HKA hires Lydia Brown as chief financial officer

HKA, a risk and disputes consulting firm, has hired Lydia Brown as chief financial officer.

Based in New York City, Brown is a senior financial executive with over 30 years of experience across the engineering, software, and technology sectors.

She succeeds Atul Patel, who is retiring from HKA later this year. Patel served as CFO since the firm’s carveout from Hill International in 2017.

“Atul has achieved remarkable milestones at HKA and has helped drive our strategic success, improving our commercial operations and achieving our financial targets,” said Renny Borhan, CEO of HKA. “He leaves behind a legacy of financial acumen and strategic leadership.”

Brown joins HKA from Ness Digital Engineering, where she served as CFO since 2021. Before that, she spent over three years as VP of finance and controller of Capgemini Engineering Americas and APAC. Prior to that, Brown spent eight years as VP, global controller, and chief accounting officer at Aricent/Altran, which was acquired by Capgemini in 2020.

She was also previously corporate controller and chief accounting officer of Hearst Television.

Earlier in her career, Brown was an assistant corporate controller at Dun & Bradstreet and an audit manager at PwC.

She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Michigan and is a certified public accountant.

“I am delighted to welcome a finance leader of Lydia’s caliber who will help us continue to deliver on our growth strategy and financial targets,” Borhan said. “She is a strong addition to the board with a proven track record of partnering with colleagues to drive growth and measurable results. Lydia has led multiple private equity investment transactions and has significant experience with M&A diligence and post-merger integrations.”

Headquartered in London, HKA provides services in risk mitigation, dispute resolution, expert witness, and litigation support primarily to clients in the construction sector. The firm has more than 1,000 professionals across 45+ offices in 17 countries.

“I am delighted to join HKA, a brand that has grown significantly over the last seven years,” Brown said. “I look forward to working with colleagues around the world as we continue to build a highly successful and profitable consulting business, serving our clients’ needs worldwide.”