Marianne MacDonald
The theme through my career is reinvention using creative problem solving, interdisciplinary collaboration and experimentation. I am the founder and leader of CDM Smith's Enterprise Programs Office (EPO), responsible for priorities related to transformation and innovation to foster growth while addressing global infrastructure challenges. Through the EPO, which includes our R&D program, our 70 year-old global infrastructure engineering and construction firm is innovating from the inside out.
How? We have built a new type of EPO that combines principles of lean innovation, systems thinking and project management to connect the dots across the firm and empower staff and achieve exciting results. Our recent innovations include using data analytics to help utilities provide sustainable water systems, reinventing engineering design by applying augmented reality for remote collaboration, and helping clients take a holistic look at planning smart cities.
My career has been diverse and ever evolving. A love for math and problem solving led me to a career in data and analytics in the pension field, but after discovering a passion for the environment I returned to graduate school to obtain a PhD in Systems Engineering. My focus has been on using data and computer models to support decision making. After a few years as a Professor, I decided I wanted to work directly with clients to help them build sustainable systems for water and the environment. When I started at CDM 20 years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be with the firm for this long. My success has been a result of my own ability to continually reinvent myself, and the management of my company's willingness to let me innovate. As I find creative ways to improve our business, I collaborate with my colleagues and build teams of internal staff and external partners to implement improvement initiatives. Over my career I have honed my skills through perseverance, empathy and systems perspective and that has enabled me to get to this place on my journey…. And I have even greater aspirations for the future!
The theme through my career is reinvention using creative problem solving, interdisciplinary collaboration and experimentation. I am the founder and leader of CDM Smith's Enterprise Programs Office (EPO), responsible for priorities related to transformation and innovation to foster growth while addressing global infrastructure challenges. Through the EPO, which includes our R&D program, our 70 year-old global infrastructure engineering and construction firm is innovating from the inside out.
How? We have built a new type of EPO that combines principles of lean innovation, systems thinking and project management to connect the dots across the firm and empower staff and achieve exciting results. Our recent innovations include using data analytics to help utilities provide sustainable water systems, reinventing engineering design by applying augmented reality for remote collaboration, and helping clients take a holistic look at planning smart cities.
My career has been diverse and ever evolving. A love for math and problem solving led me to a career in data and analytics in the pension field, but after discovering a passion for the environment I returned to graduate school to obtain a PhD in Systems Engineering. My focus has been on using data and computer models to support decision making. After a few years as a Professor, I decided I wanted to work directly with clients to help them build sustainable systems for water and the environment. When I started at CDM 20 years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be with the firm for this long. My success has been a result of my own ability to continually reinvent myself, and the management of my company's willingness to let me innovate. As I find creative ways to improve our business, I collaborate with my colleagues and build teams of internal staff and external partners to implement improvement initiatives. Over my career I have honed my skills through perseverance, empathy and systems perspective and that has enabled me to get to this place on my journey…. And I have even greater aspirations for the future!
