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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JANUARY
2015
MARKETPLACE
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Also to its credit, Adele Lombard, a structural engineer at GIBB,
clinched the coveted title of Young Professional of the Year
competing against candidates from prominent legal, financial
and engineering institutions.
Other winners for the evening included Grant Thornton (accounting);
GAPP (architectures); Norton Rose Fulbright (legal) and Accenture
(management consulting).
Lombard was grateful for the opportunities presented to her by GIBB,
and looks forward to making her mark in Africa.
“It is an incredible achievement to receive this award against strong
competition. My mentor, Pat Masterson stood by me over the past five
years and I have him and others at GIBB to thank for their guidance
in helping me achieve my goal. As a young engineer in this dynamic
industry, I truly value the opportunities that I have been afforded by GIBB.
Through my experience at the firm, I have had the opportunity to work
on huge projects in Africa and the skills gained catapulted me to become
a recognised structural engineer,” said Lombard.
The premier event is likely to remain a feature on the conference
calendar given the exceptional turnout and the number of entries from
A-List firms.
GIBB Group CEO, Richard Vries marked the achievement as a celebra-
tion of ‘just how far we have come as a firm’.
“GIBB prides itself on investing in future leaders and of course engi-
neering excellence – and this was indicative of the awards received on
the evening. “The firm has grown from humble beginnings, and has not
lost its roots in ensuring that excellence is never compromised,” he said.
KC Rottok, project manager of SAPSA said, “The SAPSA awards
recognise companies and individuals who have excelled within the
professional services industry. GIBB has made a significant contribu-
tion to the consulting engineering profession and its professionalism is
commendable. The awards received by the firm are testament to the firm’s
outstanding demonstration of technical excellence.”
GIBB is regarded the largest South African black employee-owned
consulting engineering firm and boasts more than 900 employees in
South Africa and several offices on the continent.
The multi-disciplinary firm recently acquired a 70% stake in lead-
ing architectural firm, SVA International to further diversify its offering
to market.
With major projects such as the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme in
Little Drakensburg and Port Harcourt in Nigeria to its stable, the firm is
growing at an impressive rate, competing in a space largely dominated
by multinational firms.
Two of L iv i ero’s execut ives
have been honoured with top
appointments in leading industry
associations.
Liviero Group CEO Neil Cloete has been appointed
President of Master Builders South Africa, the fore-
most national representative body in the building
industry in South Africa.
Stuart Knight, managing director of Liviero
Civils, has been appointed head of the North
Branch of SAFCEC, the South African Forumof Civil
Engineering Contractors. Founded in 1939, SAFCEC
is an important voice and advocate for its members
in the civil engineering contracting sector.
DIRECTORS HONOURED BY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
LEFT: Liviero Group CEO, Neil Cloete and Stuart Knight, managing director of Liviero Civils.
ENGINEERING FIRM OF THE YEAR
GIBB Engineering outdid the competition at the
recent South African Professional Services Awards
(SAPSA) when the firm was named engineering
firm of the year. GIBB was judged on business
pedigree, transformation, empowerment among
other rigorous criteria. Other finalists in the
category of engineering firm of the year included
WSP, Worley Parsons, Fluor Africa and Arup.
GIBB Group CEO, Richard Vries and Adele Lombard, structural
engineer: GIBB at the SAPSA awards.