GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED LEADERSHIP

Michael B. Smith is Hill International’s President, Americas, overseeing Hill’s Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Western, and Latin America and Caribbean Regions. Mr. Smith has more than 35 years of experience in program and project management for major engineering and construction projects. Mr. Smith has worked with Hill since 1997, leading organizations and teams of various types and sizes to achieve results through strong teamwork, continual process improvement, and innovative solutions. As President of the Americas, Mr. Smith is responsible for all operational functions, management, and business development for Hill Americas.

Mr. Smith holds a Certificate, Management Practice for Engineering/ Technical Professionals, from the University of California, Irvine and is a member of the Construction Management Association of Americas, AACE International, the Project Management Institute, and the Women’s Transportation Seminar.

Waleed Abdel-Fattah is the company’s President of the Middle East and North Africa regions. Mr. Abdel-Fattah has more than 30 years of experience in the construction and management of complex capital projects, including leading Hill’s Africa region to exponential growth and helping to delivering several landmark infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, and other programs and projects. Mr. Abdel-Fattah holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Ain Shams University in Egypt.

Manolis Sigalas is Hill’s Senior Vice President, Europe, responsible for managing Hill’s operations, performance, and profitability across the continent. Prior to this role, Manolis was Hill’s First Vice President and Managing Director for Southern Europe, leading Hill’s operations in Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and Albania. He joined Hill in London in 2005 and led significant project management and advisory services appointments internationally. Promoted to Managing Director of Southern Europe in April 2018, he has led the region’s organic growth and evolution.

Mr. Sigalas holds a Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technology University of Athens, Greece.

Steven B. Morris is Hill’s Aviation Sector Leader. He has more than 30 years of experience in practice building and management, business development, professional consulting, program and construction management, strategic and sustainable planning-design-engineering management, client and government relations, operations management, project finance and due diligence, project assessment and management, and project controls for aviation programs. 

Mr. Morris has served as Global Vice President Aviation at Jacobs Engineering, and, prior to joining Jacobs, was President and CEO of Morris Airport Consulting, Inc. Mr. Morris has also been a Corporate Officer and Senior Vice President for several other global design and management firms, and has helped to deliver more than $400 billion in aviation projects around the world. He holds a B.S. from the University of Texas in Architecture/Engineering and is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the American Association of Airport Executives, and the Airports Council International.

Luis Lugo Jr. is Hill’s Senior Vice President of U.S. Federal, Resiliency and Disaster Recovery sectors. Luis oversees the development and operations of each of these key markets for Hill.

Prior to his current role, Lugo served as Hill International’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, Americas; Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for the Southeast U.S. & Latin America; Senior Vice President responsible for managing Hill’s Claims Consulting Services practice in the Northeastern U.S.; and as President/Chief Operations Officer of PACO Group, Inc., an engineering consulting firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Florida and Colombia. His experience also includes positions as Vice President of Business Development for Hill International’s Northeast Region. Before joining the construction consulting industry, Lugo spent 20 years with the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer with assignments worldwide. Lugo holds a Master of Arts in Business and Organizational Development from the University of Phoenix in Arizona and a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Albany.

Thomas J. Spearing leads Hill’s Rail and Transportation Sector, overseeing the identification, capture, and client satisfaction of the company’s rail and transportation clients. He also helps to develop the company’s talent pool and brings industry-leading SMEs to Hill. Spearing has more than 35 years of experience in the delivery of complex transportation and rail capital projects, and has forged collaborative relationships with Federal, state, and local departments of transportation and transit agencies throughout the U.S. Spearing is a well-known industry thought leader and has helped to shape public policy on transit infrastructure spending.

Prior to his current role, Spearing served as Senior Vice President, Major Strategic Pursuits at AECOM. Previously, he held leadership positions with HNTB and the STV Group. Spearing was also instrumental in guiding Hill through some of the company’s most expansive years, holding the positions of Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer; President, Project Management Group; and, ultimately, Regional President of Hill’s Project Management Group, overseeing all of the company’s PM/CM operations across North America. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees from Spring Garden College, Philadelphia, in Construction Management Technology and Civil Engineering Technology and a Bachelor of Business Arts from Temple University in Business and Management. He also holds a Master of Science in Organization Dynamics and Management from Rosemont College.

Abdo Kardous is Hill’s Executive Consultant supporting the company’s Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. Mr. Kardous has more than 30 years of experience in the design, procurement, construction, and delivery of major projects, covering a wide spectrum of building, energy, infrastructure, and marine projects. Mr. Kardous joined Hill in 1997 and served as President, Middle East and Asia-Pacific until 2023. He was instrumental in growing the operations of the firm across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with oversight responsibility for more than 850 professional staff.

Mr. Kardous is a member of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He earned a B.S., Magna Cum Laude, in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Kardous was awarded Hill International’s Project Manager of the Year award in 2001.