland

As managing director of the Cardno Group, Andrew Buckley has responsibility for all group activities, including operations, client relations, quality, technical development, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, financial performance, and investor relations. Under his leadership, the group has grown from an annual turnover of less than $14 million in 1997 to an estimated turnover in excess of $220 million in the 2006/2007 financial year.
Buckley’s leadership has seen the group expand and diversify into global markets and broader professional skills, including both physical and social infrastructure projects and program delivery.
Cardno’s international expansion has included major contracts with AusAID, USAID, the Department for International Development (UK), the European Commission, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the United Nations. Locally, the group is involved with major projects such as the Gateway Bridge duplication in Brisbane and the Gold Coast Desalination Plant.
Buckley has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Queensland. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with this family, as well as sailboarding, boating and playing squash.

Roger Olds, 51
Managing Director of Coffey International, Melbourne
Civil engineer, Monash University

As managing director, Roger Olds is responsible for the strategic direction of Coffey International’s growth. The company now has about 2400 staff, with a turnover of around $350 million.
“We have been growing at about 50% per annum, via a mix of organic growth and acquisitions. Over the last few years, we have had successes in the UK, New Zealand and Africa,” Olds explained.
Even though his main role is to lead and oversee the day-to-day operations of the company, Olds still provides some consulting engineering input on alliance projects such as the Inner-Northern Busway and Gateway Bridge duplication in Brisbane, as well as the Hume Highway upgrade between Albury and Canberra.
From his experience with alliance projects, Olds would like to continue to help the construction industry improve its collaboration, with the view to achieving more innovation and less disputes.
As part of this, he has taken a role on the federal government’s Built Environment Design Professionals Action Agenda, which involves the government and design professionals working together to lift performance on a local and international level.
In his spare time, he likes exercising, spending time with his family, playing tennis and gardening.

Peter Busbridge, 58
CEO of SMEC Holdings Ltd and SMEC Operations Pty Ltd, Sydney
Civil engineer, University of Melbourne

Peter Busbridge is chief executive officer and a director of SMEC Holdings Limited, as well as chief executive officer of SMEC Operations. It is his responsibility to manage the total operation of SMEC, which includes the Australian and international consulting businesses, as well as the company’s development arm that looks at private investment.
SMEC and its subsidiary groups now have about 2500 staff in 80 countries, generating about $200 million in annual turnover.
Over the past 10 years, Busbridge has worked to make SMEC “a recognised group within the international footprint of our business”. The company is focusing on four major areas – Australia, China, India and the Middle East. It has also made progress in power generation developments in Papua New Guinea, India, Malaysia and Nepal. Busbridge sees power generation as a “very significant potential element in SMEC’s future”.
In his spare time, he enjoys the “beautiful beaches of Sydney” and following the AFL.

Geoff Peattie, 60
Vice-President Asia Pacific of Government & Infrastructure of KBR, Sydney
Mechanical engineer, University of Newcastle

Geoff Peattie is responsible for KBR’s government and infrastructure business in the Asia Pacific region. Major aspects of the business revolve around the water, transport, defence, minerals, maritime and process/industrial sectors. He has 1700 staff working for him, in offices in every Australian state, generating turnover of around US$200 million.
In the last 12 months, the business has grown particularly in the minerals, water and transport sectors, which Peattie finds the most rewarding professionally. KBR is part of Alliance projects such as the Horizon road/rail project between Springfield and Darra, and the Southern Regional Water Project, both in Queensland.
Peattie also takes pride in KBR’s work with official development assistance and AusAID humanitarian projects in Vietnam. He feels it is important for Australia to reach out and help the region.
To help train the next generation of engineers, he is involved in KBR’s professional development program. He addresses groups of new engineers employed by the company and is proactive in their training.
Peattie has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Newcastle and is a fellow of Engineers Australia. His main relaxation interests are fishing, cooking, and attending the theatre and opera with his family.

Paul Dougas, 56
Chief Executive and Managing Director of Sinclair Knight Merz, Sydney
Chemical engineer, University of Melbourne

Paul Dougas has responsibility for managing and charting the future direction of Sinclair Knight Merz’s growing business, with current annual revenues in excess of $800 million and now employing close to 6000 staff across the globe.
Eleven years ago, SKM operated solely in the Australasia and Asian regions, with around 600 people. Today, under Dougas’ leadership, it has expanded to include significant operations, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and South America.
Dougas was the inaugural chairman of Engineers Australia’s Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management (CELM), and is now championing causes such as workplace safety, employment for indigenous people, diversity of the workforce, and the Beacon Foundation initiatives in support of youth employment. He is working to “provide careers for motivated professionals in a range of directions, including leadership and management” and “inspire others to achieve beyond their wildest dreams”.
Dougas is a chemical/process engineering graduate of the University of Melbourne and has a master from the University of NSW. He was elected an honorary fellow of Engineers Australia last year.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, friends, and keeping fit by running, cycling and walking.

Nigel Robinson, 53
Chief Executive of AECOM operating groups in Australia, New Zealand, Asia (ANZA) and the Middle East, Dubai
Civil engineer, Leeds University, UK

Since joining AECOM through the Maunsell merger in 2000, Nigel Robinson has directed company growth and diversification across the ANZA region and the Middle East. The regions now have approximately 4000 staff and turnover of close to US$400 million.
Under Robinson’s direction, the ANZA business has played a key role in promoting and implementing infrastructure investment in Australia. Currently, Maunsell has lead design roles on two of Queensland’s largest ever transport infrastructure projects, Brisbane’s North-South Bypass Tunnel and the Queensland Rail Trackstar Alliance.
Robinson, now based in Dubai, has led seven acquisitions, most recently the AECOM merger with Cansult Limited in the Middle East.
Robinson holds a honours degree in civil engineering from Leeds University, and a master in economics and sociology from Imperial College of the University of London. He stays fit by working out regularly at the gym, and enjoys ocean kayaking and watching movies (usually during one of around 150 international flights he takes annually).

John Grill, 61
CEO of WorleyParsons, Sydney
Civil engineer, Sydney University

With its share price hovering around $30, the growth of WorleyParsons has made chief executive John Grill one of Australia’s wealthiest engineers. He was recently named one of the billionaires in BRW magazine’s Rich 200 list.
The company’s 2006 revenue was $2.4 billion, an increase of 78% from the previous year. After the recent acquisition of Canadian company Colt, the company employs 20,000 staff in over 90 offices globally.
Of his achievements, Grill is proud of his role in nurturing the growth of the company by selecting staff who are able to fit into its work culture of autonomy and individual responsibility. “Finding the best people to work with is almost the hardest skill to develop and the one that takes a lot of learning. But I consider it a fundamental skill for a leader,” he said.
In his spare time, Grill spends as much time as possible with his family and maintains a daily exercise routine. His physical activities include walking, cycling, swimming and skiing. His favourite ski report is Kitzbühel in Austria.

David Singleton, 57
Chair of Arup’s Global Infrastructure Business, London
Civil engineer, Nottingham University, UK

David Singleton has been the chair of Arup’s $500 million Global Infrastructure Business, comprising some 2000 staff, since 2004. Under his leadership, the business has grown by 30%, with recent high-profile project wins including two segments of the California High Speed Rail project, Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, and a new terminal at the Yunnan Kunming International Airport in southern China.
Over the last 12 months, Singleton has also led Arup Cause – an initiative to celebrate the firm’s 60th anniversary in which 8000 Arup staff worldwide worked together to understand and help those suffering from extreme poverty, with a focus on access to water and sanitation. Arup Cause includes a global partnership with Water Aid to raise awareness and funds, and to share skills in problem solving, creative thinking and knowledge management, thereby helping Water Aid to build its capacity to assist those in need.
Singleton’s goals for the future include developing the capability of the profession for sustainable planning and engineering; creating pathways for young engineers and kindred professionals to achieve their goals; and creating an organisation in which diversity is valued.
A civil engineer, Singleton has degrees from Nottingham University and the University of Melbourne. In his spare time, he enjoys music and the theatre, including opera, as well as dining – in or out – with family and friends.

Merv Jones, 60
Managing Director of URS Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, Sydney
Chemical engineer, University of Auckland, NZ

Dr Merv Jones is the managing director of URS Asia Pacific, which is a division of San Francisco-based publicly listed company URS Corporation.
URS Asia Pacific has 18 offices with about 1500 staff. It expects revenue of about US$160 million (close to A$200 million) in 2007. Jones is responsible for the division’s staff and activities in the region, which stretches from New Zealand in the southeast to China in the north, through to India in the west.
“URS’ strategy in Australia has been to diversify into transport infrastructure, mining and water engineering, in particular,” Jones explained.
URS has been recognised as providing high levels of client service, with the attainment of a runner-up position in the BRW-St George Client Choice award. This achievement recognises not only technical expertise, but also service delivery.
On a personal basis, Jones was awarded the Fluor Award at Chemeca in September 2006, which “recognises exceptional management and leadership talent that has directly resulted in sustained corporate success over a significant period”.
Jones has a BE (1st class hons) and PhD from the University of Auckland, and a Dip BS from Massey University. In his spare time, he enjoys running, golf and wine.

Clive Weeks, 58
Chairman of GHD, Melbourne
Civil engineer, Monash University

As fulltime chairman of GHD, Clive Weeks is responsible for managing professional indemnity insurance and claims, shareholder interests, corporate governance, and leading and reporting on the performance of the board.
Weeks has been a director of GHD since 1992. In that time, turnover has increased an order of magnitude – from $60 million to $600 million. Over the past 12 months, GHD has added 700 staff, including recruiting a record number of graduates (197). It now has around 5000 employees worldwide. Regional centres have been opened in areas such as Mount Gambier in SA; Wagga Wagga, Nowra and Wollongong in NSW; and Toowoomba and Springfield in Queensland. New offices have also been established in Cairo (Egypt), Sharjah (UAE), Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan (Malaysia), Hong Kong (China), York (UK), and Pennsylvania (USA).
Weeks’ professional goals include seeing “GHD achieve true recognition as a global consultant, particularly in the area of providing solutions to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability”. He also wants to “continue to enhance GHD as a place where our staff and potential recruits want to work”.
Weeks has an MEngSc and BE (Hons) from Monash University, and a Dip CE from Bendigo Technical College. He is a fellow of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of the Australian Water and Wastewater Association.
In his spare time, Weeks likes to spend time with family and friends, walk, play golf, watch sporting events, and “visit our getaway at Metung on the Gippsland lakes”.

Geoff Knox, 50
Executive Chairman of Hatch Associates and Global Managing Director of Hatch Infrastructure, Brisbane
Civil engineer, University of WA

Geoff Knox is one of the seven executive directors of international consulting firm Hatch. He is also executive chairman for Hatch Associates, having overall responsibility for the company’s business in Australia and Asia; global managing director of Hatch Infrastructure; chairman of AAMHatch, which is Hatch’s aerial surveying and mapping business; chairman of the Connell Hatch Joint Venture, which is Hatch’s industrial infrastructure joint venture with Connell Wagner; and a director of Hatch Mott MacDonald, which is Hatch’s infrastructure company in North America, in partnership with Mott MacDonald.
Hatch has around 8000 staff worldwide, with approximately 2500 in the Australia and Asia regions. The global infrastructure business has around 1500 staff worldwide, working on projects in excess of A$30 billion in areas such as Africa, North and South America, Australia, Asia and Russia.
During his time with Hatch, Knox has helped to introduce a better safety culture, and sponsored sustainability and improved water practices worldwide.
His goals for the future include instilling a passion for the profession in young engineers by providing guidance.
Knox has a bachelor of civil engineering from the University of Western Australia and has completed the University of Michigan Business School Executive Program. Even though he is travelling for business about 220 days a year, he tries to find time to have fun with his family, as well as enjoy sailing and fishing.

Mike Wilke, 59
President and Chief Operating Officer of PB Americas, New York
Civil engineer, Qld Institute of Technology (now QUT)

Mike Wilke leads PB’s US$0.9 billion, 4500-person Americas business (North, Central and South America). He is a member of the firm’s global executive committee, responsible for shaping the strategic direction of PB Inc. He is leading a significant change management agenda to position PB Americas for its future success.
Wilke’s career with PB spans more than 20 years, including a decade as the company’s Queensland state manager, growing the firm fivefold to become one of the major consultants in the state. He then became managing director and chair of PB in Australia for 2004-2005, during which time he played a leading role in the development of PB’s global strategic plan.
Wilke’s professional goals for the future include developing engineers “so they can work in a business environment, and at the same time meet the needs of clients and the community in a socially and environmentally acceptable manner”.
In 2006, he received the QUT Outstanding Alumni Award in Built Environment & Engineering.
In his spare time, he enjoys “exploring all the opportunities that New York has to offer”.

Engineers Australia Magazine, Volume 79 No 6, June 2007.

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