Aurecon's new Water and Environment leadership team to strengthen client delivery
Aurecon appoints three Water and Environment Leaders to enhance support for industry and address complex water requirements and environmental risks.
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Asia Pacific design, engineering and advisory company Aurecon has bolstered its transformation and change advisory with two new hires as the company faces an increasingly complex business environment and an accelerating energy transition.
In 2022 the company appointed Julie Harrison, Managing Principal, Engagement & Change Advisory and Transformation & Change Practice Lead to spearhead and grow its communications and stakeholder engagement practice across Australia and New Zealand.
The move was designed to leverage Harrison’s eminence and expertise in large-scale company transformation, people strategy and capability building, as well as her track record of delivering major infrastructure projects across water, transport and resources sectors.
With expectations on the company to adapt quickly to low-carbon and renewable energy reforms, economic, social, technological and environmental pressures are being felt across the industry and the community. Harrison said expanding Aurecon's capability in Transformation and Change is crucial in helping leaders navigate a particularly tumultuous and changing business and societal landscape.
“The energy transition is transforming more than the energy sector. Communities, companies responsible for transport corridors and infrastructure, and energy-intensive industries are already feeling the impact of the major transition ahead. Increasingly complex infrastructure projects, together with changing social expectations, are having a significant impact on company strategy, decision-making and their ultimate success,” she said.
Our Aurecon Engagement & Change Advisory team are all about working with the company, communities and stakeholders to shape the future, creating an environment where business and social outcomes are achieved, and people thrive.
“We are continuing to grow our capability and capacity to deliver high-quality advice, whether that’s focused internally, supporting clients to transform their company, or externally in engaging and working with communities to support the delivery of major projects and infrastructure in the most thoughtful and just way.”
As part of the recent growth across all major cities in Australia, Lorna Bishop was appointed Aurecon's Queensland Lead for Engagement & Change Advisory, with a background leading significant transformative programs and working in energy and resources including Energy Queensland, Energex, Ergon, BHP and Rio Tinto.
She will leverage her experience across the energy and resources sectors to play a pivotal role in driving transformation within these industries. Additionally, Ms Bishop brings expertise in working in the national disabilities sector, further expanding Aurecon's inclusivity and diversity efforts across all of their work.
Ben Houkamau, formerly from KPMG, has joined Aurecon to head up Aurecon’s South Australian and Victorian Engagement & Change Advisory practice. Houkamau brings extensive experience leading large-scale transformation and change projects as well as expertise in large-scale operating model and company design, digital transformation, capability building, culture change, strategic communications and strategic HR management.
"Our goal is to help our clients remain at the forefront of the energy transition by navigating and adapting to change."
Paul Gleeson, Group Director, Sustainability, Aurecon
“At the heart of the company and communities are people. The expectation for companies and economies to deliver positive business, social and community outcomes and enable people to thrive is a critical success factor,” Harrison said.
"To be successful amid compressed timeframes demands early, thoughtful and informed consultation with both communities and stakeholders. Without effective engagement and consultation, places, infrastructure projects, teams and companies may limit their success and put projects and business outcomes at risk,” she said.
“Our growing team enable clients to not only navigate things like social value and community and stakeholder engagement, but to design and implement company models and people strategies that enable great outcomes.”
Paul Gleeson, Managing Director, Energy and Group Director, Sustainability, said the new appointments support Aurecon's leading role in navigating the energy transition.
“With the energy sector undergoing monumental changes, our goal is to help our clients remain at the forefront of the energy transition by navigating and adapting to change effectively. With Engagement & Change Advisory’s additional expertise in the energy sector and Transformation and Change, Aurecon is well-positioned to support clients through this significant structural and system change across our country,” he said.
Amongst other major transformational projects, Aurecon’s Engagement & Change Advisory team is currently engaged in work with company such as Powerlink on the design and embedding of their Transmission Easement Engagement Process, supporting Transgrid on HumeLink and the VNI West interconnectors in NSW; and the Murchison Green Hydrogen project.
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