Keith Howells
Institution of Civil Engineers
past president 2022/23
Keith Howells
Keith Howells served as the 158th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
Having graduated in civil engineering in 1974, Keith joined one of the founding members of the Mott MacDonald Group and spent the first 10 years of his career in infrastructure design and project management, primarily in the water and transport sectors. After completing an MBA in 1986, he expanded his focus to planning, feasibility, and financial and economic analysis of projects, mainly in the water and environmental sectors. Over the following decade, he contributed to numerous projects funded by international finance institutions as well as UK government bodies.
Keith has extensive experience in the planning, study, and design of hydraulic structures, hydropower, urban drainage, sewerage, water supply, and river engineering schemes. He has worked both in the UK and internationally. He led the firm’s Water and Environment business from 1997 to 2002, before becoming Group Managing Director in 2004, guiding the company’s expansion in North America and Australasia. Keith chaired the Group’s Executive Board from 2011 until mid-2019, overseeing company performance and strategic direction.
Keith’s leadership roles also include serving on the board of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering from 2011 to 2015, including a term as Chair in 2013, membership of the CBI’s Construction Council from 2013 to 2019, and participation on the Cranfield School of Management Advisory Board from 2012 to 2020. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
