HKA welcomes 13 promoted colleagues to its Global Partner Group
9th May 2023
HKA welcomed 13 talented professionals to its Global Partner Group through its May promotions. The new Partners work in a variety of departments, from fee-earning experts to finance.
“I’d like to congratulate and welcome our newest members to the HKA Global Partner Group. We understand that people are the heart of our business, which is why we have promoted colleagues based on their performance and behaviours that embody our client-centric approach, whilst embracing our ethos of making HKA a great place to work.”
Renny Borhan, Partner, Chief Executive Officer
Read more about the newest members of our Global Partner Group
Helen Collie, Partner, Forensic Technical Services, EMEA
Helen is a Chartered structural engineer with 15 years of construction industry experience, a member of both the IStructE and the ICE, with design experience ranging from residential to commercial and education structures. She has been appointed as a technical expert on more than ten occasions and has assisted a named expert numerous times, and now leads the HKA Building Structures team in EMEA.
Helen has produced forensic reports on issues of design liability and professional negligence for large sports and infrastructure projects, materials and specifications defects, and construction / workmanship defects, as well as insurance coverage matters. She has been cross-examined in arbitration and is experienced in litigation support, with an MSc in Construction Law helping her work effectively for her clients.
James Dowling, Partner, Global Learning, Development and Succession
James has over 25 years of learning and people development experience, holding senior positions across a diverse range of global commercial organisations, including Royal Bank of Scotland, PA Consulting and most recently Baker McKenzie LLP.
He is a qualified business coach, a member of the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) and a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management.
James is also a qualified practitioner in several psychometric tools, including Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Step I and Step II, WAVE, 360 and Leadership development, Thomas Kilmann Conflicts instrument and Test User: Occupational Ability and Personality (BPS Level A and B) qualified.
Julia Humpidge, Partner, Forensic Technical Services, EMEA
Julia is an engineer and project manager with more than 30 years of construction and energy industry experience. She has acted as a technical expert on multiple occasions.
Julia has delivered independent technical expert opinion on engineering, design and project management matters for offshore wind, energy and multipurpose buildings projects. Her expert appointments have concerned disputed values of up to £65 million.
Julia specialises in forensic investigation of engineering and design issues across a range of industries. She supports clients on projects ranging from onshore, offshore, upstream and downstream oil and gas, to energy and industrial plants.
Kandace Zimmerman, Partner, Claims, Americas
Kandace has over 18 years of experience in contract and claims management. She provides project-level advice and support to recognize and resolve potential claims issues, analyze schedule issues, and mitigate and avoid disputes. She has been involved in all phases of project development from planning, design, and construction to dispute resolution and litigation support.
Kandace has been involved in hundreds of projects of all types, throughout the U.S., including schools and university buildings, hotels and casinos, high-rise, commercial, highway, bridge, roadway programs, underground utilities, prisons, airports, power plants, wastewater treatment facilities, and industrial and heavy civil work.
Kelly Whitehead, Partner, People Business Partnering, Asia Pacific and EMEA
Kelly is a People professional operating across various industries from Financial Services, Public Services to Professional Consulting firms, spanning over 20 years. Kelly joined HKA in December 2014. Kelly has a wealth of experience of working across UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Oceania. Kelly is accredited by the CIPD and is a qualified business coach.
Kim Beech, Partner, Financial Controller, Americas
Kim has 15 years of experience in a Controller Role with professional service firms. She joined HKA four years ago and led the finance piece of the two US$35M acquisitions and multiple lift outs. She has built a finance team from two to a team ten people that support both the US and Canada.
Kim works closely with Operations and the business support team to make sure multiple facets of the finance support function are executed successfully.
Linda Konrath, Partner, Advisory, Americas
Linda is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industries. Linda has led or participated in engagements entailing contract and procurement advisory services, performance audits and process improvement studies, contract and specification development, claims avoidance and dispute resolution, and research and training.
Michael Cuevas, Partner, Forensic Technical Services, Americas
Michael is a structural and civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the construction, engineering, and forensic industries. Michael is a qualified expert witness who has worked on projects in the Caribbean, South America, and the United States. He is widely regarded as an expert who is both well qualified and highly experienced in complex civil and structural issues.
Nicola Caley, Partner, Claims, EMEA
Nicola has more than 22 years’ experience in construction with more than 13 years focussed on strategic claims management, claims determination, contractual claims preparation and defence and dispute resolution. She is a legal professional with an LLM in Construction Law and Arbitration, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an RICS accredited mediator.
She has a wealth of commercial, contractual and management experience gained from working on complex infrastructure, buildings and oil and gas projects throughout UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India.
Philip Kienstra, Partner, Advisory, APAC
Phil has 20 years of experience working on major multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects in Australia and the UK. As Head of Integrated Project Services in Advisory, he leads a team of more than 30 project controls and risk specialists.
Phil has worked in and led multiple PMOs across the transport infrastructure and construction sectors. He mobilises and manages large teams on complex infrastructure projects in short timescales, integrating seamlessly into client teams.
Phil is an advocate for diversity. He supports Soldier On, a not-for-profit organisation providing services and employment opportunities to veterans and leads a Workforce Development, Aboriginal Inclusion, and Industry Participation group to encourage a wider variety of participants in the industry. He was also involved in an early careers program at HKA that helps new joiners.
Richard Jones, Partner, Head of International Tax
Richard has more than 15 years of experience working in tax. Richard previously had roles in practice with KPMG and Grant Thornton where he advised a number of UK and multinational organisations, predominantly with an international focus, before joining HKA in 2017 as Head of International Tax.
Richard Jones is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Chartered Institute of Tax.
Seyran Celik, Partner, Claims, Americas
Seyran is an appointed engineering expert, construction claims advisor, and forensic schedule analyst providing expert services for international arbitration, litigation, and mediations. She has been retained as a delay and disruption professional by local and international contractors, owners, A/E firms and law firms, and has worked with internationally acclaimed experts on multibillion-dollar oil and gas, power, infrastructure, and commercial projects across Australia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Seyran is also a civil engineer with significant project management and design experience as a geotechnical engineer. Her expertise lies in analysis of shallow and deep foundations, slope stabilization, ground improvement, and roadways.
She currently serves as President of the AACE Greater Miami Chapter as well as Committee Chair of the HKA Americas Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee.
Stefan Brill, Partner, ACCM, EMEA
Stefan is a legal professional with more than 20 years of experience in the construction and engineering industries, specialising in claims, dispute resolution, contract management and strategic advisory consulting roles.
With a particular emphasis on power generation, Stefan has been involved in all project phases, from pre-construction, design, and procurement to construction, commissioning, and final handover.
He has provided top-tier contract and commercial management advice, project management support, and procurement advice for a wide range of high-profile projects across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, acting for owners, contractors and contract administrators.
Stefan’s profound knowledge of quantum and delay-related issues and analysis enable him to provide invaluable insights into cost and time implications of construction projects and claims. As a member of the HKA South Africa management team, Stefan is also involved in overseeing the delivery of commissions and business operations throughout the region.
About HKA
HKA is a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution, using our multi-disciplinary expertise to provide a comprehensive set of specialist services:
- Expert, Claims and Advisory services for the capital projects and infrastructure sector
- Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages services for all types of contracts, including commercial and investment treaty disputes
- Consulting services to support companies working on US Federal Government contracts.
Headquartered in the UK, HKA brings a proud record of excellent service and high achievement to bear on today’s challenges. As trusted independent consultants, experts and advisers, we help clients manage disputes, risk and uncertainty on complex contracts and challenging projects.
We work with government agencies, local authorities, contractors, legal firms, and other professional service providers, as well as owners and operators, financial institutions and insurers. Clients have access to leaders and problem-solvers who decode complexity through collaborative working and innovative thinking, making the best possible outcomes a reality for our clients, every time.
As well as more than 500 expert witnesses, HKA now has in excess of 500 advisors and consultants – across 45+ offices in 17 countries – with the skills and experience that are essential to get to the heart of even the most complex issues. Our people have vast first-hand experience spanning all major industries and the world’s most complex megaprojects, as well as an international track record of achieving successful outcomes.
HKA’s global portfolio includes some of the world’s largest and most prestigious commissions across a wide range of industries including aerospace and defence, construction and engineering, energy and natural resources, environment and climate change, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrial and manufacturing, marine and shipping, real estate and tourism, sports and entertainment, and technology, media and telecomms.
