Global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon in major move has grouped its Middle East and Asia operations and placed it under the leadership of Dr Paul Lombard, the new managing director for the region.

A registered professional engineer with over 30 years of experience in infrastructure planning, financing and economics, management consulting and restructuring of entities, Dr Lombard will be playing a key role in partnering with visionary developers in the Middle East and Asia to bring their boldest and bravest ideas to life.

The Middle East is home to some of the world’s biggest malls and tallest towers, whilst Asia’s skyline boasts the Eiffel Tower replica in Macau, a half scale replica of its famed 19th century counterpart in Paris as well as the Shanghai Tower. Infrastructure development, particularly in road and rail systems, has been equally fast-faced and demanding, requiring bespoke solutions that combines the best of global expertise and local knowledge.

To carry their weight, projects of this calibre require not only flawless design input, but also a sound, resilient leadership structure, said the company in a statement.

Dr Lombard will be supported by the regional director for the Middle East, Ermis Marques.

Ermis also brings to the table 30 years of local and international experience in the built environment space, with particular emphasis on leading, planning and delivery of large-scale multi-disciplinary civil, building, industrial and land development projects.

These two appointments are a key embodiment of Aurecon’s belief that although the professional services environment faces widespread disruption, strong and visionary leadership will position the company and its clients for innovation in a constantly shifting business landscape, said the statement.
 
“The seismic changes set to influence our future are opportunities for those who respond first to build business advantage. Together with our clients, Aurecon will seek out opportunities to harness the synergy of technology, design thinking and engineering expertise to put the impossible to flight,” remarked Dr Lombard.

“Our teams in the Middle East and Asia are some of the most talented globally. Words such as ‘biggest’; ‘tallest’; and ‘most complex’ don’t put us off. On the contrary, they excite us!,” he added.

Based in the Middle East, Marques believes that inspirational projects are based on the fundamental elements of client relationships built around trust.

"Our clients know that they can trust us to seek out ways of adding value to their business. We don’t only solve the problems they entrust us with – we seek out hidden challenges and assumptions in order to ensure our solutions address those as well," noted Marques.

"A good example of this approach is our work on the Madinat Jumeirah Resort in Dubai where we are currently undertaking the fourth development phase for the same client who commissioned the first phase to us 15 years ago," he added.-TradeArabia News Service