Julita Davies is a digital marketing professional at Kobelco, leading Japanese manufacturer of the construction machinery. In her role she is responsible for all digital aspects of marketing and branding activities, and drives digital change in the department. The main focus is always creating a unique and consistent experience for the customers and building strong relationship with brand audiences.
She holds master degree in Social Sciences and postgraduate diplomas in Public Relations and Advertising. With over 15 years in B2B and B2C digital marketing and branding and living and working in 3 different countries, she shares her truly international experience and a passion for branding and digital transformation.
Supporting diversity and professional development of women, she is a Co-founder of Polish Professional Women in the Netherlands Association and a mentor at Polaris Network and Everwise.
Both educated as structural engineer and architect, Chloé Clair is now Chief Technical Officer of VINCI Construction, one of the top main-contractor in the world. She leads the innovation, R&D and digital strategy for the Group, together with coordinating the VINCI Construction engineering teams towards more collaborative and network cooperation.
She is devoted to bringing more diversity in the French construction industry, pushing for more local staff and/or women talents in management and executive positions. She is a former founder and member of BOUYGUES Construction Welink Board (the Women’s network of BOUYGUES Construction) and now an active member of the #Open initiative at VINCI Construction, in favour of gender diversity.
Ceri Evans is the Commercial Director for SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business in the UK & Europe, and for the Engineering, Design & Project Management sector globally. With a digital transformation underway in the industry, Ceri plays a leading role in developing collaborative relationships and new commercial models to drive success. She works closely with the regional teams to ensure quality and consistency, and is also responsible for the sector’s commercial, risk management and supplier management processes.
Ceri has previously held senior commercial roles at Bechtel, Laing O’Rourke and most recently, Jacobs.
Before training to become a chartered quantity surveyor, Ceri worked very much outside the engineering sector. She has a motivating and inspiring story to share, and considers herself fortunate to have benefited from many fantastic role models and mentors. Ceri continues to mentor aspiring future leaders and is passionate about promoting STEM career paths to women.
Mike Haigh is the Managing Director of Mott Macdonald, an engineering, management and development consultancy operating in over 100 countries and with 16,000 employees. Mike is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK and has worked and lived in many countries. In 2017 Mike was the Chair of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, a year which he used to promote diversity in the infrastructure industry, building on his five-year journey promoting EDI initiatives in Mott MacDonald. In both 2017 and 2018, Mike was recognised by the Women's Business Council and Management Today by being voted one of 30 “Agents of Change” tackling gender inequality in the workplace.
Julie is CFO for Europe, Middle East and UK at Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets. She successfully drives growth and manages challenging change by creating environments which are transparent and collaborative.
Julie has more than 20 years’ experience in international management positions. She holds degrees in Mathematics and Economics from Yale and UC Berkeley. As a member of Generation CEO, an exclusive network for German speaking women in top management positions, Julie believes in the importance of female role models. She is passionate about people, excited about the digital future and enthusiastic about improving the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the world.
Sandra Akmansoy is a multilingual civil engineer with over 20 years’ experience leading projects and teams. A Director of Arup, she is a member of the Europe Region Board, and is the Ethics Champion for Europe. Her project work spans 14 countries, ranging from iconic building projects to large and complex infrastructure projects. She opened Arup’s Denmark office in 2012 where she leads a growing team and business. She is committed to creating an inclusive working environment based on merit, fairness and respect.
External memberships include the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas and the Comité National des Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France.
Aušra Vankevičiūtė is the CEO of Staticus Norge, a leading façade contractor in Northern Europe. Born and raised in a capital of Lithuania – Vilnius. After completing her bachelor degree in Economics, Ausra spent a couple of years investigating what she really wanted and worked in Finance, Accounting and Marketing.
In 2011, Ausra moved to Norway and joined the Staticus Development team. As a young, inexperienced woman with big ambitions and goals, she received her EMBA degree in 2014 and gained professional competencies to take over as Country Manager in Norway. Her experiences include some challenges to gain trust in a conservative market, and loyal to local contractors who are not used to a woman.
Dillner is Chief Sustainability Officer in Veidekke ASA, with corporate responsibility for Climate, Environment & Sustainability. For 5 years she was Executive Vice president, with corporate responsibility for HSE, Legal, Human Resource and the environment. Veidekke is one of Scandinavia’s largest construction & real estate companies. Dillner is the Chairman of Norwegian Green Building Council, which also is part of World Green Building Council. She sits as board of directors in several other companies.
She has solid background in change management and has experience from leadership positions, working international across 32 countries, but also as Director for different companies in Norway. She also have experience as a consultant and has worked in both public and private sector.
As National Social Responsibility Leader for DPR, Ms. Cavalli provides leadership and direction for the company’s responsible corporate citizenship initiatives across the United States. The embedment of these initiatives across business and operational business practices include diversity and inclusiveness, supplier diversity, next generation leaders, local community engagement, inclusive workforce development – among others. Ms. Cavalli’s background includes more than 20 years’ experience leading inclusion and diversity, small business, workforce development programs in the public and private sectors and she has led nationally recognized programs for large public agencies. She has worked on projects ranging from $3 million to over $2 billion.
She is passionate about opening doors to opportunities within DPR and the industry at large. She has served on numerous boards and committees for organizations that advance women, minorities, and underrepresented individuals in construction and currently serves on national committees for the National Association of Minority Contractors.
David started with acting training in drama school of Paris conservatoire, and realised he was not going to do this for a living. He also pursued a BA in Philosophy in La Sorbonne, and a Master in Business, where he met with Joffroy Louchart. He experienced corporate processes at Deloitte and Carrefour, before co-founding FINALCAD in 2007, with Jimmy Louchart and Joffroy Louchart. He built and scaled customer service, while being FINALCAD’s spokesperson and in charge of Analysts and Investors relations. As a CMO, he now focuses on championing digital transformation for Construction, Infrastructure, Energy & Concessions at a global scale.
Janne is responsible for all NIRAS activities in the Norwegian market, including building and construction, architectural, process industry, water and sewage and environmental consultancy. The last 20 years she has worked in the crossroad of ICT and building and construction, and holds the responsibility of digitalisation of the NIRAS Group.
Through various board positions and daily work as the manager of the Norwegian NIRAS company, she is a strong advocate of developing the construction sectors efficiency and quality through diversity and use of new technology. We need to utilise the total talent and technology base to move our industry forward in a more efficient, environmentally friendly way and to build the right quality for our future society.
Since 2012 Pia Höök is Global Diversity Manager at Skanska. In this time Skanska has successfully launched and activated a D&I vison, strategy and change journey map. The percentage of women in top three most senior levels has increased from 13 % to 22 %. Not only does Skanska score above industry benchmark when it comes to employee experience of D&I, the company has also managed to establish an internal business case for inclusive leadership (linking inclusive leadership to effectiveness). Prior to working for Skanska, Pia was Global Diversity Director for Volvo Group. She has a PhD in Business Administration from Stockholm School of Economics and in 2010 she became an associate professor of organization, management and gender at the Royal Institute of Technology. She has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and also served as an expert to the Swedish Government in governmental studies and delegations. The main focus of her own research has been gender in organizations and diversity work in organizations.
Born and raised in Beirut, Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes is Founder & CEO of AKKA Architects. Architect, speaker and author, Stephanie is part of a new breed of young visionary architects who operate beyond the nowadays-restrained realm of architecture. A strong advocate of value created through cross-disciplinary interactions. She believes that the most sustainable innovation will happen at the intersection of different fields.
AKKA is driven by Stephanie’s vision of Architecting Interaction. Based on Stephanie’s belief that interactions are the seeds of innovation, Architecting Interaction explores how spaces and contexts can foster human interactions.
Director and co-founder of Atelier EURA, Cristina is an EDI advocate through practice and volunteering. Regional Chair for the National Association of Women in Construction and a Mentor at the pan-professional Fluid Mentoring since 2013, at the start of 2017, she also became a member of RIBA’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Group (and Mayor of London's Design Advocate Organisation), Architects For Change.
Throughout her eighteen years career in the UK, Cristina, a Chartered Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), has seen the best projects emerge when the people sitting around the table, both at the office and on-site, reflected the diversity of the communities they were shaping and hence the desire to engage a wider audience with her work.
Cristina knows that to increase its levels of diversity, our industry as a whole, and each one of us as individuals, need to engage the General Public and address their lack of awareness of what the built environment encompasses and how it affects their everyday lives. Furthermore, she believes we should learn to highlight the contributions of individuals and collectives, as other industries do and to promote its core values of collaboration, innovation, positive outcome, and sustainability to challenge perceptions.
Sander den Blanken is a civil engineer working in the multidisciplinary Arup office in Amsterdam. He manages and directs complex infrastructure projects in the Netherlands and Europe. As Group Leader of the Netherlands he is end-responsible for all activities in the Netherlands. Before joining Arup Sander worked for about 10 years for other Engineering Consultancies in the Netherlands where he served and advised governmental clients like Project bureau Zuidas, City of Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Nijmegen, Groningen and Utrecht, ProRail and Rijkswaterstaat.
What Sander sets apart is his passion for engineering. Sander shares his lessons learned, and challenges people to come up with even better results. An asset that is highly appreciated in the Arup firm. As a group leader Sander is committed to creating an inclusive working environment based on equality, merit, fairness and respect.
Cecilia Jahr is Head of the Innovation Department in Norconsult. The department’s primary purpose is to design and facilitate work processes which promote creativity and innovation within the company’s projects. This enables the project teams in their quest to deliver the most valuable solutions for their clients as possible.
Cecilia has a Master in International Political Science, is a Prince2-certified project manager and has worked for nearly 20 years as an innovator, business developer, organisational developer and advisor for a handful of large Nordic corporations. She is a dedicated driving force for change through the engagement of large and small groups of people in purpose built creative processes.
Kelly is a Civil Engineer at Jacobs, one of the leading EPCM companies in the world. In the span of five years, Kelly has experienced working as a civil engineer in five offices on three continents. She started in a design office in Houston, TX, then worked as a field engineer in Pittsburgh, PA, took an assignment in Sydney, AUS and most recently transferred to The Netherlands.
Growing up surrounded by successful female role models, Kelly is passionate about the power of networking and the importance of taking control of your own career. Her pursuit of diverse roles and international experience provides insight on what it means to be a young female engineer in different environments.
Anna is currently the Head of Innovation & Technology in Skanska S.A, where she works on a variety of projects connected with R&I, BIM and Digitalization. Anna's expertise lies in managing projects involving innovation, new technologies, optimization of the production & business process, and quality management.
She is an engineering geologist, geochemist, mineralogist, petrologist and economist. In addition, she is currently a PhD candidate specialising in Managing Innovation. Since the beginning of 2018, she joined the Board of the global organization Girls In Tech – Poland Chapter. Girls in Tech (GIT) is a global non-profit focused on girls and women who are passionate about technology in STEM fields.
Isla Hillyear Hill is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors and a Senior Quantity Surveyor from the Highlands of Scotland. She studied Quantity Surveying at Glasgow Caledonian University, joined the civil engineering industry 8 years ago during her university placement and has been involved in geotechnical civil engineering projects with BAM Ritchies ever since. She delivers STEM activities, helps deliver “BAM Bring Your Daughter to Work Day” and supports the ongoing implementation of the WISE 10 steps within her company. She won top female quantity surveyor at the Women in Construction & Engineering awards in 2017 and was named Glasgow Caledonian University’s Alumna of the year 2018.
Laura is currently Global Diversity & Inclusion Manager for the Hilti Group, a global product and service provider to the professional Construction industry. With a cross-functional background in account development, sustainability, technical service marketing and learning and development, Laura brings a fresh perspective to Hilti’s global D&I strategy. Now responsible for developing the corporate D&I strategy and leading a network of D&I Champions across the globe, Laura has focused her attention on the topic of inclusion across the Generations in the last 12 months. Aside from her D&I leadership responsibilities at Hilti, Laura is a working mother of two young children and sits on the Executive Committee of the European D&I Council with Conference Board.
Valeria is an architect with a diverse design background that includes mixed-use, office, hospitality, residential and cultural projects. She joined Gensler London in 2011 having worked previously at SOM.
What sets Valeria apart, is her design rigour from conception to delivery - her ability to remain true to what is most important throughout all design & construction stages. She leads the regional Design Experience Group which focuses on design processes and exploring tools for invention & innovation.
She stays current in design thinking by staying connected with the academia participating in research initiatives and juries at The Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University, Nottingham University and The Architectural Association in London.
Anna is the Global Head of Management Development at Skanska, one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups, since 2014. In this role she develops goals and priorities for management development in the group and manage the global leadership development programs. Improving diversity and inclusion is a priority at every level of Skanska and a core element in the leadership development programs.
Anna started her career much outside of the construction industry in Sweden’s pioneering internet company, then moved on to work at a management consultancy agency in Sweden and abroad. The red thread throughout her career is to develop the business through leadership development as well as implementing solutions that drive real change, for the company and its leadership.
With 21 years’ experience in the industry, Paula has successfully delivered multi award-winning projects in the healthcare, education, transport and residential sectors. Originally championing BIM within Bouygues UK, Paula took a strategic role developing a BIM standard instrumental in streamlining processes, improving efficiency and driving innovation.
Paula is a committee member of Welink UK, a professional network promoting fairness, equality and advancement of women within the construction and engineering industry. A passionate Construction Ambassador and 2017 Winner; ‘Best Woman Project Manager’, European WICE Awards, Paula actively mentors and promotes STEM subjects to schoolchildren and other talented young people across the UK.
Natalia is an expert in digital technology solutions, BIM, data management and visualization, in Skanska S.A, moving on from the land surveying experience she had when she first joined the industry. Natalia is actively engaged in developing technologies through BIM, GeoBIM, GIS, IoT's, Smart Solutions, VR/AR and laser scanning devices - she is creating the digital culture on the construction site.
Natalia is a geoinformatics engineer and pursuing her PhD in geoinformatics. She is also an active member in the global organization Girls In Tech-Poland Chapter, which supports technological development in Poland.
Inola is a Project Manager at ChandlerKBS in Düsseldorf specializing in the delivery of hospitality projects throughout mainland Europe.
She was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia and moved to Germany in 2003 to study Industrial Engineering. Inola prides herself on her ability to combine her technological knowledge and background with her excellent communication skills to help clients make sense of the often-bewildering world of construction. Inola is very much a 21st century woman who believes in meritocracy and the power of hard work.
Passionate about Industry 4.0 and complex manufacturing projects, Barbara has been involved in various large construction projects (+100Mio€ TIC) achieving several +1.000.000 safe man-hours without lost time incident. She has a strong interest in multicultural environments and global workforce and in 2014, she was invited by the European Construction Institute to join their "People Task Force" along with senior Project Directors, HR Managers and Training Specialists and deeply engaged in evaluating the conditions that enable high performance in international teams. The report "Enabling High Performance in Globally Distributed Teams" was published in June 2017. She has also been a Judge on the 2016 edition of the European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards.
Loretta is a career-changer on a path to Design Management, having spent ten years working in Design for Film & TV. Such a transition sparked a particular interest in how the construction industry attracts new talent, especially those from diverse backgrounds, and soon after securing her first role with a large contractor in 2016 Loretta co-founded the North-West region of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).
Now as a Design Management Trainee with Willmott Dixon and through her voluntary work as Regional Chair for NAWIC, Loretta is looking forward to discussing how women, and career changers especially, can forge a meaningful career into construction without the need to ‘start all over again’.
Currently Carla Moonen is the Chair of the Royal Dutch Association of Engineers in the Netherlands. Furthermore she is a member of the worldwide International Infrastructure Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). Moreover she is member of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (known as member Dagelijks Bestuur VNO-NCW). She is also a member of the Supervisory Board Corporate Social Responsibility (MVO). This is the largest sustainable network for companies in Europe. Carla Moonen has been the Chairperson of the Board of PFZW. PFZW is one of the largest pension funds in the Netherlands with 2,6 million participants and 190 billion Euro’s.
Carla Moonen is an experienced executive and chairperson, responsible for large organisations, and shareholder of companies. Figurehead in the field of circular economy and financing. Responsible for managing complex political and management issues such as drawing up administrative agreements and convenants with Ministers, other public bodies and businesses. Inspires employees and generates confidence through stability, expertise and maintaining relationships. Winner of the best employer award. Carla Moonen is married and has three children.
Regularly credited for her responsiveness, diligence, and reliability, Rena L. Scott has been assisting clients primarily in the area of international arbitration and dispute resolution, with a particular focus on complex, high-value disputes involving major infrastructure construction projects, and consortia and joint venture agreements for over 12 years.
Rena’s practice also includes representing multi-national companies involved in a wide range of complex business disputes, including partnership disputes, real estate litigation and accountant liability disputes, and internal corporate investigations. Rena's practice is truly international.
Elin is a project manager at the Swedish Construction Federation responsible for talent acquisition and attracting competence to the construction industry. With a background from vocational education training (VET) with more than 15 years as a teacher, lecturer and a head of higher education within construction, she is an expert on attracting competence and creating inspiring programs within the field construction, engineering and technology. The Swedish Construction Federation is a trade organization with over 3500 members including: the biggest construction firms in Sweden such as Skanska, NCC, Peab and Veidekke.
She sits as advisor to the Swedish National Agency for Education on Technology Program, and expert on VET-development and gender equality for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
Anna Sunnerö is an award-winning architect with a long professional experience from working with projects on an international level in Europe and the US. Previously in the lead of Gert Wingårdhs head office she started her own office 2018.
Sunnerö Office of Architects is a progressive and contemporary office of architects and designers. Driven by passion and curiosity. The office has an international staff of architects with the capability to approach different scales of architecture.
Annas has taught at the architect school of Chalmers and is a member of shlmnyc.org non-profit organization bringing specialists together for collaboration about the urban environment.
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