Arcadis sees changes at top of its Asia and North American units
Arcadis announces two leadership succession transitions, with Joachim Eberth as new CEO within its North American business and, per 1 September, Matt Bennion as new CEO of its Asian business.
Prior to joining Arcadis in 2015 as its COO North America, Joachim Ebert was a Partner at McKinsey & Company. Previously, between 2004 and 2011, Ebert worked at A.T. Kearney, rising to the rank of Partner. Ebert holds a diploma in Industrial Engineering from Universität Karlsruhe, an MBA from Institut européen d’Administration des Affaires and an MBA from INSEAD.
The North American branch of the firm will see a change at the top, the current CEO of the business, John Jastrem, has passed on the baton to Ebert after having worked in tandem for the past 18 months. Jastrem joined the firm following the acquisition of Callison in 2014, and, following the successful integration of Ebert, will stay on as a Non-Executive Director. Ebert will continue in line of Jastrem’s efforts to drive Arcadis North America’s turnaround.
Matt Bennion, in his previous role, was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Arcadis in Asia starting from 2015, a role that saw him responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm’s Asian footprint. In addition, since 2012, he is the firm’s Global Director of their Buildings business line. Bennion joined the firm from EC Harris, following its acquisition by Arcadis in 2012. At EC Harris, Bennion was a Partner and the firm’s COO from 2010, after having joined the firm in 2002. Bennion holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Greenwich. He is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a certified practitioner of Change Management.
The announcement will see Bennion take over from incumbent Kenneth Poon, who has been with Arcadis since 2012 when Langdon & Seah became a subsidiary of Arcadis, as CEO of the firm’s Asian business starting from 1 September. Bennion has worked with Poon for more than two and a half years, and will take responsibility for continuing to expand the firm’s regional footprint. Poon, who is retiring after more than 40 years of service, will continue to support the firm as a non-executive member of the advisory board for the firm’s Asian operations.
Commenting on the appointments, Neil McArthur, CEO of Arcadis remarks that, "I would like to thank Kenneth and John for their service to Arcadis. In more than 40 years with the company, Kenneth led the creation of Arcadis Asia, building on the strong foundations of both Langdon & Seah and EC Harris Asia, and helped establish the company as one of the leading Design & Consultancy firms in Asia. John Jastrem has successfully led the turnaround plan for our North America business, aimed at getting the business back on-track and positioned for future growth. In Matt and Joachim we have two strong, young leaders who will have an impact on the future of Arcadis. I am excited to welcome both of them to our Senior Management Committee."
