Meet the Speakers

French national born in 1967, Magali Anderson became a member of the Group Executive Committee in October 2019.She graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from INSA Lyon, France, and started her career as a field engineer on offshore rigs in Nigeria.

She spent 27 years in the oil and gas industry, mainly with Schlumberger, holding operational line management positions including Angola CEO and Region Head Europe.

During her career she also held several functional roles, including Vice President Marketing & Sales, Vice President Shared Services Organisation for the Europe and Africa region and Global Head of Maintenance.

Magali joined LafargeHolcim as Group Head of Health and Safety in October 2016.

Lisa Kelvey is a KPMG Partner and leads on Project, Programme and Portfolio management across the Infrastructure and Government sector. She has over 20 years’ experience of delivering major programmes using a practical, people-focussed approach to deliver sustainable change in complex and time-pressured environments. She specialises in supporting programme leaders with strategy, planning, decision-making and assurance for major programmes and portfolios.

A Chartered Civil Engineer, Lisa started her career with a major contractor before moving into design, project management and advisory roles. She has worked on a large number of major programmes in locations as diverse as Singapore, Dubai, Kazakhstan, Mexico and the Caribbean. Lisa is a passionate champion of inclusion and diversity, particularly improving gender balance in the leadership of major projects.

Bill is Chief Executive of Galliford Try, one of the UK’s leading Construction and Investments groups. The business employs c3,100 people and generates a turnover of £1.3bn operating in the public, regulated and private sectors.

Prior to joining Galliford Try, Bill - a civil engineer by training - spent 25 years with Skanska UK culminating in the position of Executive Vice President. He also served as a non-executive director on the boards of Skanska in Finland, Latin America and USA Civil.

Bill is a strong advocate for increasing inclusivity and diversity in the company and has enabled people at all levels of Galliford Try to achieve a more flexible work-life balance, through its Smart and Agile Working programmes.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Bill lives with his wife and two children in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Sara Angus is the director of Construction & Design Services and Director of Development, Licensed stores for Global store development at Starbucks.  She has over 20 years of industry experience.  She has worked on retail, commercial, educational, hospitality, institutional, non-profit and residential projects at all levels of design and construction.

Prior to joining Starbucks in 2019, she worked for large regional general contractor as a project executive on a wide range of project types and sizes.  She is a board member for Women Leaders in Construction (Seattle) and has lectured in the University of Washington’s Construction Management program from 2003-2016 and continues to guest lecture in the CM and Commercial Real Estate programs.

Farah Naz, CEng FCIBSE, WELL & LEED AP, has over 15 years’ experience in the construction sector across four continents. She is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of CIBSE (Chartered institute of building services engineer)

She has worked in the UK, USA, Asia and now in Middle East. Naz heads up Innovation for BuroHappold in the Middle East region. Her innovating role encompasses client advisory and strategic planning of resource-efficient master planning, innovation strategy, data driven liveability strategy. Her work focuses on Circular Economy and City resilience strategies for smart cities and future communities.

Farah was a prime mover in creating the energy strategy for the first zero-energy building in the UK, which subsequently won the 2015 RIBA Sustainable Buildings Award. In the Middle East her name has become a synonym for implementable sustainability among others, linked to projects including Museum of the Future, the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, the Bee’ah Headquarters in Sharjah, Masdar Eco Villa and Masdar City wide Master planning and the Sustainability pavilion for EXPO 2020 in Dubai.

Paul Robinson is the Founder and CEO of ConstructReach, a workforce development company and consultancy which works to diversify the construction industry.
Previously to starting ConstructReach, Paul was a construction project manager for a major retailer, managing both new construction, remodels and international expansion projects.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science Management from Kansas State University and holds a Masters of Theological Studies from Bethel Seminary.
Most recently, Paul is a 2020 St. Louis Business Journal Diverse Business Leader honoree, which is an award to salute those who promote diversity and demonstrate the important role diversity plays in the workplace and community.
Paul is passionate about building up the next generation of leaders and being a tangible example in his community to ensure a future of which we can all be proud.
Paul is married with 3 sons and he’s a huge basketball fan.

Kelley Cowan is a Project Executive with XL Construction, a commercial general contractor based in northern California, where We Build to Improve Lives. She graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles and has over twenty-five years of construction operations and preconstruction experience in the education, healthcare, biopharmaceutical, and corporate campus markets.

A third-generation construction professional, Kelley is the Immediate Past President of the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange Board of Directors, was a founding board member of the ACE (now CREATE) Mentor Program of Greater Sacramento, and was recognized as a leading professional in the Sacramento Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” List for her focus on leadership, community service, and workforce development.

A Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Alison Cox joined Sir Robert McAlpine after graduating from the University of Oxford in Engineering Science. With 20 years’ experience in the industry, Alison has led large teams on major, complex projects, such as Bloomberg London and Battersea Phase 3a. Through her many career achievements in construction, Alison has established a reputation as a leader and a driver of technical excellence, now serving as the Executive Director of Engineering & Technical Services.

Sam Stacey is Challenge Director – Transforming Construction at UKRI. He is leading the Transforming Construction Challenge, a £170 million research and innovation investment, matched by £250 million from industry, to create high-performing, cost-effective buildings for the UK and beyond.  Linked to the Construction Sector Deal, the programme includes the Active Building Centre supporting the wide-scale roll-out of energy-positive buildings, the Construction Innovation Hub to propagate standardised building products and processes, plus a Construction Network and funding for piloting of new construction solutions.

Before joining UKRI, Sam was Director of Innovation, Industrialisation and Business Improvement at Skanska UK, a Trustee of the Building Research Establishment, and Chairman of the National Platform for Construction. Sam has also worked for Wates Construction and Buro Happold Engineering. He is a Chartered Structural Engineer with an MBA from Henley Business School and degrees in Civil Engineering, Architecture and Philosophy from Imperial College and Cambridge University.

Sam is married with two children and lives in London and Suffolk.

As Buildher’s CEO, Tatu drives the strategic growth and initiatives of the organization, ensuring constant innovation in all aspects of program implementation and development. With over 13 years’ experience in the built environment sector, Tatu has focused her career on exploring the intersection of culture and the built environment both locally and internationally, in a variety of socio-economic and cultural contexts linking her Architectural background to participatory design; community engagement & investment; built environment education; and place making to facilitate physical, social and economic development. Prior to Co-Founding BUILDHER, Tatu held the role of Kenyan Country Director at Kounkuey Design Initiative, an award-winning Design, and Community Development Non-Profit.

Sue is the Global Head of Channels and Brand enablement for Shell’s Retail business. She joined Shell in 2012, having previously worked for Vodafone and Argos in a variety of frontline Sales Leadership roles.

Sue’s career spans over 25 years. She joined Shell, in 2012 and was the UK National Sales Manager, prior to moving to her current role. For the last four years, Sue has been part of the Global Retail Operations Excellence team, responsible for the Brand Policies and Shell Trademark usage on the 45,000 Retail stations around the globe, as well as the product owner for the IT and Digital landscape.

Her focus on putting people and customers first, has resulted in exceptional performance. Sue has a natural interest in motivating people and driving behaviours, which she has extended by studying to become a Certified Neuro Linguistic Practioner. She also has a natural interest in giving back to the community and has led many charity events and is a Trustee on a Chartable board.

Sue lives in London, is married to Nick and has a 21-year-old son.

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.

Aimee Hallgrimson is a Vice President of Business Development at XL Construction, a commercial general contractor based in Northern California, where We Build to Improve Lives. A clear leader in building and sustaining meaningful relationships, she works to match the best people and solutions to serve client needs. As a trusted advisor within the industry, she has the challenging conversations up front, to ensure all project team members are aligned for success.

Aimee graduated with a BA from Purdue University and has been in the industry since 1993. Aimee’s background has been focused on client development in the architecture, interiors and construction industries and has served in multiple roles within Corenet Northern California, CREW Silicon Valley and various charitable organizations along with St. Christopher’s Parish. She is a devoted mother and wife, working to achieve the personal/professional balance. The Peloton helps.

Karen is a Lecturer in Digital Construction and Quantity Surveying and has previously worked as a quantity surveyor, project manager and an Information Technology and networking officer.

As a lecturer, Karen teaches at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the following areas: digital and Building Information Modelling (BIM) strategies in the AEC sector and quantification of building elements. She is currently supervising PhD students in the area of BIM, Blockchain and Social Value in a Digitalised Built Environment.

Her completed research activities include career progression and retention for women in construction, inclusion in the Built Environment, BIM for Africa and Information Resilience.

She is interested in research which seeks to assure information quality, maximize information value and ensure inclusion in digital environments.

Karen joined SRM in 2017 and is responsible for People, Property & Facilities Management, Business Systems and Compliance & Security.  She is the ELT sponsor for the Socio Economic Affinity Network and is passionate about the role organisations can play in supporting people who have disadvantages in life, such as homelessness, ex. offender rehabilitation and supporting ex. military personnel back in civilian life. Outside of work Karen is the co-owner of a football club Halesowen Town FC and is actively involved in the supporting the local community in London Soho e.g. serving hot meals to the homeless.

As head of learning, Frank is responsible for the successful delivery of NG Bailey’s industry leading development programmes.

Joining the business in 2012 he was instrumental in implementing changes to the company’s apprenticeship model and the subsequent increase in the number of programmes it runs.

Introducing LEAP in 2016, to help people leaders develop their own self-awareness, and MyJourney, a development programme with a rare self and peer nomination process, Frank believes that creating a fair organisation is vital to on-going, sustainable success.

With more than 15 years’ experience in L&D, Frank was awarded an MBE for his work in education in 2020.

Pia Höök is VP Culture at Skanska, a Swedish construction- and project development company with operations in the Nordics, UK, Central Europe and the US. As VP Culture her main focus is to reinforce an inclusive and value-based culture that supports Skanska’s long-term business aspirations. Pia has had different global roles at Skanska, including global head of Diversity & Inclusion and Community Investment. During her years with Skanska the percentage of women in the company’s top four most senior levels has increased from 13 % (2012) to 25 % (2019). Also, Skanska scores well above industry benchmark when it comes to employee experience of a value-based and inclusive culture. The company has also managed to establish an internal business case for inclusive leadership, linking inclusive leadership to employee effectiveness and intention to stay. Prior to working for Skanska, Pia was Global Diversity Director for Volvo Group. She has a PhD in Organization and Management from Stockholm School of Economics and in 2010 she became an Associate Professor of Organization, Management and Gender at the Royal Institute of Technology. Twice she has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and also served as an expert to the Swedish Government in governmental studies and delegations.

Shelley has nearly 20 years of experience as a safety professional working in environmental, construction, emergency management, transportation, and energy industries. She provides leadership and technical SH&E support to management teams.  She mentors SH&E professionals, leads strategic interventions, and creates opportunities for recognition. Shelley is a CSP, she has a BA in Environmental Studies from the USD, and a master’s in Public Health from SDSU. She has been a member of the NSC’s Board of Directors, a Campbell Award reviewer, and Chair ASSP’s Young Professional’s Development Committee. She currently Chairs NSC’s Women’s Division and Campbell Institute's Participation Committee. Shelley was awarded NSC’s  Rising Star of Safety in 2010 and ASSP’s 2015 Safety Professional of the Year. 

Google Real-Estate Project Executive, leading a cross-section of construction projects in the EMEA region.

Kathryn, formerly John Lewis Partnership’s lead Architect, began her architectural career at AJ100 company - BDP. Working on urban design projects such as Westgate Oxford and Palace of Westminster (Restoration).

Ardent advocate of harnessing digital technologies to mitigate climate change, Kathryn speaks regularly on the pathways to UN-SDG:9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

Awarded Management Today’s ‘35 Under 35’- (leading business women in the UK) and passionate about women in construction, Kathryn mentors young female architects through their career journeys, to excel and be courageous enough to take their seat at the table.

Neil is the Inclusive Design Lead for HS2 Ltd. He is one of the Mayor of London’s Design Advocates and is Chair of the London Legacy Development Corporation’s Built Environment Access Panel. Before joining HS2 he was the Head of Inclusive Design at BuroHappold Engineering. He is the principal author of the Mayor’s Supplementary Planning Guidance ‘Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment’, and the London 2012 Games and 2019 Legacy Development Corporation’s ‘Inclusive Design Standards’. He sits on the Advisory Board of the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC) and represents the NRAC on BSI Committee for B/559 - Design of an Accessible and Inclusive Environment, which is responsible for BS 8300 and the CIC Diversity and Inclusion Panel.

Karen Mozes is the Director of Professional Development for the Gensler SW region. In her role she provides leadership trainings, guidance, and executive coaching to the Gensler community, while providing the leadership with strategic advice aimed at improving engagement, retention, and overall impact within the region. Prior to joining Gensler, Karen owned her own consulting firm, Cinco Consulting Solutions, providing trainings, leading offsite retreats, conducting conflict resolution, coaching and strategic consulting to architectural and engineering firms, as well as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies around the US. Karen is also the co-founder of The Business of Yoga, in partnership with Yoga Journal and is a professional licensed coach. Karen holds a Masters in Building Systems Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Design from the University of California, Berkeley. Karen spent over 15 years working in the AE field prior to transitioning to training and professional development, in the capacity of architect, façade engineer and sustainability consultant. For more information, visit her website www.karenmozes.com.

Jessica currently leads a team of eleven Consultants in Autodesk’s Global Consulting Delivery Organization. In this position, Jessica is responsible for setting the overall direction and success of Autodesk’s construction-focused consulting engagements. Jessica frequently draws on her experience in Industry and Civil Engineering education to help drive innovation in the AEC industry.

In 2014, Jessica shifted her focus to technology to make a larger impact on the AEC industry. She moved to San Francisco and began working for Autodesk in Customer Success. She acted as the support point-of-contact for BIM 360 with Enterprise Priority accounts during the initial launch of BIM 360 Docs. She later worked on the development of the initial versions of the Construction Customer Success Plan Blueprint as the Customer Success Construction Program Manager.

Jessica Denman graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She began her career in Southern California, working at AECOM in engineering design and construction support. Her primary focus was in marine transportation, developing the world’s largest port facilities for enhanced operations and limited environmental impact.

Jessica has returned to her hometown in Denver, Colorado where she now lives with her husband, Ryan, and her dog, Rafa. They enjoy being outdoors, hiking, fly fishing, biking, or skiing. 

Holly recently took on the new challenge of starting a consulting company, Consults On Construction. Holly works with her industry clients to plan the work to achieve the best outcomes and to resolve all emerging issues. A 32-year construction industry veteran, Holly provides construction experience to her leadership role within the industry. She has led onsite construction activities for projects throughout California, focused on at-risk and design-build construction. Holly’s ability to orchestrate multi-dimensional projects is echoed in her involvement in WiOPS (Women in Construction Operations). Launched in 2013, the professional organization was founded by Holly and 7 other women to provide support and mentorship to women in construction. Holly serves as the organization’s governing board president.

A Registered professional engineer (civil) in California and Hawaii, Holly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cornell University as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from the University of Southern California.

Dianne Lee is a tireless advocate and industry professional in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction marketplace. With 15+ years of experience, she has been credited for multiple billion-dollar contract awards both nationally and internationally. She is a transformational leader with direct experience having represented all facets of the construction industry from the Architecture and Engineering, Program and Construction Management and General Contracting sides of the business. Having represented all major firms from large to small such as Parsons, Parsons International, AECOM, Vanir, Dianne is now Director at Kitchell. 

She currently serves on 3 prestigious industry boards. The Asian American Architects and Engineers Association of Southern California (AAa/e), Society of Marketing Professionals of Southern California (SMPS) and the Western Winter Workshop (WWW) a project and program controls organization. She also serves as Program Chair for all 3 organizations. In 2019, she served on the Board and as Program Chair for the Construction Management Association of America of Southern CA (CMAA SC).

Yewande is a chartered engineer, innovator and speaker. Her engineering experience includes the design and construction, innovation and manufacture of buildings and systems in the built environment. She has worked on projects in the UK, Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and has been named the UK Young Woman Engineer of the Year by the Institution of Engineering & Technology. She has also been awarded the Exceptional Achiever Award from the Association for BAME Engineers and the Association of Consultancy and Engineering, U.K. (ACE). She is a Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster. She is passionate about STEM communication and has presented Engineering programmes for Television. In the 2020 New Year Honours list, Yewande was awarded an MBE for services to engineering innovation and diversity in STEM.

Sandra Akmansoy is a civil engineer and began her career with Arup in 2003 in Arup’s Madrid office. In 2012, she opened Arup’s first permanent office in Copenhagen, where she led the formation of Arup’s Denmark group. Under Sandra’s leadership, the Copenhagen office has participated in many notable building and infrastructure projects — including the Cityringen Metro expansion, Fehmarnbelt Tunnel and the Camp Adventure observation tower. During her tenure, Sandra oversaw the expansion of Arup’s Denmark team to nearly 70 people and fostered the growth of the Copenhagen office’s infrastructure and buildings practices.  Sandra has worked and delivered projects in over 15 countries, and speaks 4 languages fluently.

Sandra relocated to Dallas in August 2019 to lead the development of Arup’s office. As the Dallas office leader, she will help drive the ongoing expansion of Arup’s Texas group in both the buildings and infrastructure sectors, which has seen a steady rise in business, operations, and staff in both Dallas and Houston in recent years.

Sandra is a Distinguished Alumna of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Virginia Borkoski is a Senior Vice President, Program Planning and Delivery at MTA Construction and Development in New York City. She is currently designing and leading the new multi-agency MTA External Partner Program as its Program Chief Executive Officer. Reimagining the program’s vision, Virginia is driving excellence and incorporating a client-centric model while creating a seamless and transparent process for developers, their consultants, and contractors.

Virginia’s career in advancing the built environment spans over 30 years, including public and private sector senior executive level experience. Her global expertise in the management, planning, design, contracting and construction of transportation projects reflects her keen focus on improving mobility and enhancing the public transit experience. Virginia has successfully delivered transit megaprojects worldwide including the Fulton Center, NYC; Government Center Station, Boston; Eglinton Light Rail stations, Toronto; the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge Facilities and Shared Use Path in Tarrytown, NY and Doha Metro Stations, Qatar.

Virginia is a Fellow and Chartered Construction Manager at the Chartered Institute of Building (FCIOB), UK, Chartered Architect at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), UK, and Registered Architect, NY, USA. She was a founder of the second International Chapter of the Womens Transportation Seminar (WTS) in Toronto, Canada and served as its first President.

Born and raised in India, Sue came to the US to pursue her Master’s Degree in Construction Management at Texas A&M. Her love for the ocean ultimately brought her to the coast, where she began her career as a Field Engineer, building her first OSHPD retrofit hospital. From there, her experience grew with projects such as: SF Air Traffic Control Tower, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and nume