Raquel Tamez, CEO for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), joined Brendan Bechtel to discuss the challenges and opportunities that will shape the next generation of leaders in engineering. The conversation took place at SHPE’s convention.
Attracting more diverse talent is one of the most important challenges facing firms in the engineering and construction industry. “The data and science is out there to show that diverse and inclusive workplaces are more innovative and that inclusive teams actually reduce risk,” said Rachel.
With that in mind, Bechtel continues to step up efforts to recruit engineers from diverse backgrounds. One key has been the company’s long-term partnerships with organizations like SHPE.
In addition to diversity, Brendan discussed the merging of tech and engineering and how future leaders at firms like Bechtel will need a wide variety of skills to be successful, including the ability to lead teams and innovate efforts tied to AI, big data, and the use of robotics. According to Brendan, companies that aren’t successful at leading – or at least keeping pace with – the adoption of new digital solutions may not be around in a decade.
The two leaders also discussed the need for both diversity and inclusion to build a winning culture and held a candid Q&A session with the virtual conference attendees.
This session was moderated by Bechtel’s Claudia Stephens, strategic partnerships and program manager at Bechtel, and Kellie Tabron, senior communications manager for diversity and inclusion.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) is the nation’s largest association dedicated to fostering Hispanic leadership in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field.