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BUSINESS NEWS AECOM JOINT VENTURE SECURES POSITION ON TWO NEW £1.25 BILLION SCAPE UTILITIES CONSULTANCY FRAMEWORKS IN THE UK AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, announced its Perfect Circle joint venture with Pick Everard and Gleeds has been appointed to two new consultancy frameworks for SCAPE, the United Kingdom’s leading public sector procurement authority. The frameworks, with a combined value of up to £1.25 billion, will see the joint venture deliver professional services for the utilities sector across the U.K. “We’re proud to continue our collaboration with SCAPE alongside our Perfect Circle partners, and look forward to applying our multidisciplinary capabilities and track record on key utilities to benefit communities across the UK,” said Frank Sweet, chief executive of AECOM’s Environment business. “These new frameworks extend our role as a key enabler of the U.K.’s water sector growth and ongoing energy transition, allowing our teams to build resilience across the utilities infrastructure pivotal to a sustainable future.” Perfect Circle has been appointed to SCAPE’s £750 million direct award

framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and its £500 million dedicated framework for Scotland. The frameworks will run for a period of four years, with an option to extend for a further two years. Both frameworks are intended to deliver solutions and services across a range of utility sectors, including water, renewables, energy, rail and metro, aviation, ports and harbors, and telecommunications. Clients, which include utility sector organizations across the UK, will have access to the joint venture’s suite of professional services, including strategic advice, engineering services, design services, project management and quantity surveying. “With these new frameworks, our teams continue to expand their role in delivering the UK’s ambitious grid and utilities infrastructure modernization objectives,” said Colin Wood, chief executive of AECOM’s Europe and India region. “Our regional experts have a long history of collaboration with the UK public sector, and their ever-evolving skillset across the key pillars of the energy transition is deepening those partnerships.” “Our Perfect Circle partnership has

consistently delivered value to public sector organizations across the United Kingdom for more than six years,” said Richard Whitehead, chief executive of AECOM’s global Buildings + Places business. “Our Buildings + Places teams will build upon this success by leveraging the experience of our partners and AECOM’s integrated, cross- business line expertise in renewables, grid modernization and other critical framework services.” AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy, and the environment, our public- and private- sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023.

you’ve been in the business a long time and you might be twice the age of your new client. It may be time to transfer the client relationship to someone in your organization who’s closer in age and experience, and can relate to the new client better. Generational compatibility is a reality. ■ Do great work and provide excellent service. Providing excellent service, along with high-quality deliverables, will bridge the gap as you learn to build a strong, new client relationship. While the majority of transitions work well, occasionally a new client may simply be incompatible, and it’s best to work with clients who respect you and your firm, and appreciate the value that your services provide. For those golden clients who do appreciate your services, pay on time, and acknowledge the value that you bring to the table, make sure you do everything to make them happy during your client transition. Before long, they will become your advocate and your best client! Dan Houf, P.E. is senior principal and president at Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Inc., an Oregon-owned firm that has been recognized locally and nationally as a top engineering and multidiscipline firm. Contact him at dan@hhpr.com.

DAN HOUF, from page 7

other loyalties in the business, and want to open the process for others to compete with your services. They may not recognize the value that your organization adds, or they may exhibit no loyalty to your firm at all. Even worse, they might be disrespectful and treat your staff poorly. Here are a few steps to ease a client transition and implement successful projects: ■ Build trust. Invest the time to connect with your client on a personal level. Be responsive and dependable. Trust is absolutely essential in client relationships. ■ Learn and adapt. Understand that the new client may do things differently than your former “favorite” client. They may have less experience, or they may just prefer that information be presented differently. Instead of saying, “This is how we’ve always done it,” try saying, “How would you prefer we approach this issue, and may we share some ideas that might apply here?” Truly listen to your new client. Understand the issues that are important to them, learn how they want to work together, and then adapt to your new situation. ■ Be realistic. This has been the toughest part for me. When you’ve worked with a client for three decades, it means

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THE ZWEIG LETTER NOVEMBER 11, 2024, ISSUE 1561

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