HDR has created a new Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market sector leader role within its building engineering services group to expand technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) projects, including data centres.
Paul Franklin’s appointment to the newly created role supports the employee-owned, global engineering and design consultancy in growing its portfolio across its TMT practice.
This includes data centres, semiconductor facilities, broadband infrastructure, media, and emerging technology markets.
Franklin brings more than 20 years’ experience delivering complex construction and infrastructure programmes.
He most recently served as managing director at K2 Construction Management, overseeing the £20 million consultancy, and previously was vice president – property, infrastructure & PMO at Britishvolt, leading energy and project management initiatives, including the UK’s first gigafactory.
Other roles include managing £140 million in development projects at LSH Property UK, 15 years in facilities and estates management at Mercedes-Benz UK, and a decade in the British Army, where he rose to the rank of captain.
At HDR, Franklin will oversee TMT projects across EMEA, guiding clients through the full project lifecycle from design to commissioning.
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Franklin said he was looking forward to building HDR’s market presence.
He added: “The scale and complexity of what data centre, semiconductor and advanced technology clients are now asking for, from speed and energy resilience to infrastructure integration and delivery certainty, maps directly to the kind of programmes I have spent my career working on.”
Regional business group director EMEA, Les Copeland, said: “The TMT sector presents one of the most significant growth opportunities in our industry and Paul brings exceptional experience of delivering complex programmes at scale.
“His background across advanced industrial facilities, energy infrastructure and major capital programmes will be a real asset as we continue to strengthen HDR’s position in this market.”
Founded in 1917 as the Henningson Engineering Company in Omaha, Nebraska, the firm transitioned to an employee-ownership model in 1996.
Today, it employs more than 14,000 people across more than 200 offices worldwide, including five locations in the UK.
In its most recent UK published accounts, the consultancy, which specialises in architecture, engineering, environmental, and construction services for clients in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and industrial, reported revenues of £70.7 million – £43.5 million from the UK – with a pre-tax and operating loss of £10.3 million.
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