Audrey Jacob takes on Toronto for Arcadis
By Adam Freill
Construction Leadership Women in ConstructionCity executive appointment marks the inaugural entry of a Canadian city to company’s Global Cities Program.
Audrey Jacob (Photo courtesy of Arcadis)
Arcadis, a global design and consultancy organization for natural and built assets, has appointed Audrey Jacob as city executive for Toronto. In this role, Audrey will lead the company’s strategic growth initiatives, pursue new business development opportunities and partnerships, and oversee client relationships in the greater Toronto region. The city executive appointment also marks the inaugural entry of a Canadian city to the Arcadis Global Cities Program, a network of 17 cities around the world identified as key markets for the company.
“Audrey is a recognized expert in her field, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the team,” stated John Batten, director of the Global Cities Program at Arcadis. “Her appointment and the new designation of Toronto as a member of the Arcadis Global Cities Program aligns perfectly with our new business strategy of focusing on growth markets where we have a strong business presence.”
Jacob brings more than 30 years of experience to this role across business development, urban planning/development consultancy and management. Most recently, she was the integration director overseeing the successful structural integration of IBI Group into Arcadis.
Prior to this role, she served on the IBI Group executive team as chief operations director and chief diversity officer, where she was responsible for the company’s human resources, global marketing and communications, office lease portfolio, information technology, and design technology.
Preceding this, she was the IBI Group’s deputy regional director for Canada East with responsibility for the financial performance of the Toronto office. Concurrent with this role, she led an established and successful practice focused on planning and economics.
“The Toronto region is one of the fastest growing city regions within Arcadis, attracting innovative talent and significant global investment,” said Jacob. “While Arcadis has been operating in the region since 2005, legacy IBI Group has been actively involved in city building across the Toronto Region for more than 50 years. I look forward to leveraging our strong market position to accelerate growth in the areas of city building, innovation, energy transition, climate adaptation, new mobility and digital asset management and operations to improve quality of life for our clients and communities alike.”
A native of Toronto, Jacob is active in a variety of industry and professional associations, including Urban Land Institute, Women’s Leadership Initiative, Building Industry and Land Development Association, Lambda Alpha and Pragma Council. Earlier in her career she served on the Faculty of Engineering Advisory Board at McGill University in Montreal.
