Stantec expands North American aviation team

Left to right: Carl Abdallah, Alex Mariz, Kirk Meredith and Mike Smejkal. Photos courtesy Stantec.

Stantec has hired Carl Abdallah, Alex Mariz, Kirk Meredith and Mike Smejkal to expand its North American aviation team, which provides design and engineering services to airports across Canada and the U.S.

Abdallah, based in Coquitlam, B.C., joins as aviation engineering manager, responsible for leading the team’s infrastructure work in Canada. He earned a degree in civil engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and a graduate certificate in airport planning, design and development from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. With 17 years’ experience at SNC-Lavalin, Abdallah has managed design engineering and construction projects at international, military and local airports in nine countries.

Mariz, based in Newmarket, Ont., has been appointed senior airport planner. With a bachelor degree from Ontario’s University of Guelph and a master’s degree in airport planning and management from Loughborough University, he has worked for Arup, LeighFisher (part of Jacobs) and SNC-Lavalin, specializes in heliports, airfield geometry and apron planning and has contributed to projects in Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Antigua, the U.K., France, Spain, Malta and Malaysia.

Meredith is Stantec’s new airport sector leader for the U.S. His 35 years’ experience, including stints with AECOM, Parsons and Jacobs, has involved managing programs at Group V and VI aircraft-capable airports, as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and co-ordinating and aligning federal, state and local agencies with owners, airlines and other stakeholders to deliver programs.

Finally, Smejkal joins as senior project manager, responsible for helping to grow the firm’s aviation practice across the Southwest. He is a civil engineer and accredited airport executive with more than 20 years’ experience as both an airport owner and consultant working on airfield, landside and terminal projects.

“Kirk, Mike, Alex and Carl bring tremendous talent and experience to our team and will help us continue to deliver projects that improve airport operations and the customer experience,” says Brian Norris, senior vice-president (SVP) of Stantec’s North American transportation business.