Cundall, an international multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, has appointed Lee French to head up its civil engineering and infrastructure team in the Middle East region.

French brings with him a wealth of multimillion-dollar project experience across many sectors including lifestyle, masterplanning and infrastructure, said a statement from Cundall.

This combined with his reputation for total professionalism; integrity and commitment makes French a much-welcomed addition to Cundall’s Middle East operation, it stated.

In his new role, French's primary focus will be to enhance Cundall’s regional operations and the civil and infrastructure brand in the Middle East.

A chartered civil engineer (member of the Institution of Civil Engineer) and chartered construction manager (member of the Chartered Institute of Building), French is a champion of innovative sustainable approaches in building infrastructure.

He has been with Cundall since 2001 and he joins the Dubai office from Newcastle in the UK, having previously been based in the region for four years. French has an extremely strong track record of delivering large and complex schemes.

On the new role, French said: "I am extremely excited to be re-joining the Mena leadership team and to be heading up the civil offering in Dubai. Cundall is now very well-established right across the region with a fantastic portfolio of projects and I am really looking forward to being part of the continued development and growth."

"At Cundall, we have made it our mission to create fantastic built environments and have a positive impact on our communities. At this juncture, on the release of our new sustainability roadmap, we have a real opportunity to work with our Mena clients to deliver on that promise and create truly amazing sustainable building and infrastructure projects," he noted.

During the 17 years with Cundall, French has led and managed design teams and projects all across the UK, the Middle East and Africa region.

Richard Stratton, a partner and regional managing director, said: "It is great to have French back in the region to further strengthen our team. He is a great asset to the business and a future leader, bringing a passion and commitment that our clients will come to value as much as we do."

Cundall currently has two permanent and two associate offices in the region, with more than 100 employees. It has been involved in a wide range of projects including Al Ain mixed-use development and stadium project, American University of Sharjah and Bahrain Bay Masterplan project.-TradeArabia News Service