Mott MacDonald инвестирует в ИИ и цифровую трансформацию для устойчивого роста на Ближнем Востоке

Rick Hopper, Managing Director of Mott MacDonald Middle East speaks with MEC’s Clayton Vallabhan about the company’s vision for growth, innovation and local talent The Middle East is undergoing a transformation in the way infrastructure is planned, designed and delivered. Across the Gulf, ambitious national development strategies are driving investment in transport, aviation, energy, water, rail, and land development. At the same time, engineering and consultancy firms are being challenged to deliver projects faster, more sustainably and with greater levels of local expertise. For Mott MacDonald, the opportunity is not simply about growing its regional footprint. It is about building long-term relationships, strengthening local capability and ensuring that the company can support clients from the earliest stages of project development through to delivery. Rick Hopper, Mott MacDonald’s MD for Middle East says the company’s approach is centred on sustainable growth rather than expansion for its own sake. “For us, it’s really about sustainable growth,” he says. “We’ve got some great partnerships with our clients, so it’s about becoming even more embedded in the markets we’re already in,” Hopper says. Hopper argues that growth should not be measured purely by headcount. Instead, Mott MacDonald is looking to deepen its relationships with clients and become increasingly established in the markets where it operates. “Growth for us isn’t always about headcount; it’s really about strengthening our incumbency and getting closer to our clients,” explains Hopper. That strategy is particularly evident in Saudi Arabia, where the company has rapidly expanded its local presence. While Mott MacDonald has been working in the Kingdom since the 1960s, its Saudi operation has entered a new phase following the establishment of a wholly owned entity. Building a long-term presence in Saudi Arabia Mott MacDonald’s history in Saudi Arabia stretches back decades. Like many international companies, its earlier work in the Kingdom was conducted through a joint venture structure. “There’s a bit of history there,” Hopper explains. “We’ve been doing work in Saudi Arabia since the 1960s, but that was under a joint venture partnership, as was the case for many international companies.” The evolution of the Saudi business environment, alongside Vision 2030 and changes that have enabled international businesses to operate more directly in the Kingdom, created the conditions for Mott MacDonald to establish its own entity. “We established that in 2022 and kicked it off formally in 2023,” says Hopper. The scale of expansion since then has been striking. The company initially operated from 2 small offices, which Hopper jokes were “about the size of a small kitchen”. Those premises quickly became insufficient, with the business soon requiring space for 40 to 50 employees. Within a year and a half, that space had also been outgrown. The company subsequently moved into a larger facility with capacity for approximately 140 people. The growth of the workforce reflects the wider expansion of the business. Hopper says that 3 years ago Mott MacDonald had just 3 people on the ground in Saudi Arabia. Today, it is approaching 100. But this expansion goes beyond numbers. For Mott MacDonald, establishing a substantial local presence is about being close enough to clients to understand their needs and contribute throughout the project lifecycle. “We’ve really shaped this business to fit our clients’ needs,” Hopper says. “That means building local talent.” More than half of the company’s Saudi workforce is now made up of Saudi nationals, a figure Hopper describes as a “fantastic success story”. Supporting Vision 2030 through local capability The emphasis on local talent reflects a wider shift taking place across the Gulf. As national development programmes move from strategy into delivery, international expertise increasingly needs to be combined with local knowledge and capability. For Hopper, being local is essential to achieving that.   “It’s really about being close to our clients and helping them with the early challenges they have when conceiving projects, but also seeing those projects through to completion. That can really only be achieved by being local,” he says. Mott MacDonald has also established its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, further reinforcing its commitment to the Kingdom. “We’ve made that investment because it shows our commitment to our clients — that we’re here and aligned with what they’re trying to achieve,” Hopper adds. That alignment, he believes, is central to creating value in a market undergoing such rapid transformation. “Adapting like that, understanding what these nations are trying to achieve and supporting them through that process is where you’re going to see the most value,” he remarks. For Hopper, the reward is not simply commercial. It also comes from seeing regional teams develop and integrate. Aviation, transport, energy and water The sectors offering the greatest opportunities are, perhaps unsurprisingly, those already receiving significant investment across the Gulf. “Thankfully, the sectors where we see the best opportunities are sectors that we’ve already been investing in, transport and aviation, and for sure energy and water.” Hopper explains. Aviation is particularly significant because of its relationship with broader economic development. Hopper points to the growth of Emirates and Etihad and the impact that major national carriers have had on tourism, trade and connectivity. “We’ve seen that investment happening around the region. That brings growth, tourism and trade.” he says. Mott MacDonald has responded by strengthening its aviation leadership capability, bringing senior expertise from its global operations into the Middle East. Hopper notes that one of the individuals brought into the regional business played a role in the development and growth of aviation in the UAE, over almost 20 years, with significant roles at Emirates, Dubai Airports and Etihad Airways which included supporting the establishment of flydubai, and has subsequently helped the company secure 3 major aviation programs.   Transport more broadly remains a major opportunity, while energy and water are becoming increasingly important. “Given the recent challenges in the region, the resilience that will be required around energy and water, and the interconnectivity between them, will be increasingly important,” Hopper says. Cross-border energy networks and GCC grid connectivity are likely to remain areas of investment, while rail connectivity is another major opportunity. “That further push towards rail interconnectivity will be a great opportunity for everyone,” he remarks. Preparing for an era of major projects The scale of development in the region is also changing what constitutes a major project. Hopper points out that the Middle East’s transformation is not limited to the high-profile giga-projects. “If you take the giga-projects out of it, even run-of-the-mill projects are now major projects in the Middle East,” he says. That creates new demands for engineering consultancies. Rather than simply responding to defined project requirements, firms increasingly need to engage with clients at the earliest stages, helping them determine how ambitious programmes can be delivered. “The biggest opportunities often start long before detailed design. We help clients shape the vision, bring the right infrastructure and services together, and guide projects from due diligence and land development planning through to delivery,” he explains. “Our investment is about making sure we have the right people and the right skills to align ourselves with those client needs.” Mott MacDonald is therefore bringing senior leaders from its global operations into the region permanently, rather than relying solely on short-term international support. “Our company is well known for major projects around the globe, but probably less so in the Middle East. We’re changing that,” remarks Hopper. AI and the digital transformation of engineering Technology is another area where Hopper expects major change. Mott MacDonald is investing heavily in artificial intelligence and has taken the significant step of providing its global workforce with access to Microsoft Copilot Premium. “Everybody globally now has access to a Copilot licence, which is a huge investment. One of the things we’re doing early on in projects now is digital value assessments” he says. The focus, however, is moving beyond simply providing employees with access to AI tools. The next challenge is demonstrating measurable value for clients. These assessments look at how digital technologies and AI can generate value for clients and support more effective project delivery. While the Group provides central support, individual regional units are encouraged to develop their own digital ideas. Successful ideas can then be shared across the wider organisation. “We have a fantastic group central support to all the different units. But we also are allowed to innovate at our own level,” he explains. For Hopper, the pace of technological change is both challenging and exciting. “It’s an exciting time. I’m loving it,” he says. “I think it scares some people, but I’m a massive adopter of AI. I think it’s a fantastic thing.” The challenge for the wider industry, he argues, will be connecting digital adoption across the entire project lifecycle rather than treating technology as an isolated capability. “Getting that alignment through the lifecycle of a project is probably going to be the challenge,” he says. Sustainability embedded in project delivery As digital transformation accelerates, sustainability is another issue reshaping infrastructure delivery. At Mott MacDonald, Hopper says ESG is embedded across the business rather than treated as a separate consideration. The company has an Environment and Sustainability team that becomes involved from the bid stage, supporting projects ranging from conventional infrastructure to major standalone sustainability programs. Mott MacDonald is also increasingly working at program level, assessing issues such as embodied carbon across major developments. Hopper points to a large, unnamed giga-programme where the company is examining the full asset brief and considering how embodied carbon can be managed and reduced.   “We’re looking at the embodied carbon across the program and how we can help manage it, control it and future-proof what they do,” he says. For Hopper, being invited to work at that level represents a significant evolution in the client relationship. It allows Mott MacDonald to build on its involvement in individual assets and contribute to the wider development strategy. He also believes the company’s long-standing focus on sustainability gives it an advantage. “I think sustainability is just natural in everything we do, and we’ve been doing it for a long time,” explains Hopper. Developing the next generation Despite the focus on AI and major-project capability, Hopper repeatedly returns to the importance of people. When Mott MacDonald established its new Saudi entity, the company also took the opportunity to rethink its approach to graduate development. This led to the creation of its LEAD programme, a structured two-year development programme combining professional and technical training. The results are already becoming visible. “One of the success stories I’m probably most proud of is that we had somebody who started on that program just over 3 years ago and is now one of our first graduates to reach chartered professional level,” Hopper says. The Saudi national is now working as a project manager on a major aviation project. His career also has a personal connection to the industry: his father worked for Saudia for many years. For Hopper, the story demonstrates what local talent development can achieve. “It’s a heartwarming story, but it also shows that we’re doing what we said we were going to do: develop people and move them through the career ranks,” remarks Hopper. The company has also established a regional scholarship program, supporting employees pursuing higher degrees through ring-fenced investment. “At Mott MacDonald, when we say we’re going to do something around people development, we do it. You don’t get those levels of retention without investment in your people, in my opinion” Hopper says.   That commitment, he believes, is a major contributor to retention.   Perhaps one of Hopper’s most significant observations is that the flow of innovation is changing. The Middle East is no longer simply adopting approaches developed elsewhere; it is increasingly generating new ideas and delivery models that can be shared globally. “A lot of that innovation in our industry is happening out here,” he says. The scale and ambition of the region’s major programs have created an environment where conventional approaches are being challenged and new methods of working are emerging. Mott MacDonald has experienced this directly, with lessons from regional projects being shared throughout its global business. “We’ve been right in the middle of some of that, and those lessons are already being spread around our Group, with lessons being learned, new ways of working, ways to digitise, ways to collaborate across multiple time zones and more,” explains Hopper. He credits clients for enabling that experimentation. “They allow us to innovate. They’re willing to take the risk and allow us to try something different,” he remarks. Hopper expects that trend to continue, with the pace of innovation accelerating and the Middle East increasingly becoming a source of ideas for the wider engineering industry. Ultimately, Mott MacDonald’s regional strategy comes down to a long-term commitment to its clients, its people and the markets in which it operates. That means building resilient infrastructure, developing local expertise and remaining aligned with the evolving priorities of governments and clients. “We’re telling our partners that we’re here through the good times and the bad times. We’re here to help them build resilient infrastructure, align with their development challenges and invest in their people.” For the next generation of engineers, Hopper’s advice is equally focused on adaptation and curiosity. “If you’re the quick adopter within your office or your company, I can guarantee you’ll be celebrated because you’ll be at the forefront. You’ll be leading the change, and that’s what our industry needs. Be curious, put your hand up, volunteer for as much as you can, and make yourself uncomfortable,” he says. His own career began with CAD, a technology that was still relatively new when he secured an internship partly because he knew how to use it. Today, the pace of technological change is far greater, but Hopper believes the principle remains the same. For a region undergoing such an extraordinary period of infrastructure development, Hopper’s message is ultimately one of long-term commitment and continuous adaptation. The companies that thrive will not simply be those that can deliver large projects. They will be those that can build trusted local relationships, develop the next generation of talent, embrace new technology and help clients turn ambitious national visions into resilient, sustainable and deliverable infrastructure.