Prior to joining HDR, Buchanan served as senior vice president of development for VIA Metropolitan Transit. As a member of the senior executive team, he was responsible for service and capital planning, capital engineering, and real estate acquisition and management.
Buchanan’s two-plus decades of experience includes managing long-range plans and strategic vision documents as well as leading large capital projects in multi-jurisdictional environments. He was involved in the planning, construction, start-up and testing, and revenue service for Valley Metro’s $1.4 billion Central Phoenix/East Valley light-rail system (now known as METRO). During his tenure there, he transitioned to the public sector and served as director of design and construction for Valley Metro Rail. In this role, Brian worked in tandem with HDR as the project manager of the $1.4 billion Phoenix Light Rail New Starts project.
In 2013, Buchanan was named to Mass Transit magazine’s 40 Under 40. He also served for three years as a national judge for the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Engineering Excellence Awards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
“Brian brings such a strong combination of technical, management and leadership skills with him to HDR,” said Global Transit Director Tom Waldron. “Serving in leadership roles on both the agency and private sides, he has delivered major transit mobility solutions, managed high performance teams, and successfully communicated complicated challenges and strategies to a myriad of public and private stakeholders. We’re very happy that Brian will now be representing HDR to our clients in Central Texas and beyond as his many talents come into demand.”
