Bechtel announced on Feb. 6 that veteran infrastructure manager Keith Sibley is leading the contractor's new New York City-based regional operation, a role he has held since last May, according to his LinkedIn proflle. He previously served as the firm's testing and commissioning program director on the U.K.-based Crossrail program, among other roles on the 62-mile London subway project. “Big cities around the world are coping with congestion, the effects of climate change, and aging infrastructure, and nowhere are these challenges more complex than in New York," said company chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel.

Sibley also had been project director on the Toronto subway extension under then-city Transit Commission chief Andy Byford, who took over as New York City Transit Authority president in early 2018 but resigned last month, effective Feb. 21, amid reports of management tension with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who heads the subway agency parent, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Byford, who previously ran transit systems in London and Australia, has not announced future plans, but said he may consider remaining in New York City, according to local reports.

As part of its approach to re-strategize toward higher profit construction areas, design-build giant SNC-Lavalin Inc., Montreal, has made several C-suite and board of directors changes. It named Jeff Bell, former group chief financial officer of British energy services company Centrica, as executive vice president, and to succeed CFO Sylvain Girard on April 14. The firm also hired Louis Véronneau as executive vice president and chief transformation officer, a newly created role to “rapidly simplify” its structure and processes, the firm said. He had been senior vice president of strategy at Canadian equipment firm Bombardier and is a former investment bank managing director.

Infrastructure unit President Jonathan Wilkinson is now president of infrastructure projects, a newly created role to oversee “run-off” of the firm’s lump-sum turnkey project backlog as it transitions its business model. Executive Vice President Dale Clarke becomes interim executive vice president of infrastructure services, to manage growth of SNC-Lavalin’s services business in North America.

The firm also nominated as new directors Gary Baughman, former chair and CEO of APTIM, a Texas-based design, construction and maintenance firm; Chris Clark, former CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada; and Mike Pederson, former senior executive at TD Bank. They will stand for election at the firm’s May 7 annual meeting. Four directors will not remain on the board.

Six SNC-Lavalin corporate units were banned on Feb. 5 from public works bids for five years in Quebec, said a provincial oversight agency. It is the latest fallout from a now nearly decade-old Libyan bribery scandal involving long-departed executives. The firm’s construction subsidiary pleaded guilty in December to one federal fraud charge related to the allegations and paid a $210-million fine.

Its Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic construction divisions are among those named in the ban. The company does not expect that the guilty plea by the unit, which has not bid on any new construction contracts since it was charged in 2015, “will affect the eligibility of SNC-Lavalin Group companies to bid on future projects that are aligned” with its new strategic direction, said a spokesman.

Michael C. Isola has joined global design firm Mott MacDonald, London, as its North America chief operating officer based in Iselin, N.J. He had been a senior vice president and Houston-based civil works manager for the western region of Parsons Corp. Mott also named Rachel Ellison managing director of its water and environmental unit in the U.K. and Europe. She had been water sector director at U.K. contractor Costain PLC.

The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers elevated Secretary-Treasurer Timothy J. Driscoll to president following the retirement of James Boland at year-end. Robert Arnold, former apprenticeship and training national director for the union’s International Masonry Training and Education Foundation, succeeds Driscoll, and Anthony DiPerna, president of bricklayers’ Local 3 in New York City, succeeds Arnold.

Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim, a longtime New York City region transit executive, has joined design firm HNTB as senior vice president and national transit and rail market sector leader. She resigned in November as managing director of the New York state Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Hakim also had been president of MTA New York City Transit and executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and New Jersey Transit.

Edwin Schlossberg has joined Seattle architecture firm NBBJ as a partner in New York City following its acquisition of design firm ESI Design, of which he was founder and design principal. The acquisition does not mean ESI will work exclusively with NBBJ, but will operate as an independent studio, he told Architectural Record, sister publication of ENR. All ESI staff will be retained, and six of its design leaders will become NBBJ principals.

Granite Construction Inc. has elevated Kyle T. Larkin to executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was senior vice president and manager of the Watsonville, Calif., firm’s construction materials operations.