People News: Sound Transit, HDR

Andy Izquierdo has joined Sound Transit as Chief Communications Officer, and Nathan Macek has taken on the role of Infrastructure Finance Director at HDR.

Andy Izquierdo will be responsible for maintaining public awareness of system expansions, promoting ridership and working to maintain high employee engagement at Sound Transit, which serves Washington state’s Central Puget Sound region. He served most recently as Chief Communications Officer at Waste Management, managing both internal and external communications, as well as the company’s social impact initiatives. Izquierdo has also held communications leadership positions with Yum! Brands, PetSmart, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, and Belk, Inc.

“Sound Transit needed a communications leader who could tell not only our story, but also the story of our region’s transformation,” Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff said. “Andy’s communications experience and passion for community engagement will be critical on our journey to deliver the largest transit expansion program in the nation.”

At HDR, Nathan Macek will advise global clients on funding and financing strategy for infrastructure development and operations. Services include financial feasibility assessment, financial planning and cash flow analysis, funding analysis, funding and grant strategy development, long-range financial planning, New/Small Starts and Core Capacity planning, privatization studies, public-private partnership strategy development, real estate economics, pricing analysis and tolling finance, and value capture analysis.

With more than 20 years of experience, he has developed financial models to evaluate funding, alternative project delivery and financing for rail, transit and highway projects in the U.S., Europe, Caribbean and Middle East, as well as performed cash flow modeling and uncertainty analysis of capital and operating funds for more than two dozen transportation agencies.

“Helping our clients identify the means to design, construct, operate and maintain transportation, water, utilities and other infrastructure assets has a real-world impact on our client’s customers,” HDR Transportation Operational Resiliency Director Janet González Tudor said. “Nathan’s leadership in this space will be critical to successfully navigating policy and funding challenges our clients face when creating sustainable solutions for their most complex projects.”