In another life, John says he might have been a Formula One driver. He thrives in challenging situations, loves variety and holds that he doesn’t have the attention span to be an engineer. But with two engineering professors for parents, a doctorate-level civil engineer was born. John found his way to program management where he could bring his genuine love of connecting with people to a variety of fascinating, once-in-a-lifetime programs.
The people side of things
John’s distinguished career includes multi-billion-dollar construction programs, the conversion of the Ambassador Hotel into the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex, serving as construction advisor for the state of New York’s Moynihan Train Hall development deal and running an Engineering News-Record (ENR) top 50 PMCM company. His favorite memories though, involve a program that had a standing client-contractor BBQ where the team came together at the end of every week. Wherever John goes, he brings that experience and understanding that people, trust and relationships are always at the center of what he does. In his own words, “Those relationships are the successes.”
The way forward
At AECOM, program management is a dedicated discipline and our process for executing it is always tailored to our clients’ needs. John’s focus as the strategy and growth lead is, “How do we make it more sustainable? How do we scale bigger, do better?” We work all over the world and “our Sustainable Legacies strategy gives us an opportunity to find places for connection by meeting our clients where they are and forming the best team to help them,” he says. John knows that finding the right people and nurturing them with interesting and fulfilling careers — much like his own — is the cornerstone of delivering transformational outcomes for our clients.
Up in lights
For John, seeing those outcomes come to life brings him an immense sense of joy and purpose. One program in particular always brings a smile to his face when he’s driving on the Santa Monica Freeway near downtown Los Angeles. During the program, there was an opportunity for additional funding brought in to build a community-use field right next to the freeway. Today, it’s constantly in use. “Every time I see those lights on, I think there’s probably a family out there on the field, watching, so proud of their kid. For me, nothing beats that.”