Chief Executive Officer Noel Butwell, describes how they are achieving client-led growth and the way their growth is addressing a nation-wide capacity gap. He discusses why it’s important to keep strategy simple and how they use a few simple rules to decentralise strategy implementation. He also shares what he found to be the hardest part of developing and implementing their strategy.
Digitisation is a force for good
Leadership challenges on the way to purpose
Jenny Higham, Principal at St George’s University of London addresses the tensions top leaders face as they navigate authenticity, confidentiality, financial pressures, and an ever-expanding set of aspirations for the organisation. She also describes how she balances the need for leadership from the top with an open, inclusive approach for strategy development. And, she shares a simple tip for what to do when something major makes big parts of your strategy no longer relevant.
Clearing the line of sight to purpose
Managing Director Susan Cooklin shares with us her manifesto for Route Services and how they are driving carbon reduction while becoming more resilient to extreme weather conditions. She describes how they help staff across all of Route Services have a clear line of sight to its purpose. She also outlines what she sees ahead for Network Rail and how she is preparing Route Services to support that.
Tough choices to stay true to purpose
Daksh shares with us the vision and purpose that have been instrumental in driving 10 times revenue growth over the last 14 years. He discusses the practical implications of having a strong moral compass, as well as the little things that make a big difference. He also talks about how they created transparency for their staff during Covid and his own view of how one becomes a successful CEO.
Grow your business, share your purpose
Balancing for successful sustainability
Our guest is Daniel (Dan) Faust, Chief Executive, AECOM Americas East Region. AECOM is a global architectural, engineering and construction company.
Dan shares what “sustainable” means to him. He describes the three groups he has to balance for successful projects, how they make decisions about who they work with, and how asking “why” drives everything they do. He also shares what he has been reading and how that has shaped his own approach to leadership.
Dan is AECOM's Chief Executive within the U.S. East Region, Central and South America. In this role he is responsible for growth, operational performance, and client account management for all AECOM business units including Transportation, Environmental, Water Resources, Power, Program & Construction Management and Architectural & Building Engineering. AECOM’s East/Latin America Region is its largest, home to over 8000 employees with annual revenue of over $2.1 billion.
Prior to joining AECOM, Dan served as Chief Engineer/Director of Engineering for the Delaware River Port Authority in Philadelphia. In this role, he was responsible for the development and implementation of DRPA’s capital program across all core facilities including four long-span toll bridges, a commuter rail system, and various marine/port facilities. In his time at DRPA, Dan developed a particular expertise in the field of risk-based asset management, and was directly responsible for organizing, developing and implementing DRPA’s infrastructure security plan following the events of September 11, 2001.
Dan has over 35 years of industry experience with a proven ability to deliver in highly complex organizational environments. He is a consensus builder with a track record of achieving results that balance geo-political, business, community and regulatory interests. Dan has a history of successful management of high profile and complex infrastructure projects & operating facilities within strict budget & schedule constraints.
Dan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Drexel University.
Dan Faust
What does it mean for a business to be sustainable?
Our guest is Scott Wardrop, Chief Executive, VINCI Construction UK and Eurovia UK. Scott shares with us how they think about the sustainability of their UK business and how that links with their vision of local partnership. He talks about the tensions between top down and bottom-up strategies that come with being part of a global group and describes how they harness internal ideas to allow them to play a pathfinder role for the whole sector.
Together with their associated companies, Eurovia teams are responsible for improving over 50,000 kms of the UK’s highways network – they deliver specialist highway services across the largest, dedicated, highways portfolio within the UK, including strategic road network, DBFO motorway and trunk roads, and the local authority network.
Eur. Ing. Scott Wardrop BEng MICE FCIHT FIoD
With over 34 years’ experience in the construction industry covering various engineering and management roles in infrastructure, civil engineering, and specialist contracting, Scott is widely respected and recognised for his experience within the highway and transportation sector.
In his role as Chief Executive, he leads VINCI Construction and Eurovia’s UK businesses, covering highways and public realm maintenance, design, construction, materials production, research and development and consultancy.
Scott is particularly passionate about the health, safety and environment for all those involved in highway works in addition to the community and economic benefits that investment in highway infrastructure provides. He is particularly keen to champion a step change in working processes, leading best practice in safety, innovation, inclusion and sustainability – as a founder member of the Highway Sector Council he is part of shaping the business case for investment in our highway and public realm infrastructure and networks to meet future community needs and climate challenges.
Scott Wardrop