Christopher O. Wardhas joined AECOM as senior vice president and CEO of design and consulting services for the metro New York region, months after leaving a top executive role he had held since 2011 at Dragados USA, a unit of the Spain-based contractor and concessions firm. He left the Dragados role as executive vice president for major projects at the end of 2014, telling Crain’s NY Business that the expected public-private-partnership construction market “was not as large as it had been.” The firm was part of a design-build team that had been short-listed for the $4-billion Tappan Zee replacement bridge but canceled its bid unexpectedly in 2012, citing unspecified project risk issues.
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AECOM, bolstered by its 2014 acquisition of URS Corp., led designers in New York-New Jersey revenue, with nearly $600 million reported last year in ENR New York rankings (ENR NY 5/25-6/1 p. 15). The firm noted strong demand in water, transportation and facilities markets. AECOM is working on the National Tennis Center stadium roof upgrade in Queens, N.Y., and the firm projects more investment in asset management, cybersecurity and resilient design.