Speakers & presentations

James Colclough

Digital Lead Europe - Transport // Aecom

Session D - Digital Transformation

A Future Vision

James Colclough (BSc (Hons) MSc CMILT CGeog) is leading the advancement of digital project delivery within AECOM’s Civil Infrastructure business across Europe, Middle East and Africa. He provides delivery and strategic leadership to a range of infrastructure clients to drive digital transformation in the construction industry. This includes embedding core solutions and processes as well as innovative concepts to realise a step change in productivity.

Within AECOM, James is leading digital strategy for Civil Infrastructure and the coordination of digital leads within the business. He has a technical background in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM), enabling him to perform the role of Digital Lead on key projects including HS2 and A303 Stonehenge.  

Keith Daly

Managing Director // Quantum Energy

Session C - Contract Conditions

Case Study - Offshore Wind Project

Keith Daly is Managing Director of Quantum Energy, with a main focus on the energy sector, especially the offshore wind and renewables market. He qualified in Law in 1996, holds a BSc in Construction Management, as well as a PHD in Construction Psychology. Keith´s advising experience expands from contract law, contract administration, procurement and claim strategy, to dispute resolution, international adjudication, Dispute Adjudication Board´s (DAB´s) and international arbitration.

He is highly experienced in FIDIC contracts, has skilfully dealt with numerous international construction disputes and was appointed as expert witness to mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) projects.

Keith has worked in both subsea production systems as well as floating platform construction for both onshore and offshore facilities.

Juan Elízaga Corrales

Director of Institutional Relations and Operational Resources Director // Ferrovial Construction SA

Chair // Session D - Digital Transformation

Juan Elízaga Corrales is Director of Institutional Relations and Operational Resources Director at Ferrovial Construction, SA. He combines the position with that of President of Nalanda Global, an intelligent cloud service for contractors to optimise the supply and subcontracting chain.

Juan Elízaga Corrales is a member of the Council of CNC, of the Board of Directors of SEOPAN as well as President of the Foreign Commission and Member of the Plenary of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, he is Chairman of the International Commission of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid, as well as Vice President of ENCORD.

He received a Master for Science as Civil Engineer by Polytechnic University of Madrid, Hydraulic and Energetic specialization. Juan Elízaga has a longstanding career within Ferrovial, where he began his professional career in 1984.

José Pedro Freitas

CFO // Mota Engil Group

Chair // Session A - Africa

Africa: Challenges and Opportunities from a Contractor’s Perspective

José Pedro Freitas began his career in Accenture and, later, worked in the control and planning department of Sogrape Vinhos. More recently, between 2009 and 2011, was also head of treasury in Ascendi. Since 2013, he is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the Mota-Engil Group.

Born in 1978, he holds a degree in Economics by the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portuguese Catholic University), attended the Euromoney Financial Training, and also completed an Advanced Business Management program at Porto Business School.

Nicholas Gould

Specialist Construction, Engineering and Energy Law // Fenwick Elliott LLP

Session C - Contract Conditions

Procurement and Contracts

Nicholas Gould is a partner in the specialist construction, engineering and energy lawyers Fenwick Elliott LLP, where he conducts a mix of international dispute resolution and non-contentious work.  He is a solicitor-advocate, chartered surveyor, accredited adjudicator and CEDR lead mediator.  He sits as arbitrator and on dispute boards. He acts for contractors, employers and governments in the building, construction, engineering, infrastructure, transport, energy, oil and gas, and process engineering sectors.

Nicholas is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Vice President of the ICC’s Arbitration Commission. He is President Elect of the DRBF and past Chairman of the Society of Construction Law. 

German Grüniger

Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer // Implenia

Chair // Session C - Contract Conditions

German Grüniger took over the role of Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer in 2014 and is since 2019 a member of the Implenia Executive Committee. Before joining Implenia, he was in private practice for more than 15 years commercial law firms in Zurich, the last 8 years focusing as a partner on dispute resolution, commercial contracts and real estate transactions.

At Implenia, he manages all global legal affairs of the company’s operations. As Group General Counsel, he is responsible for both large infrastructure and other constructions projects as well as for national and cross-border transactions. The Implenia in-house counsel is a permanent member in the value assurance process of the company and included in executive level conversations about the organization’s future, its mission, and overall strategy goals.

German Grüniger identified the need to enable the legal department to better serve their clients by applying digitalized and automated business and technical practices for the efficient, qualitative, and cost-effective way of innovative legal service delivery.

German Grüniger created a new multidisciplinary Legal Operations & Strategy department which provides strategic planning, financial and project management, and technology expertise that improved the overall efficiency of the legal department and enables legal professionals to focus on providing innovative legal advice.

Lourdes Centeno Huerta

Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets Department // Ernst & Young, Spain

Session B - Corporate Responsibility

Due Diligence

Lourdes is responsible Partner of the Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets Department at EY Abogados.

She has more than 20 years of experience in the public sector, mainly in the legal service of the Ministry of Economy. She was Vice president of the National Securities Market Commission and Director of the Bank of Spain from 2012 to 2016. During that period of time, she acted as member of the Executive Board of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), member of the Management Board of ESMA and Director of the Supervisory Convergence Standing Committee of ESMA.

She was previously General Technical Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. She also participated in different governing bodies of public entities and companies such as the FROB (Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring), the Fund for the Financial Asset Acquisition and several state companies.

Richard Laudy

Head of Africa Group // Pinsent Masons

Session A - Africa

Richard Laudy is a recognised leader in the global construction and engineering sector. He leads Pinsent Masons Africa Group and was Global Head of Infrastructure at Pinsent Masons for many years, leading the firm's global infrastructure strategy. Mr. Laudy is a dispute resolution lawyer but specialises in advisory work and procurement strategies and works closely with leading international infrastructure businesses. He lectures widely on issues affecting construction and engineering and runs interactive workshops which assist with risk management issues.

Richard has played a leading role in promoting the infrastructure sector to young people and for example as a trustee of the Construction Youth Trust, which looks to assist young people overcome barriers to employment by assisting them in finding roles in the construction industry.

Anne Moloney

Spearhead Director, Major Crossings, Denmark // Ramboll

Session D - Digital Transformation

Anne has a background working with the design and project management on larger multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects in Denmark and abroad. She is currently working from Ramboll's office in Copenhagen, Denmark as the Head of Department for Major Bridges. She has extensive experience with managing international design teams through all phases of a project. This position requires strong interpersonal and planning skills as well as determination and decisiveness.

Recently she has been the Project Manager for Ramboll Denmark on the Queensferry Crossing in Scotland. This is the detailed design of a 2.3km long cable stayed bridge and required the management of a design team of up to 35 people. Her role in this project won her the awards of Danish Young Engineer of the Year 2015 (FRI) and European Young Professional of the Year 2015 (EFCA).

Currently she is the Project Director for the new Storstroms Bridge in Denmark.

Lara Muller

Global Head of Public Affairs // Royal Boskalis Westminster

Session B - Corporate Responsibility

EU Taxonomy: Risk and Opportunity

Lara Muller is currently Global Head of Public and Governmental Affairs at Royal Boskalis Westminster and has been appointed by the European Commission in the Platform on Sustainable Finance. The Platform is a permanent advisory body of the European Commission and is crucial to deliver on the aims of the EU Taxonomy Regulation and ultimately of the European Green Deal and the EU climate targets for 2030 and 2050.

Lara is also vice-president on the National International Business Committee of the largest employer federation of the Netherlands, VNO-NCW, and member of the CR and anti-corruption Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce.

She is an expert in international trade policy, sustainability policy, export finance and export credit insurance. She is a visiting professor at Nyenrode Business University. Lara has enjoyed her academic education at Leiden University’s law school and at Harvard Business School.

Bruno Pozzi

Director of Europe Office, Geneva // UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Inspirational Speech: Making Peace with Nature - Pollution, Bio Diversity & Climate Change

Why we need to #MakePeaceWithNature

A diplomat from Belgium, Bruno Pozzi brings to UNEP 20 years of experience in high-level diplomacy and politics, across three different continents and in various political and economic roles. He is a strong advocate of multilateralism and of the need to put environment at the center of political action.

Prior to joining UNEP, Bruno was appointed in 2015 as the Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Kenya, one of the largest diplomatic representations of the European Union abroad. Coming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, he joined the newly created European External Action Service in 2011 and served as the Head of the Political Section of the European Union Delegation to Ivory Coast until 2015.

He started his career at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations of the Free University of Brussels before joining the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October 1999. He has served in Belgian Embassies to Japan, China, and South Africa.

Norbert Pralle

ENCORD Chairman and Head of Innovation Management at Ed. Züblin AG, Germany

Inspirational Speech: A Common Vision for a Resource-Efficient Construction Industry

Time to get Concrete: A Common Vision for a Resource-efficient and Carbon-neutral Construction Industry

Norbert is currently Head of Innovation Management at the German contractor Ed. Züblin AG, which belongs to the STRABAG SE Group. As Head of Development & Innovation he was responsible from 2008 until 2020 for Corporate Responsibility, Innovation Management, and IPR on the Group Level. Norbert has been representing ZÜBLIN/STRABAG at ENCORD since 2004, which he chairs since 2018. He is also a member of the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform) Steering Committee.

Trained as a geophysicist, geologist, and a geotechnical engineer, with degrees from Rice University in Houston, US, and Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany, he acquired a diverse and international project experience at the geotechnical and tunnelling design offices of the contractors Bilfinger Berger and Ed. Züblin AG. Fields of particular interest are how to drive the much needed transformation of construction into a resource efficient and carbon neutral sector.

Wouter Remmelts

Director // BAM International

Chair // Session B - Corporate Responsibility

Wouter started his professional career as a graduate engineer in 1986 at the Hollandsche Beton Groep, which - going through a process of several take overs and mergers, is now the Royal BAM Group. After a 15 year period mainly working and living abroad in countries such as Norway, Scotland, USA, Egypt Brunei and Libya, Wouter was appointed Managing Director of BAM Civil in 2002, the Dutch civil engineering division of the Group. His appointment to the Board of BAM International in 2014 was a natural step in his career, a bit like, “back to the roots”. Since that time, he has been an active member of several committees and federations in the field of international construction, amongst which:

  • Board member “Dutch foreign contractors association” (NABU)
  • Board member “European International Contractors Association” (EIC)
  • Member of the Dutch government export advise committee “Rijkscommissie voor Export”

Wouter graduated in Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands and participated in the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD, France.
Corporate social responsibility in combination with fair competition on a “level playing field” around the world, are important fields of his interest.

Karim Selouane

Founder & CEO // Resallience

Session A - Africa

Climate Change Adaption: A Vision for Sustainable Infrastructure Delivery in Africa

Karim SELOUANE has over 15 years of experience spanning both industry, academia, and support to policy makers regarding strategies for the management of climate risks to territories, cities and projects. He is the head of resilience and climate change adaption at Vinci Construction and in 2018 resultant from selection within Vinci’s LEONARD Innovation and Foresight Platform, he founded and is now CEO of RESALLIENCE, a design office dedicated to adapting cities, territories, infrastructures and their use to climate change.

Karim is a member of the sustainable city working group of the UN Habitat (PNUE) and participated and contributed to the first cities summit in Nairobi (March 2019), and the UNSPBF (sciences policy business forum) “Data for the Planet Program Task force” in Canberra (November 2019). Karim is also a member of the “Community of users on secure, safe and resilient societies : urban critical infrastructures” from the European Union. He is also a member of the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI).

Karim teaches at Sciences Po on resilience strategies in the face of global risks. At the same time, Karim co-pilots the standardization commission (AFNOR, CEN, ISO) on the resilience of infrastructures and cities. Karim is a doctor and engineer from the Ecole National des Mines de Paris and the Ecole Nationale des Sciences Geographiques.