Leadership Team

Richard Aindow

Partner, Group Finance Director

Chris Bernard

Partner, Global People Recruitment and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Chris Bernard has over 25 years of experience in board-level talent acquisition and career development. She is responsible for the group’s people recruitment strategy and the implementation and delivery of the firm’s equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) strategy.  

Chris’s priority is to attract the best people in the industry to HKA and to continue to retain, develop and engage colleagues within the business. She plays an integral role in promoting an inclusive culture that maximises the talent, skills and diversity within HKA.  

Chris is a professional recruitment and ED&I lead who has a passion for people and a true belief in the value of equality, diversity and inclusion. She works closely with the global recruitment team and all colleagues to significantly advance growth and ED&I initiatives throughout the offices worldwide.  

Prior to HKA, Chris has held several senior positions across a diverse range of UK and international corporations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She specialises in executive talent acquisition, talent management, ED&I, succession planning, leadership development, business transformation and search solutions.  

Renny Borhan

Partner, Chief Executive Officer

James Dowling

Partner, Global Learning, Development and Succession

James Dowling has over 30 years of experience in learning and people development, holding senior positions across a diverse range of global commercial organisations, including Royal Bank of Scotland, PA Consulting and Baker McKenzie LLP. 

James is a qualified business coach, a member of the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) and a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management. 

James is a qualified practitioner in several psychometric tools, including Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Step I and Step II, WAVE, 360 and Leadership development, Thomas Kilmann Conflicts instrument and Test User: Occupational Ability and Personality (BPS Level A and B) qualified. 

Frank Giunta

Partner, Regional CEO, Americas

Frank Giunta is a registered Professional Engineer with more than 35 years of experience. He has been actively involved in project management oversight, the evaluation, presentation, resolution and management of construction claims and has acted as expert witness on more than 65 occasions. 

He has provided expert testimony in various legal forums on issues including differing site conditions, defective contract documents, adequacy of design, construction defects, schedule delays, productivity evaluations, and cost analysis. He has extensive experience in various alternative dispute resolution formats. 

Frank’s expertise has been utilized in the evaluation of the adequacy of design issues, professional performance, differing site conditions, defective specifications, contract terminations, cost and financial analysis, productivity and delay analysis. He has been responsible for the evaluation of cost and time impacts resulting from construction problems. 

Frank has managed complex consulting assignments across various sectors on behalf of public and private owners, engineers, contractors, insurance and financial institutions. He has been engaged in the design of multiple projects and has also prepared engineer’s estimates and technical specifications. 

Frank lectures extensively throughout North and South America. He is a former adjunct faculty member of Drexel University and Widener University, teaching in the construction management program, and a fellow of the Project Management College of Scheduling (PMCOS).  

Patrick Sanders

Partner, Chief Growth Officer, Americas

Patrick Sanders is an accomplished leader with nearly 30 years of experience in developing and implementing corporate initiatives that have significantly grown companies and increased shareholder value. As HKA’s Regional Chief Growth Officer, Patrick plays a significant role in assisting in HKA’s strategic growth plans. 

Patrick is a results-oriented business strategist with extensive leadership capabilities and many years of experience in sales, sales operations, and mergers and acquisitions. In his prior position, he quadrupled the billable capacity of the firm and opened new offices in key litigation markets, leading to significant growth in company revenue over three years. 

Prior to joining HKA, Patrick held various roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at several national firms. He received his BA in International Relations from the University of California, Davis. 

Ed Federico

Partner, Head of Operations, US

Ed Federico is a delay and quantum expert with over 20 years of experience within the construction, civil and structural engineering industry, with clients and projects based in Europe and North America.  

He specialises in complex project monitoring, closeout and construction litigation on projects valued at over US$1 billion. 

Ed has testified in federal court, delivered sworn depositions and presented in mediation proceedings. He has been engaged as an expert on damages matters in excess of US$13 million and has experience working on government contracts. He has been involved in disputes that are more than US$500 million on projects valued at over US$9 billion.  

Ed is proficient in claims analysis, delay impact analysis and cost analysis. He has also provided project monitoring and management services for clients, as well as financial and contractual due diligence, intellectual property damages calculations and insurance claim support for policies including errors and omissions, and Subguard®. Further to this, he has worked with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) performing inspection of damaged structures and retrofit design. 

Some of the organisations that he is a member of include the American Bar Association (ABA), the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE), the New York Building Congress (NYBC) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). 

Gino Wideen

Partner, Head of Operations, US

Gino Wideen specializes in operations management and the establishment and implementation of strategic organizational practices in all areas of business. He has vast experience managing both sales and implementation of project control software, with an emphasis on construction project applications as well as large software implementation and training projects for government agencies, developers, general contractors and subcontractors. His sector experience covers buildings, industrial, power and utilities, infrastructure and oil and gas.  

At HKA, and previously as Senior Vice President at Hill International, Gino manages HKA-Tech. His focus on globalization has directly resulted in HKA becoming the largest reseller and service provider of PMWeb in the world; establishing a presence in Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.   

Gino was Managing Partner of PCI Group, LLC, which was purchased by Hill in 2008. He served as Hill’s Vice President, focusing on integrating PCI’s strength in project control software within Hill’s project management and construction claims and consulting business. Prior to joining PCI Group, he spent 25 years as a small business owner. 

Gino currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Project 150, a local organization that helps homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged high school students stay in school and graduate.   

Rick Moffat

Partner, Head of Operations, Canada

Rick Moffat has 30 years of construction industry experience, including 20 years of project advisory and dispute management work.  He has been appointed on more than 50 occasions as an expert in matters of both delay and quantum. 

Rick has testified in litigation and arbitration, including giving concurrent evidence. He has acted as an expert for disputed values of up to $300 million on projects of up to $1.3 billion. He has also presented in facilitated mediation and settlement venues. 

Rick has a background in international contracting and construction management with projects ranging from oil and gas, industrial and power to infrastructure, commercial and institutional sectors. He has experience in project management, contract risk assessment, scheduling, change processing and project close out. 

Rick specialises in project risk management, schedule delay, loss of productivity, construction costs and damages, and delay and disruption.  

Rick is a regular faculty member for the Osgoode Law School Certificate in Construction Law program and is a founding fellow and board member of the Project Management College of Scheduling. He regularly presents for industry organisations on a range of topics. 

Linda Konrath

Partner, Advisory Lead

Linda Konrath is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industries. She has led or participated in engagements including contract and procurement advisory services, performance audits and process improvement studies, contract and specification development, claims avoidance and dispute resolution, and research and training. 

Linda has been responsible for the development of specifications, contract documents, and programmatic and procedural manuals, with an emphasis on risk management, performance specifications, and alternative project delivery methods. She has assisted owners of large-scale capital programs in assessing and improving their project governance and performance through the development and implementation of enhanced policies and procedures, standardization of contract documents and templates, and clarification of roles and responsibilities across functional units. 

Linda holds a master’s in civil engineering and a master’s in business administration. She is a member of the Construction Management Association of America’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter and of the Transportation Research Board’s Contract Law Committee. She also serves as the co-chair of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation’s P3 Subcommittee. 

Maged Abdelsayed

Partner, Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, Americas

Maged Abdelsayed is a professional engineer with 35 years of experience in the construction industry. He has been appointed as an expert on more than 100 occasions for matters relating to delay, quantum and government contracting. 

Maged has been cross-examined in both litigation and arbitration appearing before various courts and panels. His has acted as an expert witness in North America and internationally on disputed projects ranging from transport infrastructure, power generation and utilities, buildings and industrial plants. 

He has held various project and site management positions for consulting and engineering firms and major contractors.  

Maged specialises in disputes related to project delays, labour productivity losses, the impact of changes on construction work, and damages assessment. He also provides consulting and advisory services including developing and implementing project management plans and audits, reviewing project practices and control systems, assessing costs and schedules, cost recovery, and preparing and defending construction claims. 

Maged is a member of Quebec’s Order of Engineers, the American Association of Cost Engineers International, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Bar Association. He holds a master’s in engineering project management and is a frequent speaker at industry events and has developed and delivered various training programs. 

Bob Groves

Partner, Joint Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, US

Bob Groves has over 35 years of experience in the construction, aerospace and shipbuilding industries. He has been retained as an expert regarding engineering, program management, scheduling, accounting and contract matters on numerous occasions. He has also been recognised by Who’s Who Legal as a Construction Global Elite Thought Leader. 

Bob has testified in state and federal civil courts, in regulatory proceedings, and in arbitrations as well as participating in mediations and settlement negotiations. His testimony has covered critical path method (CPM) scheduling, delay analysis, construction accounting and damages analysis. 

Bob’s consulting expertise includes the evaluation of schedule delays and cost overruns on construction and manufacturing programs, and the preparation and evaluation of contract claims. He has also performed fraud and false claims investigations and prepared settlement proposals related to contract terminations. 

Bob is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Project Management Institute, the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, the Construction Financial Management Association and the American Bar Association.  

Bob is an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University’s School of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has also lectured to corporations, public agencies, law firms, and industry groups.  

Scott Hollingsworth

Partner, Joint Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, US

Scott Hollingsworth is a delay and quantum expert with more than 20 years of experience in the litigation consulting industry. He specialises in the investigation and resolution of business disputes within the construction industry. 

Scott has worked with clients from a range of sectors in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America and Central America. He has testified as an expert in arbitration and court proceedings and has presented schedule delay and damage analysis during settlement negotiations.  

He has led teams analysing critical path method (CPM) schedules to determine causes and durations of project delays. He has carried out financial analysis to quantify project cost growth including those related to delay, disruption, acceleration, and productivity. He has also performed forensic investigations of construction costs incurred to verify work performed and to determine percent complete at various points in time on a project. 

Scott holds a BS Engineering and is consistently recognized in Who’s Who Legal, along with being a published thought leader. He is a member and fellow of the Project Management College of Scheduling (PMCOS) and has undertaken an Executive Education Finance course. He is a member of the Association of the Advancement of Cost Engineers (AACE), a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), and a member of the Chicago Building Congress (CBC). 

Paul Pocalyko

Partner, Joint Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, US

Paul Pocalyko has 35 years of experience in accounting, finance, consulting, and operations management. He has acted as an expert on more than 80 occasions in matters of delay, disruption, quantum and damages. 

Paul has served as an arbitrator in numerous disputes and has been cross-examined or deposed on more than 100 occasions, including delivering concurrent evidence.  

He has been involved in acquisition disputes, bankruptcy and troubled company issues, construction defaults and delays, economic damages, fraud investigations and healthcare fraud and abuse. He has carried out work related to intellectual property infringements, partnership disputes, products liability, professional liability, real estate disputes and wrongful termination. 

Paul spent more than half of his career working for a prestigious accounting firm, providing financial consulting and accounting services to attorneys, insurance companies, government agencies and public and private corporations. He also provided consulting and forensic services to clients in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

Paul regularly speaks before various professional and educational groups on aspects of financial analysis, litigation consulting, fraud investigations and economic damages. He has also co-authored and authored multiple publications and articles on the same subjects. Paul is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified in Financial Forensics and a Certified Fraud Examiner. 

Paul K. Meyer

Partner, Joint Forensic Accounting & Commercial Damages Lead

Paul Meyer has 40 years of experience consulting on financial, accounting, valuation and damages matters and has been appointed on over 500 occasions.  

He has testified in over 250 depositions and 75 trials and major arbitrations in a variety of settings. He has evaluated and quantified hundreds of economic damages claims and has significant experience in class action matters including the analysis of issues related to class certification, as well as damages. 

Paul is recognized as a leading practitioner in the valuation of proprietary properties, systems and platforms. Over the past 30 years, he has provided expertise and analyses on intellectual property valuation and licensing matters in a wide range of industries. He has extensive experience in determining royalties for technology subject to FRAND requirements in various jurisdictions around the world.  

He provided successful testimony in two of the largest copyright infringement trials in US history: Oracle v. SAP (Enterprise Software) and Mattel v. MGA Bratz (Fashion Dolls). Testimony on behalf of plaintiff, Oracle, the jury awarded US$1.3B for copyright infringement, reported by Bloomberg as largest verdict in history. 

Paul is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Accredited in Business Valuation. He has held various appointments for over 25 years at Stanford University. He has also been identified as a leading testifying expert on intellectual property valuation by IAM and the Wall Street Journal. 

Ave Tucker

Partner, Joint Forensic Accounting & Commercial Damages Lead

Michael Griffin

Partner, Forensic Technical Services Lead

Michael Griffin is a civil engineer with more than 45 years of construction industry experience. He has acted as an expert witness in government contracting and technical matters on eight occasions. 

Michael has testified in federal and state courts, arbitration proceedings and in mediation. His expert appointments include varied infrastructure and buildings projects with project values in excess of US$1.8 billion. 

He has worked for contractors and government clients as a project manager, construction manager and principal in charge for multi-million-dollar projects across North America.  He has assisted in the delivery of various technically complex facilities and projects and is skilled in the planning, design, and construction of major building, transportation, and heavy civil construction projects.  

Michael’s expertise includes delay analysis, evaluation of defective construction, calculation of damages, contract analysis and administration, and the assessment of contractor performance and standard of care. He has extensive experience in conducting detailed analyses of construction issues and disputes and preparing expert reports of his findings. 

Michael is a Professional Engineer and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and hold a master’s in both business administration and civil engineering.  

Greg Bingham

Partner, Government Contracts Lead

Greg Bingham is a forensic accounting and quantum expert with over 36 years of experience in business consulting, primarily for Government and Construction Contractors. 

He has consulted with contractors to the U.S. government, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Army Corp of Engineers, Department of Veterans Affairs, Agency for International Development, the General Services Administration and National Institute of Health. This has included presenting his findings in settlement negotiations, alternate dispute resolution proceedings, depositions and trials. 

Greg is a highly experienced expert with over 100 commissions. He has testified in litigations over 40 times, twice in arbitrations, delivered 25 depositions, and has given concurrent evidence. He has acted as an expert in disputes up to US$2 billion on projects valued in excess of US$15 billion.  

Greg has worked on commissions across a variety of sectors throughout Europe, the Middle East, North and South America.  

He has assisted clients with a multitude of issues arising from disputes. He has reviewed and prepared hundreds of claims for changed work, delay and disruption, as well as over 1,000 termination settlement proposals.  

Greg is a member and chair of various prestigious advisory boards and committees, as well as a regular contributor to academic books and journals in relation to contracts, including Thomas Reuters.  

Benjamin Highfield

Partner, Regional CEO, Asia Pacific

Benjamin Highfield has more than 20 years of major project experience leading in the construction industry, spanning buildings, transportation infrastructure, oil and gas, power and water sectors. He is responsible for managing overall business operations and performance in our Asia Pacific region. 

Ben has led teams on multiple oil and gas, water and power projects and has negotiated high-value settlements with major governmental organisations. With his extensive experience in many of the major standard forms of contract, he has been employed by government bodies and large private companies to advise on a range of broad and diverse matters.  Additionally, he regularly advises clients on commercial and contractual matters, as well as claims management and dispute resolution.   

Ben is an experienced delay and quantum analyst, a claims and disputes specialist, and has prepared multiple claims for extension of time, disruption, prolongation and acceleration. He has drafted detailed contractual arguments for disputed variations, termination, suspension, and arbitration, amongst others. He is regularly quoted in the industry press and has advised clients on commercial and contractual matters as well as claims management and dispute resolution. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. 

Amelia East

Partner, Advisory Lead

Amelia East has a broad range of commercial, financial, infrastructure, transport and implementation experience in global companies, central government and local government. As a qualified solicitor in two jurisdictions, Amelia has a comprehensive understanding of legal systems, contracts and capital works. A seasoned negotiator, Amelia can ensure good outcomes for the entities she represents. She is passionate about leading teams and projects to deliver successful outcomes in dynamic environments with ambitious goals and multiple stakeholders. 

Amelia heads up Advisory Asia Pacific and HKA New Zealand. As the Head of Advisory, she leads a team of over 100 consultants and project professionals across the whole infrastructure lifecycle, from development to delivery, to strategic and commercial advisory. 

Amelia is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor in New Zealand, a qualified Solicitor in England and Wales.

Shamila Neelakandan

Partner, Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead

Shamila Neelakandan is a dual-qualified lawyer (Malaysia and UK) with over 25 years of legal, contracts and commercial experience in the construction industry. She is an expert in managing complex claims, is a specialist in power and utilities (water desalination), and has become a go-to person in the power sector. 

As a claims and contracts expert, Shamila advises on both contentious and non-contentious areas of construction in the consultancy sector. She specialises in tender negotiations, procurement, contracts management and dispute resolution. She also focuses on the determination of contractual and commercial liability, and is skilled in performing risk analysis, developing commercial strategies and in a dispute context advising clients on claims management and case presentation. The added advantage she brings is her legal training and experience in both civil and common law jurisdictions aside from her commercial experience. 

Shamila also provides advice in strategic project implementation, risk evaluation and risk management and has advised and assisted the boards of directors of multi-national organisations around the world on project turnaround and financial recovery assignments. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and has a personal interest in outreach and youth engagement programmes focusing on nation-building. 

Shamila commenced her career in 1996 as a lawyer focusing on dispute resolution in Malaysia before developing her career as a solicitor in the UK (Osborne Clarke). In 2007, Shamila moved to project consulting and has over the last 17 years successfully acted for clients in the power generation and water desalination, oil & gas, and rail & infrastructure sectors throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia 

Shamila was a judge for the Energy Industry Council APAC Regional Awards 2023. She also sits on the British Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (BMCC) Energy Council. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, an empanelled arbitrator with the AIAC, and a member of the Society of Construction Law. 

Jonathan Humphrey

Partner, Forensic Accounting & Commercial Damages Lead

Jonathan Humphrey is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience in forensic accounting. He has been appointed as an expert more than 60 times in commercial and investment treaty cases, dealing with matters of damages and quantum. 

Jonathan has acted as an expert witness in multiple forums, including international arbitration under ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, SIAC, DIAC and HKIAC rules, court litigation and mediation. He has given oral evidence in commercial and investment treaty cases with disputed values of up to US$1.5 billion and has also delivered concurrent evidence (hot-tubbing). 

Jonathan began his career at one of the big four accounting firms where he worked in their forensic accounting group for eight years before working for expert services firms for 12 years. He has experience in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, working in a myriad of sectors, including construction, financial services, IT and telecoms, media, natural resources, oil and gas, power and utilities, pharmaceutical and retail.  

Jonathan’s expert commissions cover a range of issues including the quantification of lost profits, business valuations and the assessment of damages relating to class actions, professional negligence, insurance claims, business interruption and post-acquisition disputes. His forensic accounting expertise includes fraud, forensic, intellectual property and regulatory investigations. 

Jonathan holds a degree in economics and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He is regularly recognised as a Global Elite Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal for his experience in the quantum of damages, arbitration, litigation, construction and insurance matters.  

Kourosh Kayvani

Partner, Forensic Technical Services Lead

Kourosh is a Chartered Professional Engineer with over 30 years of experience. He has been appointed as a technical expert, and supported the named expert, on numerous occasions. 

Kourosh has been cross-examined in litigation and has delivered expert reports for disputed projects and structural failures in steel structures, long-span roofs, industrial processes and infrastructure. 

Kourosh’s experience spans academia, expert advisory, expert witness roles, and engineering practise. He has played leading roles in the design and delivery of many innovative, complex, and award-winning projects across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the UK, the Middle East, and Africa. His project portfolio includes Wembley Stadium in London, West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong, 5 Martin Place commercial tower and CommBank Stadium in Sydney, ANSTO OPAL nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights near Sydney, and Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, amongst many others. 

Kourosh’s expertise involves structural analysis, design and construction engineering of sports stadia, tall buildings, cable-supported structures and bridges, long-span roofs, telecommunication towers, and impact-resistant and vibration sensitive facilities.  He has specialised experience in finite element analysis (FEA), wind engineering, aseismic design, fatigue assessment, and development of design codes and standards. 

Kourosh is a Fellow, and board director, of Engineers Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a board director at the Australian Steel Institute. He has received numerous awards for his contribution to long-span structures worldwide. Kourosh has also served as member of Standards Australia’s code committees for concrete structures (AS3600) and wind loads (AS1170.2) for many years.  

Arnold An Ho Koh

Partner

Arnold An Ho Koh has over 25 years of experience in contract management, cost analysis, project scheduling and progress management, preparation of claims, arbitration and litigation.  

Arnold has held various construction and contract management positions with contractors in Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. He is a specialist in preparing contractual claims seeking entitlement for both time and cost. He is well-versed in progress management, construction management, contract management and claim management. 

Arnold’s project experience includes large-scale express highways, buildings, oil and gas, power plants, wastewater treatment plants, desalination plants, submersible drilling rigs, and offshore platforms. 

Arnold has acted as an Arbitrator of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) and is Director of The Korean Arbitrations Association. He is a member of the Korea Institution of CM and the Korea Overseas Construction Forum.  

Amanda Clack

Partner, Regional CEO, EMEA

Stuart Ells

Partner, Regional Growth and Operations Officer, EMEA

Stuart Ells has more than 30 years of corporate experience in the professional services, media and entertainment sectors. His focus at HKA is to accelerate and support the growth agenda for the EMEA region working with the EMEA Leadership Team in identifying and sourcing growth opportunities for the region, including securing individual senior talent, and team lift outs, as well as M&A opportunities that help the firm on its growth journey. 

Most recently, Stuart served as Chief Executive Officer at Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA), where he was responsible for all operational planning, running and reporting of the business globally. During his time with FRA, Stuart successfully recruited a number of senior fee earning individuals, grew the Partner base by over 25% and opened international offices in the Middle East and Asia.  

Prior to FRA, Stuart was Managing Director & Chief Administrative Officer for Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) Europe & Middle East, where he was responsible for the management, effectiveness and efficiency of the corporate support functions in the EMEA region. His role included future proofing the support structure to make it scalable to support the very significant growth of A&M in the EMEA region in recent years. 

Stuart has also served as Managing Director, CFO, COO and CEO in a range of companies involved in filmed entertainment, TV production, recorded music, music publishing, theatre production and theatre management during which time he has led or advised on multiple mergers and acquisitions. 

Stuart started his career at Ernst & Young and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.  

Toby Hunt

Partner, Business Development Lead, EMEA

Jad Chouman

Partner, Head of Middle East

Jad Chouman has over 20 years of experience in construction claims and disputes. He is responsible for managing the overall business in the Middle East and takes a lead role in business development as well as managing the technical deliverables.  

Jad is a qualified civil engineer and has extensive experience in the preparation and assessment of delay and disruption claims, forensic investigation and litigation support services. He has analysed and evaluated complex delay and disruption claims considering owner and contractor-generated delays and utilising various critical path methods to identify the extent and causes of delay.  

Jad has extensive experience conducting in-depth analysis of the delaying and disrupting effect of changes to the planned work sequence using various types of critical path method (CPM) demonstration techniques and has performed financial damage assessments, cost audits, programme assessments, and prepared construction claims reports for negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation processes. 

Over the course of his career, Jad has successfully managed large teams of consultants working to provide planning, commercial, contractual, claims management and arbitration support services for several different clients, including employers, contractors and subcontractors. He has provided claims consulting services for prestigious projects in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. Some of the projects that he has been involved in include a multi-billion tunnel project, international airports, shopping malls and hotel complexes.   

Jad holds a master’s degree in Infrastructure Engineering and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has also been named one of the top 100 most influential construction leaders in the Middle East by Construction Week. 

John Hughes

Partner, Head of Africa

John Hughes has over 30 years of experience in the construction and engineering industries providing construction and project management, estimating, forensic delay analysis and claims management services to a wide range of global clients.  

Based in both Abu Dhabi & South Africa, John has been assigned as a contracts, quantum, delay and planning consultant on a variety of commissions. His construction experience spans residential buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, nuclear & power plant facilities, oil and gas, rail and transit, schools, roads and highways, office buildings, hotels, retail, sewage treatment plants, urban and community development, religious buildings, military facilities, and civil buildings in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. 

John provides expert services to the construction and dispute resolution markets. He has provided tactical and strategic advice to employers and contractors throughout the construction process. He regularly prepares expert opinion by delay and quantum reports for adjudication and arbitration proceedings. 

He has a master’s in construction law and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Building.    

Claudia O’Brien

Partner, Head of Africa Operations

Dafydd Wyn Owen

Partner, Advisory Lead

Dafydd Wyn Owen has over 25 years of international experience providing strategic advice on the development, procurement and delivery of major infrastructure programmes and managing the implementation of complex change.  

Dafydd has experience in the government, transport, infrastructure, water, energy and entertainment sectors. He has worked in the public and private sectors as a client, a consultant and a contractor. He also has particular experience in advising senior executives in Government. 

Dafydd has been at the forefront of driving industry change, particularly around increasing industry productivity, collaborative contracting and innovative procurement. He has supported Sydney Water to embed the principles of Project 13 into its market-leading Partnering 4 Success initiative. This has led the creation of innovative delivery models for numerous major asset owners globally, and to the development of the landmark Delivering Outcomes report for Infrastructure Australia, which sets out a roadmap to increase the productivity of the infrastructure sector over the next 15 years. 

He has also undertaken strategic reviews of some of the world’s largest and most complex projects and been Partner in Charge for the delivery of numerous projects. 

Dafydd is a member of the Association for Project Management and the Australian Institute for Project Management.  

Haroon Niazi

Partner, Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, EMEA

Haroon Niazi is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with more than 10 years of experience. He has provided expert testimony in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on two occasions and has been appointed as a quantum expert, for disputes of more than $300 million. 

Haroon has worked as both a quantity surveyor and a barrister, regularly appearing before tribunals in the UK. He has been instructed on matters ranging from domestic construction disputes, adjudications and lower value commercial claims through to acting as part of arbitration teams in multi-million-dollar arbitration proceedings. 

Haroon has experience in all forms of dispute resolution and has a good knowledge of the JCT, NEC, FIDIC, MPW contracts in Kuwait, Saudi Public Works Contract and the Saudi Aramco standard form contracts, as well as various ad hoc contracts. 

Haroon specialises in the quantification of construction cost claims. He supports clients across various market sectors from power, oil and gas to major buildings and infrastructure projects. 

Haroon holds a masters in both law and quantity surveying and is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. He is also a non-executive board member for the RICS Working Group in Saudi Arabia. Haroon is fluent in both English and Urdu and uniquely placed to support clients across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region. 

Jeffrey Badman

Partner, Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, Europe

Jeff Badman is a Civil Engineer with over 28 years engineering, construction and contract consultancy and claims experience gained in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East and Europe.   

Jeff has been engaged in a variety of commercial and claims management projects in the infrastructure, building, power and utilities, and oil and gas market sectors. His major project experience includes mass transit and light railways, power stations, foundations and geotechnical works, roads and bridges, international airports, tunnels, wastewater and water treatment schemes, gas treatment facilities, refineries, pipelines, high-rise accommodations, universities and hotels.  

Jeff has gained specialist experience within major international construction and engineering companies and contract consultancies, this includes the development of procurement strategies, contract drafting and reviews, contract administration, risk analyses, extension of time and cost claim/defence preparation, drafting contractual opinions, expert reports, lenders advisory services, delay analyses, dispute avoidance, third party independent reviews, and management and resolution through negotiation.  

Jeff is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Society of Construction Law and has authored a variety of industry articles. He has developed and leads HKA’s global delivery excellence initiative, as well as creating the HKA academy for the technical development of consultants as part of the European senior management team.  

Daniel Jackson

Partner, Construction, Claims and Expert Services Lead, Africa

Daniel Jackson is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and RICS Accredited Expert Witness with over 20 years of experience. He has been appointed as a quantum expert on numerous occasions in arbitrations and adjudications. 

Daniel has acted for disputed sums of up to US$700 million, and for projects valued up to US$15 billion. He has been cross-examined in international arbitration and has acted in several high-profile matters. He has been involved in over 50 disputes within the buildings, oil and gas, power and infrastructure sectors. His recent appointments include a US$12 billion disputed rail project, a US$15 billion coal-fired power plant and a large nuclear power plant.  He has also provided quantum expert opinion, dispute resolution services and independent expert determinations of contractual and quantum disputes. 

Daniel has experience of delivering a full range of pre- and post-contract quantity surveying services for leading main contractors.  As a consultant, he has led teams on a number of technically challenging appointments, involving complex engineering disputes, on some of the world’s largest airports, oil refineries and power projects.  Daniel has worked for and on behalf of clients in over 14 countries across five continents. 

Daniel’s expertise includes matters of quantity surveying, valuation of damages ensuing termination, cost-based claims and disruption, assessment of variations – including MEP, and establishing quantum principles. He has become an expert in the attribution of prolongation costs pertaining to large, complex engineering projects. 

Daniel holds a degree in quantity surveying and construction cost management, an LLM in construction law and arbitration and an LLB honours law degree. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of RICS.  

Colin Johnson

Partner, Forensic Accounting & Commercial Damages Lead

Colin Johnson has over 30 years of experience including acting as a lender, equity investor, developer, and legal and financial adviser. He has been appointed as an expert witness on more than 50 occasions. 

Colin has given oral evidence and acted as an expert in matters of litigation and arbitration, ranging from investment treaty claims to commercial, contractual and construction disputes. He has supported clients on projects up to $6bn value and disputed sums up to $50 billion. 

Colin uses his international experience in analysing, negotiating and managing major energy projects to determine full commercial impacts and their effect on valuations. He has worked in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia on behalf of national governments, large companies, and entrepreneurs. 

Colin specialises in evaluating value and damages for large project companies in investment treaty claims, contractual disputes and investigations. He has also provided expert services across a wide range of sectors including power, oil and gas, infrastructure, agriculture, mining, construction, financial services, manufacturing, real estate and telecoms.  

Colin is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a member of the Energy Institute and holds a diploma in International Communication (degree equivalent) in Spanish. He is fluent in Spanish and has a working proficiency in Portuguese, French and some German.  

Julia Humpidge

Partner, Forensic Technical Services Lead

Julia Humpidge is an engineer and project manager with more than 30 years of construction and energy industry experience. She has acted as a technical expert on multiple occasions. 

Julia has delivered independent technical expert opinion on engineering, design and project management matters for offshore wind and multipurpose buildings projects. Her expert appointments have had disputed values of up to £65 million. 

Julia has a broad background in EPC contracting, from working as a process engineer in her early career to roles including project engineer, project manager, head of engineering department and vice president of project execution. She has extensive experience of delivering projects through the design, procurement, construction and commissioning phases; including developing and leading multi-disciplinary teams and carrying out project reviews, and the successful implementation of stage-gate processes. 

Julia specialises in forensic investigation of engineering and design issues across a range of industries. She supports clients on projects ranging from onshore, offshore, upstream and downstream oil and gas to energy and industrial plants. 

Julia holds a degree in chemical engineering and has completed an advanced professional award in expert witness evidence (LETAPAEWE).  

Gerry Brannigan

Partner, Forensic Technical Services Growth Development Lead

Gerry Brannigan is a Chartered Engineer with over 20 years of experience.  Since 2012, he has been appointed as a technical expert witness or expert advisor on more than 50 occasions. 

Gerry is an expert witness in building services engineering, multi-disciplinary design management and has acted as the lead expert in multi-disciplinary complex construction disputes. He is part of the leadership of HKA’s group of engineering, architecture, scientific, and technical specialists. He is also responsible for the development of new areas of expertise for HKA, and currently oversees the new Aviation & Space team, and the Environmental and Climate Change team. 

With a background in design engineering and design management, Gerry has experience in almost all types of buildings and has detailed knowledge of building physics, energy efficiency and sustainability, building regulations and the interaction of users on the performance of buildings. He also has significant experience in project and design management, problem-solving, design quality, client briefing, and scope development, site inspection, project financial management, project programming, and the coordination between disciplines on complex construction projects. 

Gerry has experience of managing and coordinating multi-disciplinary expert teams on complex construction disputes. He has opined on liability, design responsibility, client scope, performance issues, risk, professional responsibility, design duties, contractor duties, systems failures and contributed to the assessment of delay factors. 

Gerry is a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers, the Society of Public Health Engineers, the Society of Construction Law and the International Bar Association. He is a practising member of the Academy of Experts and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.