Perspectives

Technical Director of Facades

Dr. Belarmino Cordero is the Technical Director of Facades and leads the Technical Excellence and Innovation Group at AESG. With a PhD in Construction Technologies, an MSc in Environmental Design and Engineering and a MArch in Architecture, Belarmino brings a unique approach to façade engineering based on care for architectural detail, innovation and providing integrated solutions to complex multidisciplinary issues. He adopts a consultative approach to clients assisting them with technical expertise, managerial focus and thought leadership. Belarmino also enjoys mentoring junior employees and has taught facades at The Bartlett and the University of Cambridge, where he continues to collaborate in an advisory role.

Director of Environment and Waste

Nivine is our Director of Environment and Waste. Nivine joined AESG in 2014 and has a combined sustainability and environmental sciences background with experience working on a wide range of projects across the region. Nivine’s expertise lies in environmental impact assessment and waste management design studies and currently manages a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, environmental engineers, certified environmental auditors, GIS planners and environmental modelling experts. Nivine has also worked on a number of strategic consulting and government advisory projects through her work with the United Nations Development Program. Nivine is also a published author in scholarly journals on topics relating to climate change, oil spills, sustainability and flood risk assessments.

Director of Energy and Sustainable Development

Phillipa is AESG’s Director of Energy and Sustainable Development. Having worked on some of the most complex and prestigious sustainability projects in AESG’s portfolio, including the development and implementation of Dubai’s Demand Side Management programs and multiple pavilions at Dubai EXPO 2020, Phillipa has gained a broad and thorough understanding of the energy and sustainability sector, both locally and internationally, and hopes to continue to apply her knowledge to further the global Sustainable Development Goals. In 2018 Phillipa was recognised for her performance by the AESG Sustainable Business Leadership Awards and was awarded “Sustainability Manager of the Year”.

Senior Fire Engineer

Luke is a Senior Fire Engineer at AESG. Strategic, pragmatic and prudent, he has delivered landmark projects throughout the UK, Mainland Europe and the Middle East. He leads AESG’s Fire Engineering team, which specializes in identifying and developing alternative fire engineering solutions designed to suit the architecture, giving project teams the freedom they need to efficiently realise the design vision without compromising the safety of building occupants. Luke has advanced knowledge of Computational Fluid Dynamics and its application in building design, and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer aided Mechanical Engineering from Dublin City University.

Associate Commissioning Consultant

Cathal is a MEP Commissioning Specialist with over 15 years’ experience in the Building Services industry, with 6 years previous experience in the GCC region. Cathal has been in Commissioning for over 12 years and has extensive MEP knowledge and is fully conversant with International, Codes and Standards. His experience centres around the Commissioning management of large multidiscipline teams working on both Mega scale and technically complex projects. His diverse experience includes commissioning of a wide range of projects with a high level of MEP services. His experience includes all stages of a project from pre-design, construction through to completion with both Client and Main Contractor teams. Cathal has worked on a very diverse range of projects throughout his career, including Airports, Hospitals, Data Centers, High Rise towers, Hotels, Leisure Facilities, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceutical and Rail. He is equally adept both Mechanically and Electrically with MEP building services and specialist systems. Cathal is highly experienced in carrying out Commissionability studies and producing quality Commissioning documentation including Programmes, Commissioning Plans and Client Training Plans and is very capable of delivering large projects and driving teams to hand over stage. Cathal has a very strategic mindset and is always forward thinking, is highly motivated and works well with all individuals and teams.

UK Country Manager

Thomas Lobsey is the UK Country Manager at AESG. Thomas’s position within AESG is to support the growth and success of AESG into the UK market, including business development, team leadership and project delivery.

Based in Sydney Australia, Thomas previously worked as Operations Manager and General Manager for a fast growing multi-disciplinary engineering and environmental company, operating across the east coast of Australia. Thomas specializes in environmental and contaminated land investigations, remediation and waste management, and has experience within geotechnical engineering, occupational hygiene and hazardous materials management and abatement. Thomas’s has a passion for business strategy, growth and organisation development, with a drive towards operational efficiency through a balance of structures, leadership and culture. Now a retired elite hockey player, Thomas now spends his spare time enjoying an eclectic taste in music, traveling, spending time with his family and pondering his hockey career comeback. Tom is available now to take any enquiries and loves discussing the next great opportunity over a good flat white.

Senior Fire and Life Safety Consultant

Abdullah holds a Bachelor of Science with Honour degree in Fire Safety Engineering from University of Central Lancashire, UK. He is graduate member of Institution of Occupational Safety & Health.

He is experienced fire engineer with high skills and knowledge in fire & life safety design, fire & gas mapping, façade assessment, inspection and risk assessment. He delivered landmark projects in UAE and GCC countries such as Al Wasl 2020 tower, A2/A3 towers, UAE Pavilion Expo 2020, Wafi Tower, MBR Library, Dubai Frame, Riyadh DAMAC Towers, Riyadh Avenues Project, and others.

In addition to the engineering experience, Abdullah was a fire safety instructor delivering fire safety awareness courses for variety of candidates.

Senior Sustainability Consultant

Sophia is a senior sustainability consultant at AESG. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree and Master’s degree in Energy and Sustainable Building from Leicester DeMontfort University, UK. She is a Chartered Architectural Technologist, a LEED Accredited Professional and an Estidama Pearl Qualified Professional for Community ratings.

She is an innovative and creative designer with experience in façade design, environmental design, outdoor thermal comfort with parametric modelling, Building Information Modelling and architectural delivery. With over 10 years in the architectural industry her project portfolio includes- Retail, Mixed- use, Hospitality, Aviation, Residential, Master-planning and Commercial projects. Sophia has experience across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Prior to working with AESG, Sophia was a Senior consultant in Hong Kong and Singapore, working on notable LEED and Green Mark projects including Unilever Headquarters- Jakarta, Changi Airport Terminal 4 and Jewel, and a world-class eco-resort, Singapore.

Additionally to her professional role at AESG, Sophia is a guest lecturer at Manipal University, Dubai as well as an active CIAT member driving Architectural technology in practice across the Middle East.

Senior Sustainability Consultant

Since graduating from the American University in Cairo with a Bachelors in Architecture and a Master’s of Science in Construction Management, Dalia has pursued a career within the sustainable development sector, working within design and construction teams across every project phase. Dalia’s master’s thesis, consisting of a comprehensive research study on The Effect of Building Materials on Indoor Air Quality, further stimulated her interest in the sustainable built environment and drove her to complete further education including becoming an Estidama Pearl Qualified Professional, LEED Green Associate and WELL Accredited Professional. Dalia is also an active member of the WELL Faculty and participates in conferences and CPD courses relating to the implementation of sustainable development features.

Within her position at AESG, Dalia project manages the Sustainability requirements of design and construction projects across the UAE, including technical consultancy for LEED, Estidama and WELL certification. Dalia effectively coordinates between Clients, Design Teams, Contractors and Regulatory Bodies (government and private sector) to ensure project delivery on time and to a high standard.

Senior Fire and Life Safety Consultant

Parth has about 7 years’ experiences in the field of fire and safety engineering and has worked with many global Fire & Safety organizations since Year 2011. He has involved in a number of different projects in fire and life safety engineering design. He has experience in alternative building designs for a range of commercial, business, retail, residential, and Warehouses. Further, he has in depth knowledge in carrying out Fire and Life Safety training.

Parth worked on many project as the Fire and Life Safety consultant. His role involved providing design inputs in relation to the fire and life safety advices, including fire and life safety assessment of the total building, Fire perimeter access strategy of the overall site. His role involved reviewing the architectural design and coordinating with the design team to ensure that the design inputs were incorporated in the design and negotiating with the approval authority for gaining approval. Simultaneously, he was responsible for attending the meeting with design team and authorities for the approval process. An accomplished problem solver, Parth brings sturdy technical skills and interest to project teams to deliver synchronized results.

Associate Acoustics Consultant

Dimitrios is AESG’s Associate Acoustics Consultant, providing acoustics and vibration expertise gained in a variety of projects within various industries and across several countries, Middle East region and U.K. He holds an IOA Acoustics & Noise Control Diploma and Masters/Bachelors (Hons) degrees in Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering.

With a combined acoustics, sustainability, engineering and environmental sciences educational background and experience in mechanical engineering buildings design, Dimitrios’ projects portfolio varies between building acoustics-architectural & mechanical, environmental noise, noise control and vibration transmission control. The projects he has been involved include residential, hospitality, educational and commercial developments. Furthermore, he has been involved in the acoustic design of auditoria, hospitals, entertainment spaces and exhibition spaces.

Associate Sustainability Consultant

Omair has over 10 years of experience in the built environment consultancy, home automation and building management systems design in addition to his knowledge of energy modeling, CFD, thermal and daylight analysis, and sustainability rating systems. His key strength in implementing environmental measures and passive design strategies is backed up by solid credentials.

Omair consults and manages LEED, Estidama, DGBR/Al Sa’fat and EHS Green Building projects in both Design and Construction stages. This position entails working with the project team and construction stakeholders to set the sustainable design objectives and ensure compliance with the environmental codes and regulations.

Associate Sustainability Consultant

Michael consults and manages LEED, Estidama and Al Sa’fat Green Building projects in both Design and Construction stages.

Michael is an ambitious and technically minded professional with experience in energy modelling and compliance of multiple types of buildings, including retail, commercial, recreational, healthcare, industrial and educational. He has been responsible for ensuring that buildings achieve the relevant construction code requirements for sustainability. Michael has managed and monitored buildings to ensure that the building performance is being maintained and problem solving of issues that arise. Michael has a keen interest in making buildings as sustainable as possible through the integration of sustainable principles throughout the design and construction phases through to operation.

Associate Director – Fire and Life Safety

Alex Manning is an Associate Director with the Fire Safety and Life Safety division of AESG, who joined the company in September 2018. Alex has worked as a fire consultant and engineer for over 15 years, working previously for Bureau Veritas, Fusion Fire and Warrington Fire. Alex has worked on number of different construction projects including airport terminals, rail infrastructure, offices, retail units, residential buildings, hospitals and town centre redevelopments. Alex is involved with the training and management of staff. He is also extensively involved in the preparation of fire safety strategies for the project (including means of escape analyses and structural fire protection calculations) and liaising with the statutory authorities to gain approval for building designs.

Senior Environmental Consultant

Anna is an MSc qualified environmental engineer with 12 years of experience in various fields of environmental engineering. Her experience includes environmental impact assessments for masterplans, large infrastructure and building schemes; environmental due diligence and lenders’ technical advisory for energy and power projects; sustainable development initiatives and waste management.

Anna has also worked on several waste management projects and has experience in waste management planning, developing short, medium and long-term management waste management strategies aiming to identify potential sources of waste and determine appropriate arrangements for collecting and delivery, waste audits and supervision.

Anna has gained work experience in Hungary, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Dubai.

Commissioning Manager

Tom is a British Engineer who has over 15 years experience in MEP Design and installation, Commissioning and management He has comprehensive knowledge in his field and is up to date with regulations and trends in MEP design. Through his career he has worked both client and contractor side to complete many high-end installations, along with many other design and installation reviews. He is experienced and capable in managing large commissioning and construction teams to achieve successful completion of projects on time and to the quality required. In particular he has vast experience in construction and comissioning of large healthcare facilities, hotels and offices. Coming from a practical and design background, he understands restrictions faced on site by operatives as well as how to work around them. Tom is a positive individual with strong character which reflects in the work place. He has worked in the UAE for the past 6 years alongside many nationalities to abide by stringent deadlines and hand over top end facilities

Commissioning Manager

Phil has over 20 years’ experience within commissioning projects ranging from a maritime background to large residential projects and high rise buildings, practicing the highest level of commissioning project management and technical authoring for equipment O&M & training manuals He has commissioning experience including Power and Generation equipment through to HVAC systems in compliance with various international standards and codes of practice on these projects.

He previously worked as a Senior Operations and Maintenance Manager in the UK leading mixed teams of Engineers and Technicians ensuring complex docking periods were completed on time and to cost. Then as an MEP Manager in the UAE covering work on various projects including Midfield Terminal and ADNOC projects in Abu Dhabi and large residential projects in Dubai ranging from towers in Business Bay through to Villas in Dubai South.

Senior Façade Consultant

Since Marina joined AESG in 2017, she has been involved in a varied range of projects such as the writing of thermal insulation guidelines, a residential development with a GFA of 300,000 sqm. in Abu Dhabi or a 5 star hotel in Dubai.

She has over 5 years of professional experience in various countries such as Korea, UK, and the UAE. She is involved from the early stages streamlining the facade design process through solid management skills and design flair to tender documentation. She possesses a solid background on facade systems, detailing and materials across these different countries.

Senior Façade Consultant

Miguel is based in UAE since 2010, working as Project Design Manager at Permasteelisa Gartner ME, previously working at Permasteelisa Spain since 2003 performing the following roles: Project Design Manager, 3D Manager.

Miguel has a extend experience on façade systems (over 14 years) working for complex projects for one of the biggest façade contractors (Permasteelisa Group) what requires a high organizational and communication skills.

Senior Environmental Consultant

Sonya is a Senior Environment & Waste Consultant at AESG, providing project management and technical consulting for a variety of Waste Management and Environmental projects. With a B.A. in Biology and immersive experience in the Arabian Gulf region, Sonya provides high quality consultancy services for Waste and Environment projects, including Environmental Impact Assessments, Waste Management Strategies, Construction and Operational Waste and Environmental Management Plans, Ecological Studies and Assessments, and Waste Engineering and Design.

Sonya brings integrated knowledge from a broad range of disciplines into her work, with extensive exposure to field studies, academic research and publication, government and private consultation, and strategy-level management plans. Sonya’s technical specialty lies in the ecological sciences, and she brings her expertise to detailed baseline studies, assessments, management and auditing of ecological issues.

With over ten publications in major international peer-reviewed journals, Sonya is a regular contributor and continues to be engaged in the environmental research sector. Certified as an Associate Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), Sonya continues to maintain and update her skills in her core area of expertise, ecological sciences, while managing and delivering larger-scale environmental and waste management projects and strategies throughout the Middle East.

Director of Building Performance

Barry is head of AESG’s Commissioning, MEP Advisory and Innovation team, based in the Dubai office. He joined AESG in 2018. Before joining AESG Barry spent the previous 7 years in India where he where he was Principal and Think BiM MEP Consulting Engineers, and led their development of applying BIM to building services engineering, and handover information for projects. Barry was responsible for building the MEP Consulting Practice to 100 strong over a 4-year period. He has gained substantial experience in all aspects of design and construction during his career, and his innovative thinking often leads to more efficient cost-effective solutions in the projects he is involved in. He serves on both the CIBSE/ASHRAE scientific committee for reviewing technical papers submitted for conferences, and AIRAH technical committees for the same, plus writing/reviewing various publications.

Commissioning Manager

Graham has a wealth of International experience both as an MEP manager and MEP Commissioning manager. He has a hand on approach involved in all areas of management from design, document review, programs, and installation through to commissioning and final handover of the project.

Commissioning Manager

Through hands on experience and later through management roles, Steve played a lead part in Commissioning the Electrical HV, LV and ELV systems for the following clients.

Some of the key projects he has handled are: Doha Festival City Doha, Qatar Petroleum District Doha, Information Technology Communications Complex (ITCC) Saudi Arabia, Digital Realty Trust Singapore, Arcapita HQ Bahrain, Global Switch London, Global Switch Madrid, Global Crossing London, London Institute of Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), Level 3 Communications London, Level 3 Communications Bude Cornwall, Telehouse Europe, T Mobile, Green Flag, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Bank of America, Cap Gemini, Lehman Brothers, SBC Warburg.

His specialties include Integrated Systems Testing Documentation and Implementation, Commissioning of Data Centres, Call Centres, Financial Institutions, Hospitals, Commercial Banks and Corporate Head Quarters HV and LV Commissioning to Cabling, Transformers, Switchgear and associated protection relays and ELV Commissioning to CCTV, Access Control, Fire Alarms and BMS.

Commissioning Manager

Martin began working in the MEP sector in 2007 where he has progressed in the industry and developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of MEP building services. Martin has earned a good reputation in the MEP sector whilst employed by companies in the UK, Australia and New Zealand before moving to the UAE in 2016.

Having worked on a variety of projects including office and mixed-use commercial buildings, schools, apartment buildings, data centres and hospitals, Martin understands the varying requirements different projects entail and has first-hand experience in ascertaining and overcoming the challenges associated with each, from both a hands-on and management level.

Managing Director

As founding managing director of AESG, Saeed founded and built AESG into one of the Middle East and Europe’s largest and most respected specialist consultancy firms. Under Saeed’s direction, AESG has developed a strong reputation for delivering the highest quality consultancy in sustainability, energy management, fire and life safety, facade engineering, environmental consultancy, waste management, commissioning, government advisory, project development and building consultancy services.

In his role at AESG, Saeed has been involved in managing and directing some of the world’s most prestigious projects through design, construction, commissioning and operation. Projects have included large prestigious master plan developments, high rise buildings, housing development and critical infrastructure.

As well as his professional role as Director of AESG, Saeed is currently the Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council and a Board Member of the World Green Building Council. In this role, Saeed actively works in promoting the advancement of sustainable building in the UAE and MENA region by working with industry, academia and government departments to develop collaborative solutions to some of the regions greatest challenges.

Managing Partner

Scott is a Director at AESG who offers extensive experience in architecture and sustainable Design. He has worked on numerous large and small scale projects throughout the Middle East, ranging from commercial and retail developments, residential projects, educational facilities and whole city master planning developments. With this experience Scott is well accustomed to coordinating groups of architects and engineers to develop functional, practical and cost effective designs. Scott’s detailed knowledge of energy modeling, building codes and experience implementing sustainable design concepts is particularly valuable in developing innovative and practical solutions in combination with building rating systems.