People
Engineering’s 100mph lifestyle
Living life in the fast lane comes with the territory in the Middle East, explains Hoare Lea’s Andrew Morris
Working in the Middle East is like nothing else on earth, enthuses Andrew Morris, director and general manager of Hoare Lea’s office in Abu Dhabi. Morris has been co-ordinating
activities for the consulting engineers in the Middle East now for two years, overseeing a number of schemes. ‘The sheer scale and speed of most projects is simply staggering,’ explains Morris, ‘and being part of that is extremely exciting. And after work, where else in the world can you snow board in the morning, sail in the afternoon and then drive off-road into the desert to enjoy a BBQ under the stars? It is, without doubt, a 100-mile-an-hour lifestyle, but never dull ...’ Initially, he was involved with
the many details of company formation, local licenses and logistical essentials. But now his focus is business development. ‘I now have the enjoyable role of co-ordinating our enthusiastic and talented engineers in delivering practical solutions. This week is particularly busy with Hoare Lea’s Estidama team presenting at the Middle East Council for Offices launch event and running workshops on a new office development on Al Raha Beach.’ The 44-year-old describes communication as an essential – and very enjoyable – aspect of his role, but he confesses the best part of his job is the variety of work and the highs that go with the hard-earned successes on project wins: ‘The melting pot created by the different cultures in the region is fascinating.’ Currently he is working on a
number of projects, including a hospital in Al Ain and conducting energy studies on key buildings in Abu Dhabi City, as well as generating bid opportunities and making submissions: ‘There is always something to be done, and it is always required rapidly.’ In fact, the work never seems to stop, muses Morris: ‘I’m not sure
66 CIBSE Journal August 2010 Movers & Shakers
Just days after being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, Michelle
McDowell has won the property category of the First Women Awards 2010. McDowell, who is chairman of civil and structural engineering at BDP, also became the first woman chairman of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) at the beginning of the year. The awards celebrate trailblazing and pioneering businesswomen.
The melting pot created by the different cultures in the region is fascinating
you ever leave work when living in the Middle East. I am often busy in the evening communicating with the UK and socialising with fellow professionals and clients. The line between socialising and business is blurred – for example, last night at a social, I met a new client and agreed to meet next week to discuss opportunities.’ Morris admits to starting
his career in building services completely by accident, applying for a trainee post in the Property Services Agency (PSA) without really having a clue what the PSA actually did: ‘I always wanted to be an electrical engineer, but can’t really remember why. So I joined BP’s Merchant Navy Fleet at 16 as an officer cadet, but jumped ship in Italy when I realised it wasn’t the job for me.’ Morris studied part-time for nine
years to achieve his ONC and HNC, before gaining an honours degree in electrical and electronic engineering from London South Bank University. His aspiration now is to develop Hoare Lea’s business base in the region.
Email people appointments/ role profiles to
cbailey@cibsejournal.com
Roger Ridsdill Smith, a director at engineering consultancy Arup, has won a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for his outstanding personal contribution to British engineering. He received it for his contribution to the sector, including the design and delivery of London’s Millennium Bridge, which opened 10 years ago.
Energy company, Self Energy UK, has appointed Daniel Matson as sustainable energy performance systems developer under a Knowledge Transfer Partnership agreement with London South Bank University. Matson will work with the self energy management team to reduce investment risk for the company, and to develop decision support tools and further improve cost and savings forecasts for its clients. Matson will be based in the UK but will also work internationally.
Building services provider SES has announced Nick Cox as its new operations manager.
He will be based in Bristol and will be responsible for all operational aspects of the Bristol office, as well as building a high quality, sustainable business in the south-west.
Rony Eappen, a qualified electrical and electronics engineer, has joined lift and escalator
consultancy D2E International,
a lift, escalator and facade access consultancy. Eappen will assist clients in ensuring that lift and escalator installations minimise their impact on the carbon footprint of buildings.
Matthew Kidner has joined energy management company, TEAM, as a KTP Associate,
working with London South Bank University. Kidner has moved from Clouds Environmental Consultancy where he was an energy consultant to join TEAM in the role of energy services implementation engineer, focusing on improving the utilisation and implementation of software and services.
Air conditioning and refrigeration specialist, Cool-Therm, has appointed Steve Soffe as
sales executive. Soffe, who previously worked on the CIBSE Journal, will join Cool-Therm’s recently opened Reading branch.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has awarded one of its highest accolades to Mott
MacDonald engineer Alan Powderham. He received the Sustained Achievement Award at the academy’s annual general meeting in London last month from president, Lord Browne of Madingley. Powderham has been in the engineering profession for more than 40 years, setting new industry benchmarks in foundation engineering.
Manufacturer and inventor, Enecsys Limited, has announced the appointment of Paul Garrity to head the continued development of its advanced solar photovoltaic micro-inverter. Garrity joins Enecsys after three years as vice president of engineering and advanced product development at FlexPower (a subsidiary of Flextronics International) in Dallas, Texas.
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