ICE Strategy Session: Improving global resilience in infrastructure

Ed McCann

Ed is an experienced project director and is the Immediate Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was fundamental in growing Expedition from a startup to Building Magazine’s Engineering Consultant of the Year in 2012. As a senior director at Expedition, Ed provides invaluable leadership and experience to our organisation.

He is technical, an excellent communicator, enthusiastic, and has a deep understanding of the construction process. He is particularly skilled in strategic consultancy, feasibility studies, and design.

Ed’s career has taken him to lead projects all over the world. He was the project director for the multi award-winning Infinity Bridge and the Olympic 2012 Velodrome. Environmental factors and efficiency are drivers for Ed’s current projects that see him work with infrastructure clients to improve processes and implement new technologies. Projects include creating and delivering a productivity workstream for HS2, designing the Rolls-Royce SMR Program Site Factory for BAM Nuttall, and helping develop the Berkeley Homes modular housing system.

Ed is a founder trustee and trustee board member, former chair of the USL Board.

He is passionate about developing talent in the industry with quality training and education, a passion that led him to become the co-creator of the Constructionarium. This non profit organisation delivers education and training to students and professionals across the built environment sector. He is also co-founder of the Get It Right Initiative which aims to reduce errors in the industry.

As a respected thought leader, Ed is often invited to speak at various events, write articles, and deliver lectures, and has also made television programmes on civil engineering.

Catriona Brady

Catriona is the Director of Strategy and Development at the World Green Building Council. Her work is focused upon the strategic development and implementation of new global and regional projects and programmes for the World Green Building Council network, consisting of 70 national member councils, and their 36,000 members.

As part of this role Catriona manages WorldGBCs global programme on Resources & Circularity in the built environment, dedicated to enhancing resource efficiency and catalysing the circular economy within the building and construction sectors. Additionally, Catriona oversees the Better Places for People global project - dedicated to health, wellbeing and social value. This project aims to help the global Green Building Council network achieve a built environment that is healthy and sustainable for people and the planet, and is active in over thirty national Green Building Councils worldwide.

Catriona regularly speaks at high level events, industry conferences, and webinars, and serves on a number of expert Task Forces related to areas of sustainability, including health and wellbeing, sustainable infrastructure and the circular economy in the built environment. Catriona has also authored a number of notable industry publications, including WorldGBC's 'Health & Wellbeing Framework' in 2019, WorldGBC's 'Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere' strategy in 2020, and both 'Beyond Buildings' report on sustainable infrastructure and 'Beyond the Business Case' reports in 2021.

Prior to joining the World Green Building Council in May 2018, Catriona worked in environmental consultancy with experience in energy modelling and strategy, urban masterplanning and sustainability and health-based certification standards. She is also a fully qualified secondary school teacher, with two years experience of secondary school teaching Geography (plus an experienced spin instructor). Her educational background consists of a degree from the University of St Andrews in Geography. Originally hailing from the west of Scotland, she is currently based in London, in the United Kingdom.

Yashin Brijmohan

Yashin Brijmohan is a registered Professional Engineer with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree, Masters Degree, and a Diploma in Engineering Business Management. He is currently appointed as Chairman of Engineering Education at the Federation of African Engineering Organisations, Advisor to the President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, and Board Member of the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education.

As the founding Executive Dean of Business, Engineering, and Technology at Monash South Africa, he led curriculum development, teaching and learning, and research, across the areas of Engineering, Commerce, Accountancy, Information Technology, and Law. His illustrious career in engineering includes the appointment as Vice President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, and Chairperson of the International Engineering Capacity Building Committees.

In South Africa he served as Board Member, Chairperson of the Strategic Advisory Committee and Chairperson of the Continuing Professional Development Team for the Engineering Council of South Africa. He also served as Head of School for Engineering at the Eskom Academy of Learning, Chairperson of the Tertiary Education Support Programme developing science and engineering research and learning centres across universities, Chairperson of the Young Professional Development Committee (Eskom), and Board Director for the Southern African Business and Technology Incubation Association.

Yashin’s interest and expertise is in leadership, strategy development, engineering and general management, and business development, combined with his strong engineering, education, data analysis and risk management experience. He is a thought leader in preparing industry, learning institutions, society, and business for the Industrial and Technological Revolution with a focus on development and sustainability.

David A Smith

David heads Stantec’s corporate and global strategy.  He has over 30 years of utility and infrastructure sector experience and advises on infrastructure strategies using knowledge of trends and best practices from across the world. He holds Board Director positions within Stantec’s Global, Europe and UK operating companies.

David has completed the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership; he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program; and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.  He co-founded the ICE/Heriot-Watt/Stantec prestige lecture series on Resilience and has co-authored recent publications and articles such as ‘Community Futures’ and ‘Beyond Sustainability’.  David is chair of the ICE Sustainable, Resilient Infrastructure Community Advisory Board and a member of the ICE Decarbonization CAB.

Abhilash Panda

Abhilash Panda leads UNDRR’s effort in the areas of financing risk prevention, de-risking investment, and resilience of infrastructure.

He has more than 17 years of experience in international development, humanitarian response, investment portfolios and sustainable development.

Abhilash joined the United Nations in 2003 and has served in various capacities, managing large scale multi-country teams and global initiatives to build economic and social resilience. He also led United Nation’s largest global initiative to build resilience of more than 3000 cities.

Abhilash holds a Master’s in Business Administration and Bachelors in Electronics Engineering

Liz Varga

Professor Liz Varga has a chair in Complex Systems in the Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering Department, University College London (UCL). She leads the Infrastructure Systems Institute and is principal investigator for the coordination node of UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities (https://www.ukcric.com/) and a co-investigator for the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (https://dafni.ac.uk/). 

She teaches, writes, and advises globally on energy, transport, digital communications, water and waste. Her key research themes are infrastructure resilience, sustainable innovation and circularity, and decarbonisation, using digital twins, hybrid models, and self-healing systems. She is a fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Building Engineers (FCABE) and the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS). She is a commissioner with the National Preparedness Commission.

Savina Carluccio

Savina is the executive director of the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI) and a fervent advocate of the role of civil engineers in tackling our society’s biggest challenges. She is an experienced civil engineer and infrastructure practitioner with almost two decades of experience advising government, infrastructure owners and operators, multi-lateral development banks and NGOs to develop and implement inclusive, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure that is fit for the future. Prior to taking her role at ICSI, she served as associate director and infrastructure advisor at Arup as well as head of guidance and standards at the Resilience Shift.