Roger Nickells

Managing Director for the Middle East

Having gained a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Salford in 1990 Roger quickly sought out design leadership roles in technically and logistically sophisticated project environments. His team’s achievements include the ground breaking Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Wild Wadi Waterpark both in Dubai and the Barr al Jissah Resort in Oman. These were all driven by the key aspiration to change the way that these markets delivered projects. All of these facilities won numerous awards recognising their success.

Through his broad exposure in developing large scale consultancy businesses in Oman and Dubai Roger has honed his skills by encouraging those around him to grasp opportunity, challenge inertia and to rest only when the team is operating at the leading edge of its capability. His detailed experience of risk and his ability to dissect this, challenge his communities and to create a solution based culture has enabled project teams to reach beyond their initial aspirations and to create facilities which respond to their environments, interrogate their strategic context and hence to optimise their development aspirations.   His deep commercial understanding of projects, portfolios and their impact on business finance mean that he is a natural business leader who has encouraged his teams to pursue opportunities in broader geographies (Syria, Iran, Libya, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and in broader consultancy markets.

Roger believes that design leads change and that engineers must provide the strategy, wisdom, support and creative frameworks to take the industry forward.  He also believes that confident innovation in design is driven by improving the way we communicate, the way we collaborate and the way we engage our client base.  He is passionate about integrated design and believes that we have to broaden our reach, adopt technology and reassess how the industry engages with its clients.

Roger’s collaborators enjoy his infectious enthusiasm for all we do and his deep strategic awareness.