AECOM

AECOM traces its origins to Kentucky-based Ashland Oil & Refining Company, which in turn grew out of Swiss Drilling Company, founded in Oklahoma in 1910 by J. Fred Miles. He gained control of some 200,000 acres and formed Swiss Oil Company in Lexington. In 1924, Miles launched a refining operation called Ashland Refining Company, headed by Paul Blazer. While the parent company struggled, leading to the ouster of Miles, Ashland prospered under Blazer's leadership, and in 1936, he was named chief executive officer of the reorganized company, Ashland Oil & Refining Company. In 1966, Ashland acquired Warren Brothers and became involved in highway construction and construction materials. The company was able to take advantage of refinery byproducts to produce asphalt. Ashland grew into one of the nation's major road-construction firms, and laid a foundation for AECOM. Through a series of acquisitions and technological developments, Ashland grew to include chemical, petrochemical, highway construction, and construction materials firms within its realm, laying the groundwork for a management buyout of Ashland Technology in 1985.[6]

In the 1970s, Ashland Oil & Refining became Ashland Oil, Inc. Five years later the company consolidated its construction assets into a construction division and also formed a coal subsidiary, indicative of a changing focus at Ashland. Although it generated more than $1 billion a year in sales, Ashland was a small player in the oil industry at a time when the cost of exploration was prohibitively expensive. By 1980, Ashland sold its production assets, and a year later was reorganized as a modified holding company. A new corporate strategy was implemented as Ashland now focused on refining and marketing, and sought to grow its non-refining businesses. In 1984, Ashland acquired Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM), a global provider of transportation-related engineering services. Originally focused on military projects, after World War II it had become one of the first integrated engineering and architectural firms in the western United States. The acquisition of DMJM also included its president, Richard G. Newman. In 1985, DMJM became part of a new subsidiary, Ashland Technology Corporation. Two years later Newman was named its new chief executive and president.[7]

When Ashland chose to return to its core petroleum refining business in the late 1980s, Newman recommended an employee buyback proposal, resulting in the spin-off of Ashland Technology and the creation of AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations, and Maintenance) in 1990. The company went on to acquire a number of engineering, design and planning firms including engineering company Maunsell, urbanism and sustainability practice EDAW, Economic Research Associates (ERA), environmental management firm ENSR and The RETEC Group Inc., architects Ellerbe Becket[8] and Davis Langdon, the quantity surveyors and construction consultants.[9]

In 2000, AECOM acquired Metcalf and Eddy, a water and wastewater engineering firm based in Massachusetts,[10] and in September, 2004 it acquired the Canadian company, UMA Engineering Ltd.

AECOM went public during May 2007 with an initial public offering on the NYSE, netting $468.3 million.[11] On January 8, 2008, AECOM acquired The Services Group, Inc., a provider of consulting services to the US Agency for International Development and other multi-lateral donor organizations. On July 28, 2008, AECOM completed its purchase of Earth Tech Inc., a consulting and engineering firm, from Tyco International for $510 million.[12][13] On July 14, 2010, AECOM announced its acquisition of Tishman Construction Corp., a leading provider of construction management services in the United States and the United Arab Emirates, in a $245 million transaction including $202 million in cash and the remainder in AECOM common stock.[14] On July 13, 2014, AECOM announced its acquisition of URS Corporation, an engineering, construction, and technical services firm for US$56.31 per share in cash and stock.[15] Effective July 10, 2014, it acquired ACE International Consultants SL, a Madrid-based provider of consulting services. In July 2014, it acquired Hunt Construction Group, adding to AECOM's construction services business.[16] In July 2017, AECOM acquired Shimmick Construction Company.[17]

In October 2019, AECOM announced plans to sell their Management Services division to American Securities LLC and Lindsay Goldberg for $2.405 billion.[18] Management Services provides services and support to governmental clients including the Department of Energy and Department of Defense. On 31 January 2020, this transaction was completed with the new company being called Amentum.[19] In September 2020, it was announced that Amentum will acquire DynCorp International.[20]

AECOM's first president and CEO was Richard G. Newman, who came to Ashland through its acquisition of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM). Under Ashland Oil's ownership, he was president and chief operating officer of DMJM from October 1985 to December 1988. While president of Ashland Technology Corp. from December 1988 until May 1990, Newman was instrumental in taking it from a division of Ashland Oil to an independent company. He was president when the company changed its name to AECOM Technology Corporation in April 1990. Newman was president until 1993, and then chairman, president and CEO from May 1993 to October 2000, and chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2005.[21]

On October 1, 2005, John M. Dionisio succeeded Newman as president and CEO of AECOM.[21] In 2011, Dionisio became chairman of the company.[22] Dionisio had previously served as COO from October 2003 to October 2005 and president and CEO of the subsidiary DMJM+Harris from October 2000 to October 2003.[21]

In October 2011, Michael S. Burke succeeded Dionisio as president and then in March 2014 succeeded him as CEO.[23] Burke joined AECOM in 2005 and was appointed CFO in 2006.[24]

In 2011, Stephen M. Kadenacy was named chief financial officer, later promoted to president and COO.[25] In 2017, Kadenacy left the company and was succeeded as COO by Randy Wotring.[26]

As of March 3, 2019, key leaders of AECOM are as follows:[27]

• Michael Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer[23]
• Daniel Tishman, Vice Chairman and Chairman of Tishman Construction Corporation
• Fredrick W. Werner, President of Major Pursuits

On November 22, 2019, AECOM announced that Burke would retire as chairman and CEO. The change was announced to be effective after either the next annual meeting or completion of the search for a replacement. At the same time, AECOM said that the board of directors would be expanded to include representatives of activist-shareholder Starboard Value, the fifth largest shareholder.[28][29] Amid market speculation that AECOM would be acquired by WSP Global,[30][31] AECOM announced the selection of W. Troy Rudd to be CEO. The change will be effective as of October 1, 2020. Before his appointment as CEO, Rudd served as CFO for the company. The announcement included naming Lara Poloni as the new president.[32] The announcement resulted in the resignation of the Starboard Value board member in protest over the selection.[33]

AECOM provides Archaeology, Architecture & Design, Asset Management, Construction, Cost Management, Decommissioning & Closure, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Services, International Development, IT & Cyber Security, Operations & Maintenance, Planning & Consulting, Program, Management/Construction Management, Risk Management & Resilience and Technical Services.[34]

AECOM is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States, with clients in more than 150 countries. The company reported a revenue of US$17.4 billion during the 12 months that ended September 30, 2016.[35]

In 2018, the company reported revenue of $20.16 billion, with construction services contributing $8.24 billion and $8.22 billion from its design and consulting unit.[36]

• List of S&P 400 companies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AECOM.

• Official AECOM website
• Amentum Website (formerly AECOM Management Services)