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 engineering consultancy Aurecon has appointed Giovanny Alvarado as Major Projects Director, Transportation, Australia and Helana Wretham as Industry Director, Transportation, strengthening its ability to help clients navigate the decisions that determine how major transport projects move from long-term planning into delivery.
With major infrastructure facing tighter budgets and closer attention on cost and delivery timelines, the appointments bring together experience at both ends of the project lifecycle: shaping infrastructure priorities and planning future networks; and turning those plans into projects that can be designed and built.
Scott Smith, Managing Director, Transportation – Australia, said greater connection between planning and delivery could give clients more confidence as projects progress.
“Clients are making difficult decisions about major transport infrastructure in an environment where cost, program and deliverability are under scrutiny. The earlier you bring planning and delivery thinking together, the better placed you are to understand the implications of those decisions.
“Giovanny Alvarado brings deep technical and delivery experience from major projects across Australia and globally. Helana Wretham brings a deep client-side understanding of how infrastructure priorities are shaped and planned.
“Together, they strengthen our ability to support clients and partners across the project lifecycle, from identifying what needs to be delivered through to making informed decisions about how it will be designed and built,” Smith said.
"Clients are making difficult decisions about major transport infrastructure in an environment where cost, program and deliverability are under scrutiny."
Scott Smith, Managing Director, Transportation – Australia, Aurecon
Giovanny Alvarado brings deep technical expertise and major project experience gained across Australia and internationally to Aurecon’s Transportation team. A geotechnical and tunnels engineer and Fellow of Engineers Australia, his career has taken him across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Colombia.
Over more than 26 years, Alvarado has held senior design, technical assurance and project leadership roles across road, rail and tunnelling projects. His experience includes London’s Crossrail (Elizabeth line), Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, Auckland’s City Rail Link and Australia’s Melbourne Metro, Sydney Gateway and Western Harbour Tunnel.
On Sydney Gateway and Western Harbour Tunnel, he led multidisciplinary teams of more than 300 specialists through tender and detailed design, bringing multiple design packages together around program, constructability and stakeholder requirements.
Alvarado combines rigorous technical thinking with a practical understanding of how projects are designed and built. He brings teams and disciplines together to manage complex interfaces, make informed decisions and develop solutions that respond to client objectives.
At Aurecon, Alvarado will work nationally with clients and contractor partners. Drawing on his experience from tender through to construction, he will help clients manage delivery risk and make informed decisions around cost, program and constructability.
Helana Wretham brings experience spanning government, consulting and industry, with a deep understanding of how transport priorities move from planning into delivery. Her career across transport, defence, resources and energy also gives her insight into the different stakeholder and delivery challenges that shape major infrastructure projects.
Most recently, Wretham served as Chief Rail Planner at Victoria’s Department of Transport and Planning, including a six-month secondment as Executive Director, Network Pipeline and Planning. Previously, she spent 17 years in consulting, leading major projects and multidisciplinary teams across Australia, including the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Rail Technical Advisor Joint Venture.
Wretham strives to bring clients, delivery partners and stakeholders together around a shared purpose. She combines strategic planning and delivery experience with a willingness to challenge conventional approaches, helping teams turn complex priorities into practical pathways.
Drawing on her understanding of the Victorian transport market and relationships across the industry, Wretham will help Aurecon’s clients and partners anticipate future planning needs and understand the broader project environment. Her focus will be connecting long-term infrastructure objectives with practical pathways to delivery for Victorian communities.
Aurecon supports major transport programs across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, from strategy and planning through to design and delivery. Its experience in Australia includes Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel, Sydney Metro and Western Harbour Tunnel, working alongside clients and delivery partners to manage technical complexity and deliver infrastructure that improves how communities move.
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