Arup names new Americas leadership team

Arup, a global design and engineering consultancy, has announced a raft of new appointments for its leadership team in the Americas region.

Foremost among the appointments is Fiona Cousins, who was named chair of the Americas, and Nigel Nicholls, who was named chief operating officer of the region. The firm also announced the hiring of Robert Kay, who will succeed Cousins as leader of the climate services and sustainability team in the Americas.

The London-headquartered consultancy said the appointments “reflect the firm's focus on sustainability and innovation.”

Cousins is based in New York and has been at Arup since 1985. She most recently led the firm’s sustainability design team in the Americas and also previously served as automation leader. During her long tenure at Arup, Cousins has led numerous mechanical engineering design projects for buildings including airports, museums, and offices.

"At Arup, we're always looking to expand our capabilities and pursue mission-driven, positive work within the AEC industry,” Cousins said. “As markets change, we will continue to push for more sustainable outcomes on all our work by incorporating and relying on digital solutions. We will also take an intentional approach to our clients' objectives to drive the firm's growth.”

Nicholls has been at Arup since 1989 and spent the last decade as managing director of the New York office, the firm’s largest location in the Americas. During his time as New York head, he oversaw the office’s growth to 500 employees and over 1,000 projects. Nicholls has extensive experience managing and designing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for a wide range of buildings.

"I am excited by Arup's commitment to raising the profile of our local leadership and generating new opportunities for sustainable growth,” Nicholls said. “Especially following our recent commitment to achieve net zero emissions across the firm's entire operations by 2030, we intend to approach all projects through a sustainable design lens and continue working on positive-impact projects with our clients.”

Kay brings 32 years of experience in climate change and coastal zone management. He joins Arup from consulting firm ICF, where he spent the last seven years and latterly served as deputy director and senior fellow of its climate science think tank, ICF Climate Center. Before that, he spent over 15 years as an independent consultant providing management consulting and technical expertise on climate change adaptation to public and private sector clients.

Earlier in his career, he held coastal planning and management roles in the civil service of Western Australia. He has a PhD in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Arup also announced four sub-region heads in the Americas: Sean Meadows (Canada), Federico Torres Jimenez (South), Brian Swett (East), and Scott Russell (West).

The company further named an additional seven new leaders for priority businesses and services: Bill Scrantom (property, science, industry, and technology – and social infrastructure, including healthcare), Jenny Buckley (aviation, highways, rail), Brian Raine (energy, water, and resources), Tim Treharne (advisory services), Chris Pollock (technical services), Gideon D'Arcangelo (digital services), and Paul Moore (cities, planning, and design).

Arup has 16,000 designers, advisors, and experts providing consulting on the built environment across 140 countries.