Melbourne-based civil engineer Louise Adams takes over as the new Aurecon group CEO on 1 July 2025. Ahead of taking up the role, she shared some thoughts with Infrastructure Global.
What are your thoughts on taking over as Aurecon’s new group CEO?
I celebrated 25 years at Aurecon soon after my appointment was announced. I have spent my whole career with this organisation so it’s humbling and a particular privilege to be able to step up now and lead it. For an organisation like ours, I get excited by the quality of people and how smart they are and how necessary their skill sets are in this current world.
Our world is facing incredibly complex challenges related to infrastructure, such as the impacts of climate change, population growth, urbanisation, needing to transition our energy systems, needing to build more resilient infrastructure. Organisations with our engineering and advisory skills and capabilities are needed more than ever.
It’s not an easy time for any organisation to exist but I think it’s an exciting time for us and our people.
How would you describe your management and leadership approach?
Three words come to mind – determined, authentic and with integrity. Determination to me means being able to pursue goals despite obstacles and setbacks. It’s about maintaining focus and persistence when experiencing resistance, making difficult decisions with conviction and inspiring others through demonstrated commitment, even when the path forward isn’t clear.
For authenticity I really love the saying that one of our previous CEOs used to use – “people need something to believe in, someone to believe in, and someone who believes in them”. And that means you must act in service of your organisation – not in your self-interest. Leadership needs to be hands-on and it needs to be real. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be open and honest, especially when the truth is difficult.
Be honest about your mistakes. Be accountable when things go wrong – and generous with your praise of others when things go right. Most importantly, your actions must match your words.
Lastly, if you are going to lead a professional services organisation then integrity is paramount to your success.
People need to be confident in you as a leader and the decisions you and your leadership team will make. This confidence will provide the foundation for the culture that enables them to be their very best. You have to role model what you want your people to be. It’s the same idea when it comes to learning new skills. With AI and digital technology, for example, it’s not ok to sit in your ivory tower and ask others to upskill in their use of digital tools, if you’re not fundamentally leaning into it yourself.
Why do you think that Australia has entered “the Age of the Engineer”?
There are several complex challenges affecting Australia and many other countries across the world – climate change, urbanisation and the energy transition, to name a few. Engineers are absolutely vital to solving these infrastructure-related challenges.
We have recently appointed a chief engineer at Aurecon, Tanya de Hoog (pictured above), to help our people relentlessly pursue engineering collaboration, technical and delivery excellence and ensure we evolve at pace and have the necessary skills for the future. In the industry, there have been calls for the creation of chief engineer roles in all state, territory and national governments and there is growing appetite from other organisations to also appoint this role due to the increasing prominence of the impact that engineers can have.
I’m passionate about helping engineers become more visible and vocal about their role in creating communities of the future. The ‘Age of the Engineer’ means engineers should be given a seat at the table, using their valuable skills – including creativity and innovation – to solve the most complex challenges facing the world today.
For many of these challenges, we have all the facts and data on what the issues are. Now we need the solutions – and that is where engineers can thrive.
Do you believe that the industry needs to do more to promote its worth and value to society?
Technical consultants including engineers are often humble and their contribution to society through specialised expertise isn’t necessarily visible to the public. But I think it’s time to shout our value from the rooftops and highlight our impact through real-life examples – be it solar farms that propel the energy transition, roads and bridges that connect communities, or data centres that underpin technological innovation. Projects such as FIDIC’s Carbon Collaboration Initiative that provides organisations with guidance and tools to reduce carbon emissions also demonstrate the global impact our industry can have on shaping widespread change and creating a meaningful legacy for society.
Drawing connections between technical expertise and community outcomes will help us better celebrate the role technical consultants play in building a more sustainable and resilient world.
What do you see as the key issues facing Aurecon and the industry more widely?
We are operating in a dynamic yet complex world, which presents a multitude of challenges for engineers as well as opportunities.
Limited access to funding is hindering infrastructure development as organisations worldwide grapple with numerous challenges including supply chain disruptions, rising costs, economic uncertainty and government budget constraints. A combination of these factors has created a particularly challenging environment for many organisations to secure the substantial investment needed for major infrastructure projects.
A shortage of skills and capabilities pertinent to STEM continues to dampen the growth outlook of our industry. Economies across the globe are seeing the demand for talent in STEM outpace supply. In Australia alone, recent estimates flagged the current shortage of public infrastructure engineers, architects and scientists as being around 20,000 in metropolitan areas and 10,000 in regional areas.
Utilising technology in a responsible manner is a key consideration as rapid technological advancements change the way people work and operate. As we adapt to change, it’s essential we understand technology can be a double-edged sword if utilised in an irresponsible way. We need to keep having meaningful, deliberate discussions around how emerging technologies can help us unlock new and improved opportunities to bring our clients’ ideas to life.
Balanced governance plays an instrumental role in the future of our industry. Fit-for-purpose governance can help create transparency and accountability, reduce risk, drive efficiency and ensure prudent decision-making that considers economic viability alongside social and environment impacts.
Last but not least, engaging communities and gaining social licence has become more important than ever. In today’s complex operating environment, technical excellence alone is insufficient – we must demonstrate social value in our work and help establish trust between developers and communities. This is particularly crucial for the energy transition in Australia and many other countries across the world, where meaningful engagement focused on building relationships also delivers better operational efficiencies and stronger outcomes for projects and communities.
As a woman leader in the sector, how do you view the industry’s progress towards achieving more gender diversity?
When I started my career in 2000, I was only one of two women in the University of South Australia’s graduating class of engineers. Twenty-five years later I remain a strong advocate for female leadership and equality in STEM. In the 91-year history of Aurecon, I will be the first female CEO, which is an incredible honour.
The phrase ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’ has always resonated strongly with me. I am proud that I will hopefully inspire women working in the STEM space to continue their leadership trajectories by demonstrating the opportunities available.
The future of engineering hinges on our commitment to supporting engineers through their careers and we need to retain and empower people with a passion for pursuing leadership to achieve those goals.
What more can be done to make the industry more representative?
Change must continue across every aspect of the industry to make it more representative, from growing early pipeline to creating career pathways for talent across all career stages. For organisations like ours, this means action by leaders, changes in policies and changes in behaviours.
We are involved in the design and construction of myriad forms of infrastructure, including how we get to places and how to create the places themselves (hospitals, sports and entertainment stadia, business precincts). We know that teams with diversity of thought are more likely to develop creative and, in some cases, innovative solutions that are designed with the end user experience in mind.
DEI has always been a critical strategic focus for Aurecon and it will continue to be so. I’m a huge advocate for getting more girls and women into engineering but I am at heart, just a huge advocate of getting more of everyone into engineering. DEI is not just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing. It is essential for long-term success, for ongoing prosperity and for sustainable economic growth.
Beyond gender, diversity of all kinds is important to us at Aurecon – we champion equal and equitable opportunities for all employees including amplifying the voices of First Nations people, LGBTQIA+ community, people from diverse cultural backgrounds, veterans and people with a disability.
At Aurecon we are passionate about creating a workplace where all our people can thrive.
