Five decades of coastal engineering excellence

What does your role involve? 

I established Haskoning’s Australian business 15 years ago and have seen the business grow and thrive in that time. I now hold the role of Technical Director which has five key focus areas: winning projects, delivering them, reviewing colleagues’ work, mentoring developing engineers and raising our business’s profile across Australia. All five of those happen pretty much every day.

One thing I have always believed is that senior engineers should remain hands-on. Our clients value being able to speak directly with people who understand both the technical detail and the broader outcomes they are trying to achieve. Our reputation has been built on solving difficult challenges and helping clients find practical solutions that deliver benefits not only for the project, but also for communities and the environment.

My technical philosophy for coastal and maritime engineering is that we need to work with nature not against it. When we understand how coastlines, estuaries and marine environments behave naturally, we're often much closer to finding solutions that work for clients, communities and the environment over the long term. I think that approach now flows through our broader team.

Ultimately, clients come to us for our technical excellence and our ability to solve difficult problems. When it comes to coastal, maritime or environmental issues, our team are the people to speak to and that reputation comes from hard work and continually delivering exceptional results.