Our 2023 Speakers

Alan Brookes

Chief Executive Officer, Arcadis

Alan was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Arcadis in May 2023, and now works with, and leads, 36,000+ talented Arcadians in over 70 countries.

He started his career as a surveyor, where he grew to lead a chartered surveying practice and then chair Povall, Flood and Wilson, which was acquired by EC Harris in 2000. When EC Harris was acquired by Arcadis, Alan continued to lead Asia, supporting the acquisition of Langdon and Seah before returning to the UK in 2014.

In 2019, Alan was appointed as Group Executive to lead the UK, Europe, and Middle East businesses across €1.2bn revenue and 12,500 people. In 2020, Alan became Global Chief Operating Officer and led the development of Arcadis’ global operating structure.

Alan believes the most important aspect of his role is to unleash the potential of Arcadians, so they can improve quality of life and help clients with their challenges.

Virginie Duperat-Vergne

Chief Financial Officer, Arcadis

Virginie joined Arcadis in 2020 and was inspired by the innovative projects the company supports to create a tangible, positive impact on the world. As Chief Financial Officer, Virginie is tasked with ensuring the company’s financial stability and growth and leads on investor relations and M&A Strategy.

In 1997, Virginie began her career as an external auditor and spent over ten years at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young (now EY), before joining the French television broadcaster Canal+ as Compliance Officer for Accounting Standards. Virginie held several finance positions at Technip, and then TechnipFMC, where she became Group Deputy Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Before joining Arcadis, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Gemalto and led the defence process in 2017, resulting in the acquisition of Gemalto by Thales Group.

Heather is the Global President for Resilience and a member of Arcadis' Executive Leadership Team. She’s responsible for driving growth and positioning Arcadis as a leader in sustainable and innovative solutions across climate change, water security, energy transition, and protecting our people and planet.

With a career spanning over 30 years, across various global and North American leadership roles, Heather is committed to helping clients solve their greatest challenges and developing diverse leaders across Arcadis.

Heather received her B.S. in Environmental Science from the College of William & Mary and a M.S. in Technology Management from the University of Maryland, USA. As a certified Project Management Professional, she contributes to industry organizations, serving as president and board member of prominent industry organizations like the National Association of Ordnance Contractors and the Society of Military Engineers.

Mark is Arcadis’ Global President for Places, focused on creating smart and sustainable places for owners, investors, users and communities. Prior to this role, Mark was CEO for the UK and Ireland and has held various roles at Arcadis over the past 10 years. Before his appointment as CEO, Mark’s remit included Global Head of Rail, Managing Director UK Transportation, Risk and Operations Director, and Managing Director for Buildings.

Mark is a quantity surveyor by background, holding a fellowship from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors where until recently he was also a Non-Executive Director.

He previously spent 10 years at Atkins, holding various business leadership roles, including Managing Director for Rail Solutions. He also has worked in the oil and gas, and retail sectors, and in construction litigation.

Greg Steele is the Global President of the Mobility Business Area at Arcadis. With over 6,000 people spread across twelve countries, Mobility helps transport owners, operators and contractors deliver design, asset and program management and new mobility solutions across the world. Greg has over fifteen years’ experience at CEO level in global organizations. He brings his expert knowledge of the the global transport, mobility and infrastructure sectors from his 40-year career to his role at Arcadis, helping develop our people and deliver for clients. In addition to his role at Arcadis, Greg is Co-Chair of the WBCSD Transport & Mobility Pathway and Chair of Engineering Aid Australia, supporting the big dreams of Australia’s First Nations youth by inspiring them to study and pursue a career in engineering or technology.

Juud is the Global President, Intelligence and Advisory, and a member of Arcadis’ Executive Leadership team. Through her role, she will drive growth for our digital solutions, products, and advisory business, providing strategic advice and industry experience. With Juud’s advisory expertise, she’ll work closely with client teams across Arcadis to further enhance our advisory strategy and bring our advisory capabilities consistently to our key clients.

Juud recently joined us from JLL, where she has enjoyed a 12-year career and gained significant experience in growing and developing businesses. She has a proven track record in commercial, operations and transformation leadership roles in the real estate, professional services, and energy sectors, gained from JLL and in previous roles at Boston Consulting Group and Shell. Juud has a deep understanding of digital transformation, strategy and performance excellence.