AECOM's leadership team mark International Women's Day

AECOM is committed to driving positive change for women in the global workplace and beyond. Its employees empower each other by creating an inclusive environment built on equality, giving all employees the opportunity to reach their full potential.

To mark International Women's Day, AECOM leaders share their views on the importance of building diverse teams, committing to forging an inclusive culture, and they outline steps being taken moving towards gender equality.

Troy Rudd, Chief Executive Officer

"Promoting gender equality and empowering women in our industry has always been a priority for me. At AECOM, we communicate what is expected of our leaders to create inclusive and respectful work environments where our employees have equitable opportunities to thrive. We #BreakTheBias on our teams by committing to raising awareness and expanding understanding of each other’s experiences through mentorships and candid conversations. We commit to making progress every day to ensure AECOM reflects the communities in which we live and work."

Lara Poloni, President

"I have been fortunate to grow my career with an organization that recognizes the importance of building teams that reflect the diverse communities we serve – and one where everyone has the opportunity to be heard, to achieve, and to succeed regardless of gender. At AECOM, we are committed to continuing our efforts to #BreaktheBias – to challenge the status quo in our industry and demonstrate, through our actions, the power of diversity and the importance of women’s equality."

Shirley Adams, Chief Human Resources Officer

"I look forward to International Women's Day each year as an important time. For me, it is a time of reflection, to celebrate the progress we have made as a global community, as each of us becomes more mindful of others’ experiences and acknowledges the unique value we all bring to our community and workplaces. International Women's Day is a reminder that change takes effort and determination, and it’s up to us to channel our energy and efforts towards progress."

Jennifer Aument, Global Business Line Chief Executive, Transportation

"We have incredible opportunities in front of us as we partner with clients to unlock transportation’s potential to reduce carbon emissions, better connect communities and drive the economy. International Women’s Day is about acknowledging that we cannot achieve this critical mission if we leave great talent on the sidelines. We take this day to celebrate the achievements of women across our business and reaffirm our commitment to continue to provide an environment where women can excel, and where they can put their talents to work on some of the world’s most transformational projects."

Jay Badame, President, Construction Management

"I’ve made it my personal commitment to empower and help develop women in the construction industry. As an active board member for Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) and Executive sponsor for AECOM’s Women Initiative Network (AWIN), I take great pride in knowing that I’m part of an organization that celebrates and advances women, both inside our organization and outside of it."

Marc Barone, Enterprise Growth Officer

"The only way to #BreakTheBias is to be proactive in all our interactions. Challenge yourself and your teams to question at the source any conscious or unconscious bias. We can only #BreakTheBias by being proactive to make a change."

Richard Barrett, Regional Chief Executive, Australia New Zealand

"Along with every one of us at AECOM, I am responsible for finding ways to #BreakTheBias. Every day, I make a conscious effort to check my thinking and recognize any inherent biases I may hold. Let’s support our conviction that infrastructure creates opportunities for everyone. Small, personal changes make a big difference. When we are all deliberate in identifying bias and taking action, we can create a more inclusive and equitable world. Let’s all help deliver a better world!"

Todd Battley, Chief Strategy Officer

"I have bias. There, I said it. I suspect I am not the only one. As a leader, I try to regularly recognize my bias because I would hate for my bias to negatively impact my colleagues. How do I do that? Simple checks: when something or someone is bothering me, I ask myself, “why?" Is it me, or is it them? If I disagree with someone, is there a good reason for disagreement or have I been influenced by their style? Overall, if a situation is challenging, I try to suspend judgement and walk a mile in the shoes of the others involved."

Travis Boone, Regional Chief Executive, U.S. West

"Representation matters as does diversity of thought. I learn by surrounding myself with people who think differently and can share new perspectives. As a leader, it’s important to me that we honor our commitments to develop and increase the representation of women across the region. Breaking the bias is also important to me personally as I am raising three daughters who deserve the same opportunities as me."

Sean Chiao, Global Business Line Chief Executive, Buildings and Places

"On International Women’s Day, I am proud to be at AECOM where we are striving to #BreakTheBias every day by celebrating and encouraging women leaders and team members equally at all levels. It is important to me that our teams bring together a diversity of voices, backgrounds and opinions that influence the outcome of our work for the best."

Ian Chung, Regional Chief Executive, Asia

"We’re committed to a culture that celebrates, integrates and elevates the unique value of each colleague, and gives everyone a truly level playing field to excel in ways that are not in spite of, but that are inclusive of their differences."

Marc Devlin, Regional Chief Executive, Canada

"It is important to me, both as a leader and as a believer in the cause, that we honor our commitments to develop and increase the representation of women across the business. Every day, I am reminded of the value of increased integration of diversity into our business as we work together to realize our goals. In this regard, International Women's Day becomes an opportunity to maintain our focus and celebrate our successes."

Nash Doyle, Chief Safety Officer

"International Women’s Day is an opportunity for me to reflect on AECOM’s commitment to meaningful, measurable women’s equality in our workplace, including achieving our targets for women in leadership roles. I am committed to ensuring a balanced hiring process by requiring consideration of suitably qualified women candidates in all roles. I’m also doing my part to identify bias in the workplace by seeking regular feedback from my team and peers, and making sure issues are addressed and resolved."

Dan Faust, Regional Chief Executive, U.S. East & Latin America

"Today, I reflect upon the positive influence so many women have had on my career – from women leaders I reported to early in my career, to AECOM President Lara Poloni. We’ve come a long way as an industry, but there is still work to be done to ensure an unimpeded career path for professional women in engineering. I’m proud to see AECOM taking a leadership role in accelerating women’s equality."

David Gan, Chief Legal Officer

"International Women’s Day is important to me because working toward a world with equality of opportunity and bias-free treatment of women will advance our world not just for women but for everyone. It is ultimately part of creating a better world for our children and the generations to come, a world in which we all have a chance to reach our full potential based on our own efforts, free of glass ceilings or other artificial barriers. In 2022, AECOM’s legal group, led by our UK legal team, has expanded its efforts globally relating to gender equality, including in the areas of new attorney hiring and our requirements of outside legal counsel."

Emily Gepner, Global Capabilities Officer

"We all have a role to play in achieving gender equality. While it’s imperative to have this dialogue all year round, International Women’s Day is our opportunity to recognize the obstacles women face, celebrate their achievements and take action to #BreakTheBias. As an industry, it’s more important than ever to build diverse teams and ensure that everyone has access to equal opportunities regardless of gender. Let’s create an equal future together."

Karl Jensen, Executive Vice President, National Governments

"In our careers, we all have many hills to climb to reach success. Unfortunately for many women, those hills are sometimes steeper. At AECOM, we’re committed to ascending the hills together while we beat biases. Our whole team is better when we’re working together."

Drew Jeter, Global Business Line Chief Executive, Program Management

"International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to highlight both the great achievements, successes and contributions of women, as well as the great women leaders and role models through whom they’ve come. It’s important not only for us to recognize the women who deserve our appreciation but to recommit to support improvements for women in the marketplace and society because for all the progress made, there are still many places where women are underrepresented and unjustly treated. We will only achieve the kind of truly equitable and inclusive society we seek if we are intentional about how we live, work, lead and follow, determining to be part of the solution and not just a bystander."

Gaurav Kapoor, Chief Financial Officer

"We thrive as an organization when all of our professionals are treated equally and have the same opportunity for success. I am proud of all the progress at AECOM to promote women’s equality, which instills confidence that we will continue this momentum into the future. From actions both big and small, whether when hiring or in our day-to-day interactions with our colleagues, we all need to do our part to #BreakTheBias at AECOM to continue fostering a culture of inclusion together."

Beverley Stinson, Global Business Line Chief Executive, Water

"We’ve made much progress in addressing equity in many aspects including gender equity, and we should celebrate how far we’ve come. But there is still work to do. Helping people recognize that each person requires different support to reach their full potential is fundamental to a more equitable future globally. It’s a privilege to work for a company like AECOM, that embeds equity into its mission and culture, and I am so humbled and pleased to have an opportunity to advance these priorities globally."

Frank Sweet, Global Business Line Chief Executive, Environment

"From my experience, diverse leadership teams are more effective and I’ve made it a point to ensure the senior leadership team in our Environment group reflects that. Today, nearly half of our Environment leadership team are women, and I know for a fact that it has had a direct impact on our success. I take immense pride in our leadership team and the perspectives they bring to the table."

Sarah Urbanowicz, Chief Information Officer

"Women in leadership can help #BreakTheBias with a steadfast insistence on being heard. Our perspectives change the fabric of the teams we are part of and the culture of the company."

Warren Wachsberger, Chief Executive, AECOM Capital

"A diverse workforce is a key enabler of outstanding business performance and success. I am committed to increasing the percentage of women across our team to encourage diversity in perspectives and expertise to solve our clients' and communities' most pressing challenges."

Colin Wood, Regional Chief Executive, Europe

"Progress towards gender equality is not the responsibility of women alone, male allyship plays an essential role in helping to #BreakTheBias. That’s why we are launching our new Gender Employee Resource Group in Europe and India to ensure our male colleagues remain part of the conversation and put their support into action. Equity, diversity and inclusion is firmly on our business agenda and I hold myself and my leadership team accountable for our progress. We remain committed to the long-term strategies that will help us build a more diverse and inclusive workforce."

Hamed Zaghw, Regional Chief Executive, Middle East & Africa

"I’m proud that our Middle East & Africa business boasts the most diverse workforce we’ve ever had. Reflecting the communities we serve helps us to deliver infrastructure that creates equal opportunities for everyone."