Buro Happold selects Jennifer Price for top role, US Managing Director
By Buro Happold
Buro Happold, a world-class practice of 2,200 engineers and consultants, has announced the appointment of Seattle-based Jennifer Price as US Managing Director and Partner. The move brings Price, a dynamic leader known for executive experience in business operations and strategy, into a key leadership role for the 12 offices and over 300 professionals in the United States. Price was elected by the firm’s 70-plus partners worldwide in mid-May, and the selection has been announced by James Bruce, CEO of Buro Happold.
The announcement came as Buro Happold also elevated nine senior firm members to the rank of partner.
A diverse executive with a track record of innovation and leading environmental and social governance (ESG) initiatives, Price is among the most visible and successful women leaders in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries. She has worked with clients globally across industries in the public and private sector, including major municipalities and highly regulated utilities, while cultivating a strong presence on subsidiary and non-profit boards. Her strategic vision and authentic personal style reflect decades of AEC project management, mentoring and empowering teams with strengths in account guidance and technical services.
“Jennifer Price brings a valuable breadth of experience and proven achievements in areas central to Buro Happold’s core mission as a multidisciplinary team working at scales from buildings to entire regions,” says Senior Partner and Chair of the Global Board, Craig Schwitter. “She is a dynamic, inspiring leader who actively champions inventiveness and vision, pushing boundaries for client solutions in such key areas as climate action, social justice and environmental sustainability.”
Price has held senior management or director-level positions with global building, engineering and consulting companies GHD, CH2M, and AECOM. Her background includes a senior consulting role with Deloitte and project experience as an environmental engineer. Over the years, Price’s diverse client roster has ranged from Microsoft and Boeing to major cities and municipalities, as well as public agencies including Seattle Public Utilities.
Most notable in the track record held by Price are successes in creating profitable businesses and implementing process innovations including digital transformation. In one case, she led the turnaround of an unprofitable $40M US business unit of a global AEC company to achieve double-digit growth
“I’m honored and delighted to join Buro Happold, a people-empowering company with a stellar global reputation for technical excellence, strong engineering-led solutions, and highly complex problem solving,” says Price. “The firm’s nimbleness, and the dedication of its diverse teams aspiring to great design, immediately impressed me. So too does the deep commitment to sustainability and diversity, while so many others seem to be making little progress.”
As Price joins Buro Happold, she continues to devote time in civic leadership and to non-profit social causes. Her current philanthropic activities include board positions on Futurewise and Leadership Tomorrow, a group that prepares, challenges, and engages emerging and existing leaders.
Price earned her MBA from the University of Washington in 2000, after receiving a B.S., Chemical Engineering, from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a certified Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute and has completed the University of Washington Foster School of Business’ ‘Women Board Directors Development Program.’ An avid outdoors and soccer enthusiast, Price lives in Seattle with her two children and her partner and his two children, who frequently go on outings to ski, snowboard, and hike.
“Over the course of her career, Jennifer has been an active champion of ESG matters, with experience on global diversity councils and sponsoring women’s leadership groups, bringing the best teams to clients and projects,” adds David Herd, Managing Partner for Buro Happold West Coast and U.S. Board Chair. “Her focus on engineering design and strategic consultancy makes for an exciting way forward in accelerating our growth with U.S. and global clients and in addressing the urgent climate change agenda with respect to sustainability, resiliency and mobility.”
Buro Happold is one of the world’s leading engineering consultancies and has helped create many of the most recognized and innovative places across the globe including New York’s High Line, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, London’s Olympic Park and Stadium, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the World Towers in Mumbai, and Jewel Changi Airport, home to the tallest indoor waterfall on the planet. Buro Happold is active in 30-plus locations worldwide, aiming to double from 2,000 to 4,000 employees in the next six years, creating better balance and resilience across regions and making Buro Happold a truly global organization.