Master of ceremonies:

• Sara Lipscombe, Advisor, FIDIC - Switzerland 

Welcome remarks:

• Catherine Karakatsanis, FIDIC President and Senior Vice President, Stantec - Canada

Speaker(s):

• William Cox, GLF Advisory Board Chair and CEO, Aurecon - Australia

Our speaker will explore how, in a global crisis, actions were achieved at a pace previously unimaginable. What can we learn from his experience to help our sector speed up progress in areas such as climate change, growth, AI and addressing the sector skills shortage?

About our speaker:
Jonathan Van-Tam is a public health specialist with a clinical background in emergency medicine, anaesthesia, and infectious diseases. He is an expert on respiratory viruses and pandemics and was Senior Strategy Advisor in Medicine, and Health Sciences, at the University of Nottingham. His career has also taken him to Public Health England, the World Health Organization, and the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries.

Jonathan was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care as Deputy Chief Medical Officer. He is well-known for his leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly his straight, no-nonsense, communication style from the podium at number ten Downing Street, and for the acquisition and rollout of vaccines and antiviral drugs in the UK.

After stepping down as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England he returned to the University of Nottingham as its Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Medicine & Health Sciences. He has also taken on a part time role advising vaccine manufacturer Moderna.

Jonathan received a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in her New Year’s Honours List, for services to public health. He has also been awarded the Royal Society’s Attenborough Award and Lecture for outstanding public engagement in science.

Speaker(s):

• Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer, UK 

Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Infrastructure as a Catalyst for Social Welfare, Economic Diversification, Sustainability and Innovation

Synopsis: HE will discuss the context of infrastructure as going beyond just physical assets and explore its role as a catalyst for society, economic diversification, sustainability and innovation. As global concerns are mounting about improving economic growth are on the rise, there is a real possibility that the above become secondary requirements or even stagnate halting global progress and constraining future economic opportunities.

He will discuss how strategic investments can not only attract new industries, foster entrepreneurship, create skilled jobs and can still drive Social Welfare, Economic Diversification, Sustainability and Innovation drawing in challenging global economic circumstances based on experiences from Abu Dhabi.

This session will offer insights for governments and organisations looking to leverage infrastructure to build more resilient, diversified economies.

His Excellency Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid - Director General, Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC)

This session will start with feedback and Q&A  from the latest research from the ACEC Research Institute and EDHEC business school.  

Facilitator:

In this session, we will hear from two research partners: EDHEC Climate Institute (ECI) and the ACEC Research Institute. They will share insight into sustainability research and the firm of the future.

Speaker(s):

• Michael J Carragher, Chair and CEO, VHB (USA), Chair ACEC Research Institute
• Robert Arnold, Lead Resilience and Decarbonisation Strategist,  EDHEC Climate Institute (UK)
• Steve Lefton, President and CEO, Kimley-Horn (USA), Incoming Chair, ACEC Research Institute 

Round table discussion

Facilitator: Sara Lipscombe, FIDIC Advisor

Pre-reading materials

Delegates are invited to review the following materials in advance of the Global Leadership Forum Summit.

• Engineering Business Sentiment - March 2025 Q1
• Economic Assessment and 5-Year Forecast of the Engineering and Design Services Industry in Canada - July 2024
• Firm of the Future – 2035 Initiative Update and Research Agenda

In 2024, the GLF programme and FIDC/EY industry report included a debate about the role of AI in infrastructure and its potential to transform the sector by optimising processes, reducing costs and enhancing safety in infrastructure projects.

In this session, we will explore the progress we have made in our sector over the past year and share learnings for leadership by show casing examples from around the world in collaboration with clients.

Speakers

• Steve Lewis, Partner – Infrastructure and Capital Project Advisory, EY (Hong Kong) Nvidia
• Gavin McLaughlin, GSI Client Director – Northern EMEA, Nvidia (UK)
• Julien Moutte, Chief Technology Officer, Bentley Systems (Spain) 
• Carlos Teixeira, Professor, Institute of Design (USA) 
• Cecilia Tham, Algorithmic Futurist Institute of Design (Barcelona)
• Helen Bentley, Innovation Award Winner, University of Oxford and partner at EY (UK)   

A video presentation of AI project examples

Arup (Global)
Aurecon (Australia)
Mpamot (South Africa)

Debate - is our sector making progress at the right pace or do we need a paradigm shift in culture to speed up the pace with which our sector solves the challenges facing us? Delegates will break into groups to debate this topic and feed back conclusions and suggestions at the end of the session. 

This closing session will include a call to action to address the skills gap from Eng Jane Mutulili, Chairperson, Association of Consulting Engineers of Kenya. 

Facilitator:

• Sara Lipscombe, Advisor, FIDIC - Switzerland 

Continued networking

Master of ceremonies:

• Sara Lipscombe, Advisor, FIDIC

This session will present the next phase of the work of the Global Leadership Forum’s Carbon Collaboration Initiative, which was conceived by members of the GLF.  This work is being spearheaded by the CEOs from some of the world’s largest consulting engineering firms. The aim to develop a common, replicable and standardised process of calculation and disclosure of embodied and operational CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions related to infrastructure projects. ​  

Discussion overview:

• Project introduction - briefing by a FIDIC Board representative about the project’s background an objectives
   
• Framework discussion –  a presentation on the Carbon Management Framework, highlighting the needs and its role in promoting lower carbon, sustainable infrastructure practices including increasing project team carbon maturity.
   
• Engagement and alignment – early engagement strategies to align the framework with stakeholder expectations and requirements, ensuring relevance and applicability. This will include critical insights on how a broad range of stakeholders will be engaged, including designers, contractors, financial institutions, and clients, through hands-on workshops and feedback sessions.
   
• Preparation for Implementation- details about the preparatory steps such as the creation of a minimal viable product for early testing, and the development of tailored presentations for different stakeholder groups.
   
• Interactive Q&A Session - members of the working group will address questions from the audience, offering deeper insights and clarifications.

Speaker(s):

Introduction:  Alfredo Ingletti, FIDIC Vice President

• Jens Peter Saul – Group CEO, Rambøll Group - UK
• Maria Manidaki – Director, Decarbonisation, Mott MacDonald (UK)
• Heleni Pantelidou – Associate Director, Infrastructure, Arup (UK)
• Andreas Linnet, Decarbonisation lead and senior sustainability engineer, Rambøll (Denmark)
• Tercia da Silva Jansen van Vuuren - Research Associate, University of Cambridge (UK)
• Nestor Rouyet - Global Sustainability Partner, Arcadis

A panel discussion between a global construction products manufacturer, a trade association representing construction product merchants, a consulting engineer, architect and contractor. 

Speaker(s): 

• Craig Schwitter, Global Board Chair and Senior Partner, Buro Happold (USA)
• Fidel Angel Saenz de Ormijana, Ferrovial Construction - Spain
• Angel Sanchez Bartolome, Chief Technical Officer, Ferrovial Construction - Spain
• Jonathan Morris - Turner & Townsend (UK)
• Marek Suchocki, Head of Industry Associations Strategy, Autodesk (UK)

Closing remarks:

• William Cox, GLF Advisory Board Chair and CEO, Aurecon
• Catherine Karakatsanis, FIDIC President and Senior Vice President, Stantec (Canada)