Arup announces new leadership in Americas as part of focus on sustainable outcomes

Guided by Arup’s mission to shape a more sustainable world through high quality work and innovative solutions, the firm also announced a new regional leadership, organized to deliver exceptional service to clients and communities.

Four regional leaders will drive Arup's local operations to ensure the highest quality client service: Sean Meadows (Canada), Federico Torres Jimenez (South), Brian Swett (East), and Scott Russell (West).

Further, in order to drive focus and influence in our key markets, Arup named eight new leaders for our 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), Paul Moore (Cities, Planning, and Design), and Robert Kay (Climate Services and Sustainability).                                                                             

Fiona Cousins, Chair

Fiona Cousins is Arup’s Americas Region Chair, an Arup Fellow, and member of the Arup Group Board. Having joined Arup in 1985, Fiona most recently led the climate services and sustainability teams for Arup in the Americas, along with serving as a key leader in building engineering and digital strategies for the firm. She is a mechanical engineer by profession and, as a renowned sustainability and resilience consultant, has worked on a wide range of projects to establish clear and decisive direction for sustainable and resilient outcomes. In 2019, she was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Corey Johnson to the New York City Advisory Board for Local Law 97.

“At Arup, we’re always looking to expand our capabilities and pursue mission-driven, positive work within the AEC industry. 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,” said Cousins.

Under Fiona’s leadership, the regional, business and service leaders will be instrumental in helping Arup realize its vision of shaping a more sustainable and equitable built environment that puts client services at the forefront.

Nigel Nicholls, Chief Operating Officer

Nigel Nicholls is Chief Operating Officer for Arup in the Americas. Nigel joined the firm in London in 1989 and has spent the last 10 years as Managing Director of Arup’s New York office, the firm’s largest in the Americas Region. He is a mechanical engineer by profession and has spent time living and working in many parts of the world including the UK, Zimbabwe and Botswana before moving to the USA 20 years ago.

“I am excited by Arup’s commitment to raising the profile of our local leadership and generating new opportunities for sustainable growth. 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,” said Nicholls.