People News: NJ Transit, HDR, Schenck, STV, WSP

New Jersey Transit hires Chief of Construction Management; HDR names Transportation Program Delivery Services Director; Schenck Process Group signs on Advisory Board Chairman; STV appoints Vice President; WSP USA welcomes two Leadership Team members for Southern California and Nevada.

Mohammed Nasim is joining NJ Transit as Chief of Construction Management. With more than 30 years of transportation project experience, he served most recently at Amtrak as Project Manager for the Gateway Program, including the Hudson River Tunnel and Portal North Bridge projects.

Nasim is a professional engineer, certified construction manager and a project management professional. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Cornell University.

HDR is promoting Jason McGlashan to Transportation Program Delivery Services Director. He will be responsible for managing and coordinating program initiatives; supporting the development and implementation of strategic plans and budgets; and facilitating work-share opportunities.

Previously, he was Transportation Planning Director, serving as project manager or project engineer for bus rapid transit and light rail transit planning; freight rail studies; airport master plans; city and county comprehensive policy plans; corridor and access management studies; transportation policy; and finance plans.

“Jason works across our practice to execute planning and transportation decisions that promote tailored, sustainable development in our communities, as well as capitalize on advanced technologies to efficiently solve complex problems,” HDR Professional Services Director Pat Hickox said. “With his leadership, we’ll focus on expanding and diversifying our service offerings to address our clients’ critical transportation challenges.”

On May 1, Ulrich Spiesshofer is becoming Chairman of the Advisory Board for Schenck Process Group, where he served as Chief Executive from 2013-19. Schenck is a global provider of industrial weighing, feeding, conveying, pulverizing and classification, screening, and mixing and blending products, as well as associated digital and automation applications for bulk materials.

Most recently, Spiesshofer was a member of the ABB Executive Committee since 2005. Prior to ABB, he was Senior Partner and Global Head of Operations for Roland Berger AG. He also served for 11 years at A.T. Kearney LTD. in Europe, Australia, Asia and the U.S., most recently as Partner and Managing Director of Swiss operations.

Spiesshofer serves on the Board of Directors of Infineon AG, Munich; as Senior Advisor to Blackstone; and is assuming the Chairman role at Sabre Industries, Texas.

Spiesshofer “is an exemplary leader with more than 30 years of experience in creating value through transformation, across multiple sectors,” said Juergen Pinker, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, which acquired Schenck Process Group in 2017. “His knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the company.”

STV is elevating Ali Mir, West Region Planning Director for Transportation, to Vice President. In his new role, Mir will focus on expanding STV’s planning footprint in Washington and Oregon, and throughout the Southwest.

Mir joined STV in 2012, and has served as the Transit and Environmental Planning Lead for Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) projects in Oregon and has overseen environmental compliance documents for more than 30 facilities in Bay Area Rapid Transit’s traction power facility replacement program. Currently, he is serving as Deputy Project Manager and Environmental Planning Manager for the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Burbank-to-Los Angeles and Los Angeles-to-Anaheim project corridors.

Richard Chavez and Derek Messier are joining WSP USA’s Leadership Team for the Southern California and Nevada District as Advisory and Planning Business Line Leader and Operations Leader, respectively.

Chavez has 32 years of civil service experience, including 22 years with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), where he worked on a variety of transportation infrastructure improvement projects, programs and planning efforts. In addition, he currently serves as an adjunct professor of urban studies and planning at the University of California-San Diego.

Messier brings more than 20 years of experience working in both private and public sectors in the areas of management, planning, design and construction for buildings, housing, transportation and fleet, and facilities. He served most recently as Chief Operating Officer at the Illinois State Highway Toll Authority. Messier also served as Chief Property officer for the Chicago Housing Authority, and as Deputy Commissioner for Chicago’s Department of Fleet and Facility Management.