SMEC appoints Andrew McKune as Managing Director for India
Infrastructure consultancy SMEC has a new Managing Director in India. Andrew McKune, who has been at the firm for nearly a decade, has been appointed to the top India role. He will help manage the shift in focus of the global consultancy towards India, and the surrounding regions of South and Southeast Asia.
McKune is a graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town, and has considerable professional experience in the field. He began as an Engineer at Aurecon in the global engineering consultancy’s Durban office, where he was engaged primarily with the transportation and traffic sector.
He joined SMEC in 2011 as a Transportation Engineer, and has since made his way up the ranks in the firm, holding a variety of roles along the way. McKune has worked as an Associate at SMEC’s Durban office, where he managed the business development and strategy at the section.
In 2013, he moved to the firm’s Kwazulu-Natal office as a Section Manager, a role that he held for a year. In this role, he oversaw planning and project management in the KwaZulu-Natal office for more than a year, before taking over as Business Development Manager at the office.
After a one-year stint as Regional Manger for Gauteng South, he took over as Director of Operations for South Asia & Middle East, a role that he managed from Bengaluru in India. During this time, McKune has familiarised himself with Indian market for infrastructure services, which is seeing seeing growing demand.
After a sustained period of insufficient investment in infrastructure, which deterred a number of infrastructure consultancies from operating in India, the market is now set for significant development, paving the way for SMEC to ramp up its operations in the country. McKune will now lead this process.
Commenting on his new engagement, McKune said, “Our project experience in India is diverse, reflecting both the depth of our expertise and our strong local roots, having started our first project in 1975. We’re proud to have been an integral part of India’s growth story, especially after the Indian Government adopted the Economic Liberalization Policy in 1991.”
“Considering the incessant efforts being made by the Government through development of smart cities and willingness to invest in urban and rural infrastructure, we see a bright future ahead. The Indian growth story has just begun and there is significant potential to transform this enormous nation. SMEC is well-placed to take a leading role in accelerating the region’s development. We have an enviable mix of specialists, technology, trusted local partners and a reputation for quality delivery,” he added.
