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Former AECOM chair and CEO strengthens leadership team, promoting growth and seizing opportunities with U.S. infrastructure investment.
Private equity platform sponsor Palm Beach Capital and industry veteran and executive board member, Gary H. Elzweig, P.E., F.ASCE, announced former AECOM chair and CEO Michael Burke has joined the board of directors for Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) as chair and has made a significant investment in the company. UES is a national leading infrastructure company specializing in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections and environmental consulting. As chair, Burke, together with Palm Beach Capital and the board of directors, plans to continue to grow privately held UES from an approximately $300 million company to a $1 billion national engineering enterprise with an emphasis on investment in the U.S.’s aging infrastructure.
Burke proved instrumental in evolving AECOM from a midsize private engineering company to a publicly traded global engineering powerhouse with revenues in excess of $21 billion. He led AECOM through numerous acquisitions, transforming the company into one of the world’s largest engineering design and construction firms. He directed the company’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which was one of the 10 largest NYSE listings for 2007, and one of the largest engineering industry IPOs of all time.
“UES is well-positioned to be the leading infrastructure company in the geotechnical engineering space,” says Burke. “I’m excited to join UES at this pivotal moment in its history and to seize the opportunity to address the nation’s current and anticipated infrastructure demands. UES has the ideal combination of business strategy, leadership, industry talent, strong reputation and client relationships to help shape infrastructure and development in communities nationwide for decades to come.”
With nearly six decades of experience and recognition as the premier infrastructure firm in the geotechnical engineering space and its complementary businesses, UES is well-positioned to serve the needs of communities across the country. The White House recently unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure plan focused on revitalizing U.S. transportation, infrastructure, water systems and more. The need for professional engineering services continues to grow, with experts predicting a significant demand for infrastructure growth and repairs in the U.S. in the coming years, with an anticipated $255 billion needed to modernize miles of roadways and repair more than 10,000 bridges.
“Michael Burke is well-recognized in our industry for his operational excellence and ability to effectively grow a global professional services company to its maximum potential,” said Palm Beach Capital cofounder and managing partner Nate Ward. ‘His dynamic leadership will accelerate our expansion and help us achieve the dominant position in infrastructure-related engineering and consulting solutions.”