Atkins

Founder of Disruptive Urbanism, Paula Hirst, was previously Director for Atkins Planning and Management business in Dubai from 2007 to 2009 where she led Atkins strategic planning, masterplanning and urban design, economics, geospatial, and environmental consultancy services. In this role, she led a multidisciplinary team of 30, and was responsible for business strategy and planning, financial and commercial management, operations and staff management, as well as acting as Project and Bid Director on projects.

Paula led the development of Atkins first strategy to provide Planning and Management services in the Middle East region to support its growth and the diversification of Atkins Middle East service offering, which she was subsequently appointed to lead in Dubai. Here she brought together four existing technical disciplines to create a new integrated team capable of delivering high quality projects.

Later, in 2008 when the financial crisis hit the Middle East region, Paula led the development of a new strategy for the Atkins Dubai office to reconfigure the service offering to respond to a markedly changed external environment.