Michelle McDowell Vice Chair of ACE

Michelle McDowell, head of BDP’s civil and structural engineering, has been appointed Vice Chair of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering(ACE) for 2009.

ACE represents the business interests of the UK’s consultancy and engineering industry and, with a powerful voice to government, it promotes the critical contribution that they make to the nation’s developing infrastructure.

Peter Drummond, Chief Executive of BDP said of her appointment,  “I am delighted that Michelle is becoming ACE’s Vice Chair for 2009. Michelle has led BDP’s structural engineering group and has been a board member since 2002. Her inspirational leadership of the profession and other interdisciplinary groups in the firm comes from her skills as an engineer, her belief in collaborative working, and her ability to spot and develop talent. I am sure that she will apply these abilities to great effect for ACE.”

While at BDP, Michelle has worked on award winning schemes across all sectors, including several high profile projects on the academies and BSF programmes. On the recently completed Bridge Academy project in East London, Michelle showed dedication to innovative technology tools through pioneering the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in its design. BIM is a design tool that all engineers in BDP now use, positioning them at the forefront of this technology.

Michelle, a past Vice President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, will hold the role for one year alongside Geoff French as Chairman. In 2010 she will then become the first woman to chair ACE.