Alistair Black retires as CEO

Alistair Black, Past President and CEO of the Associated Engineering group of companies, retires this year after 32 years of service to the company. Joining Associated Engineering in 1974 as a resident engineer on construction projects, Alistair received several promotions to roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in the positions of President and CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Under Alistair’s leadership, Associated Engineering has grown from 250 staff to almost 600 staff in 13 offices across Canada. We are recognized as a leading consulting engineering firm in Canada for our expertise in water, infrastructure, environmental, and transportation engineering.

Over the years, many of us have heard Alistair’s tributes to his predecessors: to Past President, Stan Lawrence for his financial acumen which saved the company from the “shadow of the valley of death”, and Past President, Vince Borch, the “architect of our modern company”, who established our “One Company” philosophy. In this issue, we are pleased to pay tribute to Alistair Black.

Growing up in Scotland, Alistair had a typical childhood, attending a boys’ school, playing rugby, and participating in the Boys Brigade. After completing high school, Alistair attended the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1964.

After graduation, Alistair joined Mott, Hay and Anderson in London, England. He worked as a design engineer on motorways as well as on stations for the Victoria Line underground railway in London. After three years with the company, Alistair moved to South Africa and joined a construction company. As a construction engineer, Alistair worked on the construction of a Portland Cement factory and water reservoirs in Cape Town. Returning to England in 1969, Alistair worked for a number of consulting firms as a resident engineer. In 1974, while working in Bermuda, Alistair travelled to Vancouver to visit his childhood friend Herb Hawson, who is also a fellow civil engineering graduate from Strathclyde. Alistair liked Vancouver, and asked Herb if he could recommend a good engineering firm. Thank you, Herb, for recommending Associated Engineering.

Alistair joined Associated Engineering in 1974 as a resident engineer. He participated in the construction of some of our major projects in B.C. in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Kensington Overpass in Burnaby, B.C. Place in Vancouver, Vancouver International Airport Main Runway Overlay, and, the company’s largest project in the 1970’s and 1980s, the award-winning Fraser River Flood Control Program. This program involved dyking, pump stations, and drainage works throughout the B.C. Lower Mainland.

Alistair was known for his ability to “straighten out” notorious contractors who submitted outrageous claims. Clients valued and contractors feared Alistair’s ability as a negotiator. At Alistair’s retirement reception in Burnaby, Ed Bird advised, “Alistair is a relentless and tireless negotiator. He is also very big, which helps!”

In 1990 Alistair was promoted to General Manager of our B.C. operation. Under Alistair’s leadership, the B.C. operation was successful on a number of major projects, such as the Annacis and Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island Highway, and Vancouver International Airport Parallel Runway. The $600 million upgrade of the Annacis and Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plants remains the largest project in the company’s history.

In 1996, Alistair was promoted to President of the Associated Engineering group of companies, and the following year he was also appointed to CEO. As President and CEO, Alistair led the strategic growth of Associated Engineering under the “One Company” philosophy. He cemented our leadership position in the water, transportation, infrastructure, and environmental sectors. Alistair strengthened our commitment to our local offices and to servicing our clients in small and large communities across Canada and abroad. He appointed Vice Presidents in our specialty disciplines to provide our staff and clients with the benefits of our national and international expertise. Alistair’s commitment to this operational structure came at a time when many companies had moved away from locally focused management.

Our operational structure and “One Company” philosophy inspired our tagline “Global Perspective Local Focus”, a new logo, and the rebranding of the company to better reflect our depth of expertise, diversity of services, and continued growth.

For many clients and friends of the company, Alistair’s name is synonymous with Associated Engineering. Staff can attest that the first question clients and friends often ask is, “How’s Alistair?” People remember Alistair, because he is genuinely interested in them and their communities.

Alistair also genuinely cares for our staff and their families. He is a firm believer in work-life balance. On many occasions, Alistair has reminded staff to take care of family and the homefront first. On his many visits to our subsidiary offices, Alistair has always found time to walk around the offices and greet staff, usually by name, even as the company grew to over 500 staff.

Alistair not only has a remarkable ability to remember staff by name, but also their partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, children, and grandchildren.

Over the past few months, staff, clients, family, and friends attended receptions in our offices across the company for a “friendly roast”, and to celebrate Alistair’s career. At the Burnaby office reception, long-time client and friend Eric Bonham, one of the Province of B.C.’s Project Managers for the Fraser River Flood Control Program, remarked on Alistair’s astute business development skills, as Associated Engineering continues to work on Fraser River dyking projects, 30 years after the Fraser River Flood Control Program began.

Eric also complimented Alistair on his negotiating and drinking skills, the latter which probably assisted the former. Eric then presented Alistair with a bottle of fine Scotch.

Alistair has retired to Vancouver with his wife, Janice and son, Robin. We wish the Black family many warm and sunny days golfing, lawn bowling, as well as travelling abroad. We also look forward to Alistair’s continued counsel in his role as Chairman of the Associated Engineering Board of Directors. Happy Retirement, Alistair!