Dutch engineering business Arcadis has named Barbara van Koppen as group general counsel, having served as interim since the start of the year.
Van Koppen initially joined Arcadis in August last year as interim global company secretary. As the company’s permanent GC, she will oversee its global legal function and sit on its executive committee.
Amsterdam-based Arcadis provides engineering and design services in areas including energy, water, mining, manufacturing and transportation, among others.
At the same time, the company said it also hired Jana Beyusova as chief people officer.
Heather Polinsky, CEO of Arcadis, said: “Jana and Barbara bring the expertise we need right now, world-class people leadership and deep legal and governance strength… Barbara has already demonstrated strong judgement and leadership as interim general counsel, and her experience will be critical as we continue to transform Arcadis.”
Before joining Arcadis, van Koppen was GC at Dutch manufacturing business Kendrion and before that spent almost 27 years at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, about 16 of them as GC.
She said: “Since joining Arcadis, I have been inspired by the talent, commitment and collaborative spirit of our people. What makes this organisation special is how teams come together to solve complex challenges and create value for our clients. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our legal, compliance and privacy teams worldwide to enable the business, support confident decision making and help Arcadis achieve its ambitions with integrity and purpose.”
Van Koppen had been standing in as interim GC following the departure of former GC Emily Barker, who had only been in the role for just over a year. She had replaced Frances Forsyth, who left the company after two decades.
In other engineering and infrastructure-related in-house moves, earlier this month UK homebuilder and infrastructure business Balfour Beatty said it had lined up Ed Egerton as chief legal and commercial officer from global engineering, design and project management business AtkinsRéalis. Egerton is due to replace SSE-bound Tracey Wood when he joins in September.
And in February, UK engineering giant Rolls-Royce said it was hiring Maria Varsellona as CLO from Unilever, replacing Mark Gregory in the role.
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