BST Global's AI Summit

As AECOM's Global AI Lead, Tim is responsible for leading the firm’s enterprise AI strategy, which is a key enabler for both transforming the organization’s operating model and driving forward how it delivers value to clients now and into the future. 

Prior to this, Tim was the Regional Digital Director for AECOM Australia New Zealand and part of the regional executive team. He has more than 25 years of experience in technology research, development and commercialization in both the public and private sectors, focusing on a range of domains such as environment, transportation and health.

Tim holds a PhD in Computer Science from Queensland University of Technology and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership Program.

Based in New York, Freek is the Global Citizen Development & AI Director at Arcadis, a global leader in sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy. With over 36,000 professionals across 70+ countries, Arcadis tackles critical challenges like climate change, urbanization, and digital transformation.

As a thought leader in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, Freek plays a pivotal role in advancing Arcadis’s vision to reshape the future of work through emerging technologies. With over 13 years of experience, he leads the integration of low-code platforms, AI and digital tools, like ArcadisGPT, driving operational transformation across the company. He is also spearheading an ambitious corporate objective to upskill 2,000 Arcadis citizen developers by 2026, ensuring they are more digitally and AI literate and making them a more productive and future-ready workforce while minimizing risk for the company.

Freek holds an MBA focused on citizen development, low code and AI with his research featured in All Hands on Tech, a book by Thomas Davenport and Ian Barkin.

Tembi is a seasoned data and analytics leader and Global Chief Data Officer at Arup. She is responsible for defining and executing Arup’s data strategy to enable the company’s mission of shaping a better and more sustainable world.

Prior to joining Arup, Tembi led the Data Platform, Governance and Operations team at Okta. She is also the former Head of Enterprise Data at Peloton.

Tembi began her career at PwC, supported Fortune 500 clients in executing data strategies as a data and analytics advisor at CrossCountry Consulting, and has dabbled in a few entrepreneurial ventures.

She holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Darren is an industry-recognized thought leader on the power of connecting people, data and technology to deliver stronger outcomes and help us engineer a better future for our planet and its people. He thrives on shaping and delivering digital transformation that enables large, complex organizations to leverage innovative new technologies and deliver extraordinary results.

As Chief Digital Officer, Darren leads the global digital strategy for AtkinsRéalis, a world-leading design engineering and project management company that works to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems. Darren is responsible for developing and scaling the organization’s digital capabilities to help deliver solutions that support strong client outcomes, maximize efficiency and commercial performance, and reduce our environmental impact.

Darren joined AtkinsRéalis from McKinsey & Company, where he was the global CTO for McKinsey’s Operations Practice and Capital Excellence Program, leading innovation on generative AI, software development and data science. He has also served as global CTO at two other energy and built environment consultancies. In these roles, Darren helped deliver digital transformation policies that added $100M to the bottom line and developed practical expertise in everything from identifying client challenges to determining how large organizations can best integrate powerful AI and data analytics into their products and services.

Darren began his career in a startup as a cofounding developer before rising through the ranks to hold a global leadership position at one the world’s largest digital technology organizations.

Javier is Chief Executive Officer and a Principal Shareholder of BST Global. Javier leads a global team of professionals responsible for the market introduction of BST Global's business software products and cloud solutions. Javier is also instrumental in crafting and implementing the company’s business strategy, overall vision and mission with the BST Global leadership team. In addition to his principal role at BST Global, Javier serves on the ACEC Board of Directors.

Javier joined BST Global in 1989 and has served in various capacities during his tenure. In 1999, Javier was the primary catalyst in establishing a global vision for BST Global, and since that time, the company has flourished from its roots as a North American-centric business to a prosperous and vibrant global software organization. Today, with the steadfast support of fellow senior leadership and committed professionals globally, BST Global operates across an international network of offices and has clients leveraging BST Global’s solutions in 65 countries on six continents.

Javier holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida.

Joseph Joseph is the Chief Digital Officer of Gensler, the world’s most influential architecture and design firm. Since 2016, he has spearheaded digital transformation at the global practice known for its bold creativity, incisive research and meaningful positive impact. 

With a deep belief in a people-led, digitally powered future, Joseph leads a dynamic and high-performing team that drives cutting-edge advances at the intersection of technology, design and experience. Bringing together artificial intelligence, automation, data-driven design and other creative technologies, his work creates sophisticated, future-focused solutions for Gensler’s clients and team members. Joseph’s passion for empowering people, innovating around process and disrupting traditional business models has had wide-ranging effects across Gensler’s global footprint.

Prior to joining Gensler, Joseph held a senior role with Walt Disney Imagineering, where he developed and implemented a digital transformation strategy for capital projects around the world. His work has spanned diverse industries — entertainment, healthcare, oil and gas, sports, aerospace, federal government — and has always centered on enhancing the capabilities and impact of organizations and their teams.

Aside from his role as CDO, Joseph serves on Gensler’s Leadership Operations Committee and Design Synergy Management Committee. A sought-after thought leader, he is on the board of several industry organizations and stealth companies. Additionally, as both a supporter of the Testicular Cancer Foundation and a survivor, he is a strong advocate for cancer education and awareness.

Shannon is Jacobs’ President of Strategy, Growth & Digital. She helps set the strategic direction of the company, ensures we’re accelerating growth by driving meaningful value for our current and prospective clients and partners, and is responsible for delivering our next-generation cloud, cyber, data and digital solutions, empowering our own teams as well as those we work with around the world.

Shannon joined Jacobs more than 25 years ago as a process engineer and has since worked across project delivery and management, operations, business development, human resources, enterprise risk management, growth and sales and led a profitable operating unit, Divergent Solutions. Her efforts have spanned multiple industries, including technology, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and consumer products, with assignments in the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada. She is now based out of our company headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Shannon holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

As Chief Technology Officer at Parsons Corporation, Ricardo is responsible for the development and implementation of the organization’s overall technology strategy with the objective of promoting growth. He accomplishes this by employing a combination of internal research and development (R&D) and external technology resources, such as commercial technology partnerships, contract R&D, and university partnerships. The portfolio includes technologies ranging from digital modernization to integrated systems, and from cyber to artificial intelligence/machine learning, data analytics, advanced sensors, electronic warfare, smart mobility, environment remediation, and space technologies. He is also responsible for the offices of the Chief Information Officer, Chief Security Information Officer, S-WORX and the Parsons Fellows.

Ricardo joined Parsons in 2018 through the acquisition of Polaris Alpha, as Senior Vice President of S-WORX, a corporate-wide innovation and solutions organization. Prior to joining Parsons in 2018, he held a series of leadership roles within the defense and aerospace industry. He led the C4ISR and Intelligence business segment at Polaris Alpha, a high-tech solutions provider developing mission-critical systems for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community with specialized expertise in Space, Cyber and the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Ricardo was a member of the Polaris Alpha management team that collaborated with a private equity partner to increase the size of the company threefold within 24 months. Prior to Polaris Alpha, he served as EVP at EOIR Technologies, an advanced C4ISR solutions provider that became the platform for Polaris Alpha. Ricardo has also led numerous teams of software and systems engineers at Booz Allen Hamilton, focused on mission-critical defense and intelligence programs. He began his career as a software and systems engineer.

Ricardo holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Penn State University. He also proudly served as an officer in the United States Air Force, where he worked in Electronic Warfare, Communications and Civil Engineering before retiring honorably after 21 years of service.

Jason is the Head of Innovation for Ramboll, a global architecture, engineering and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. With a team of more than 18,000 experts, Ramboll is known for creating sustainable solutions across Buildings, Transport, Energy, Environment & Health, Water, Management Consulting, and Architecture & Landscape.

Jason leads Ramboll’s efforts to identify, validate, deliver, and scale new services and products aimed at resolving clients’ complex challenges, and creating a sustainable future where both people and nature flourish. In 2023, he played a pivotal role in formulating Ramboll’s AI strategy. This work involved assessing AI trends affecting the AEC industry and creating a robust plan to capture the opportunities. Foundational enablers of the strategy include development of the workforce of the future, innovative commercial models, maximizing the value of historical data, AI education and the ethical use of AI, reflecting the firm’s longstanding values.

Jason has more than 15 years of experience developing analytical and generative AI systems. His expertise spans natural language processing models for mining historical, technical data sets; computer vision models for vegetation typing and delineation; and, most recently, the use of OpenAI APIs to improve the efficiency of myriad tasks.

A strong believer in enabling business transformation through emerging digital technology, Shankar is an outcome-oriented and market-facing thought leader and digital architect. A former IBM fellow, an innovator and a problem-solver at heart, he’s been recognized with five outstanding technical achievement awards, the IBM Corporate Award, and two Best of IBM awards.

One example of his prize-winning work includes a scale method for end-to-end cloud-enabled transformation. He has tremendous expertise in large-scale digital transformations powered by cloud, data, AI and automation. At Stantec, Shankar oversees the commercialization of digital products and services, and the development of tools that drive internal efficiency. He also supports the ideation of digital products that will be incubated and brought to market.

Shankar holds a Master of Information Science degree from Pennsylvania State University.