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| Infrastructure surge demands specialists | | LONDON — Trillions of dollars currently being poured into recession-fighting infrastructure projects worldwide will put pressure on supplies of human talent, as well as concrete, says David Timson, of IIC Partners.
“It may seem that plenty of executive talent is available just now, due to the global recession. But the experts who know how to assemble these big infrastructure projects, both financially and structurally, will soon become difficult to find and retain because stimulus programs aim to pump tens or hundreds of billions into each of the major economies over a very short period of time,” Timson said. He is the London-based leader of the global Infrastructure Practice Group of IIC Partners, Executive Search Worldwide.
“Government funding is being directed to ‘quick-win’ projects that will provide the most immediate economic uplift,” Timson said. “But governments don’t simply pour out cash. They have to involve the private sector in structuring both the financing and contractual frameworks. So both commercial and technical planning has to be put in place in a very short time and all of this requires specialized talent that will rapidly become fully employed.”
He said what’s unique about the impending boom in infrastructure spending is that it’s being co-ordinated by governments around the world, from high speed rail lines in the UK to toll highways in Southern Africa; from wind farms in North America to hospitals in India. And the executive talent to make these projects happen is the most geographically mobile of any industry.
“The project director needed in Brazil tomorrow may be in China today. The same goes for infrastructure financiers.”
Timson said that’s why IIC Partners moved more than a year ago to create a dedicated Infrastructure Practice Group to assist clients developing major road, airport, railway, utility and social infrastructure projects, as well as the banks and investment funds who finance projects.
“Globally, we’ve recruited financial and construction leadership to nearly 200 projects in the infrastructure space in recent years,” he said. “We’ve put together a team of experienced infrastructure search consultants based in London, Paris, Munich, Toronto, Santa Monica, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong and Sydney to help our clients find the executive talent they need to assemble and manage complex projects anywhere in the world.”
He said recession-driven government spending will create a major spike in infrastructure investment over the next two or three years. But activity will be maintained over the longer term by the need to undo decades of neglect in infrastructure maintenance. A recent study by CIBC World Markets estimates up to $35 trillion will need to be spent worldwide in the next 20 years to rebuild decaying public infrastructure in leading economies and to build new facilities in developing nations.
About IIC Partners
IIC Partners is a global executive search organization, ranked among the top 10 in the world by revenues and this year celebrating its 23rd anniversary as an international operator. As an affiliation of individually successful search firms — covering 31 countries from more than 45 offices — IIC Partners is simultaneously capable of worldwide reach and intense local focus. Each of nine specialized practice groups operates globally to provide assured access to all the executive, professional and technical communities essential to the success of today's competitive corporations.
For further information, contact:
David Timson
Senior Partner
The Curzon Partnership
London
Phone: +44 207 470 7160
E-mail: mail@curzonpartnership.com
Martin Vine
COO, IIC Partners
London
Phone: +44 1989 770 992
E-mail: mvine@iicpartners.com
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