June 2012 - People in the News

Systems Inc., a business segment of San Diego-based Cubic Corp., has named Doug Morse to the new role of vice president, Customer Experience. A global authority on customer experience and service innovation, Morse assumes responsibility for ensuring that customers worldwide are achieving their goals with Cubic technology and services. Morse also will be responsible for Cubic’s changing services role, which is evolving to help its customers adapt to and integrate the complexities of new technologies such as smart phones and open payment for their businesses.

Minette Cooper, chief consultant at Cooper and Associates, received a Royal Coachman Award from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) on April 3, 2012. Cooper served as a member of the SORTA Board for four years. Cooper has dedicated her life to helping children and her community grow and flourish. In her current role she advises candidates on campaign issues. She served as a Cincinnati city council member from 1995-2003, holding positions including vice mayor, finance chair, Health and Human Services committee chair, and Economic Development committee chair.

Joseph Lawton, AIA, CCM, has been named HNTB’s new national construction management practice leader. As part of HNTB’s program delivery initiative, Lawton will lead the construction management practice across HNTB’s infrastructure markets. Lawton’s expertise spans a wide range of design and construction activities and he has overseen complex programs in excess of $1 billion nationally and $10 billion internationally. He also has served as the sole person responsible for the capture, start-up and leadership for multiple program management, design-build, construction management-at-risk and construction management agent projects executed across the U.S., Europe, China, North Africa and the Middle East.

Each year, the California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CalACT) recognizes transit professionals who contribute significantly to the achievement of CalACT’s goals and objectives. This year, three First Transit employees from the Pasadena Rapid Transit System in Pasadena, Calif., have been nominated for and selected to receive the Q’Straint/Sure-Lok Above and Beyond Award. The award is presented to a driver or dispatcher who has gone above and beyond the regular job duties to provide service to the special needs population. While none of the First Transit employees are primarily drivers or dispatchers, their driving and dispatching experience came into play during a recent storm that struck the area. Strong winds and rain made it extremely difficult for many residents and other companies to operate in the city. These employees successfully made it into work that day to safely evacuate 40 senior citizens from a housing complex and transport them to a safe location. Lead Technician Israel Granillo and Road Supervisor Andy Mendoza both drove transit vehicles to these citizens to assist in the evacuation. First Transit’s Quality Control Coordinator Matt Kafkaloff took over as dispatcher during the storm to assist the drivers.

Amjad Bangash has been appointed managing director, Rail at Bechtel. Amjad has been working for Bechtel for 20 years and was recently project director for Bechtel at the Khalifa Port and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) Project in the United Arab Emirates. His new role will report to Mike Adams, president of Bechtel’s civil infrastructure business. Amjad joined Bechtel in 1992 as a senior engineer at the San Francisco head office, and soon after moved to project assignments in construction and engineering in the United States, Nigeria, Thailand and Guyana. In 1995, he moved to an engineering management assignment, leading the design and some of the build contracts on the on the Kowloon-Canton RC West Rail Project in Hong Kong. His successes there led to construction and project management positions at the Bechtel led design-build Airport MAX Light Rail Project in Portland, Ore. This was followed by senior management roles at Bechtel, working for Tube Lines, in charge of the permanent way renewals and station modernization program for the major upgrade of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines and where he established new records for track installation during weekend engineering slots.