Architecture practice Populous announces new Chief People Officer position and key appointments

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Leading global sports and entertainment architecture and design practice Populous today announced the creation of a new Chief People Officer position, as well as the appointment of three regional executives to the Global Holdings board.

Kristin Gibbar will join the team as Chief People Officer and Senior Director at the company’s Kansas City headquarters for the Americas.

Gibbar’s experience includes director of human resources and global director of HR at companies such as Black & Veatch, Amazon and Sun Microsystems.

Gibbar will begin his new role on June 24. She will report to Populous founder, president and CEO Earl Santee.

Santee advised: “as we continue to expand our business and the range of services we can offer to clients, our employee numbers continue to grow. Today, we employ more than 1,200 people in 29 offices around the world, so our ability to drive global people strategy and programs is becoming increasingly important.

“Kristin’s appointment to this new global position will enable us to ensure role coherence and harmonization, continue to support leadership and career development at a supra-regional level, and strategically increase workforce mobility, performance management and overall talent management across our regions.”

Populous also announces three new internal appointments to Global Holdings’ Board of Directors, all of whom bring extensive leadership and design experience across the company:

Brett Wightman, Senior Director, APAC
Brett Wightman is a senior director and regional board member for APAC, with extensive experience in designing large sports, entertainment and aviation venues for Populous.

Based in Populous’s Singapore office, Wightman has extensive experience working on complex design and construction programs across Asia. Projects include Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, KL Sports City in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Londoner Arena in Macau and the soon-to-open Kai-Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

Wightman has also held leadership roles in recent Populous COEX, transit-oriented development and aviation projects in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

Declan Sharkey, Senior Director, EMEA
Declan Sharkey is currently a Senior Director and Member of the Regional Management Board for EMEA.

A creative and forward-thinking architect and industry leader, Sharkey has worked on a diverse portfolio of innovative projects across Europe. This includes a number of ongoing stadium projects in Italy, as well as arenas in Munich, Cardiff and Cork in his native Ireland. His latest project, the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, is the largest arena in the UK and the most sustainable arena in Europe.

In addition to his architectural responsibilities, Sharkey plays a key role in the business development of all new arena and elite training facility projects across EMEA.

Scott Capstack, senior director and director of design for the Americas
Capstack is a senior director and regional board member for the Americas region. As Director of Design for the Americas, he provides oversight of the regional design process as well as insight and in-depth knowledge of trends and innovations across building typologies.

A graduate of the University of Kansas, Capstack has worked with NFL teams, MLS franchises, convention centers, collegiate and university programs, and many additional clients on projects across the industry. His experience allows him to advise and guide design from an informed, diverse and creative perspective, assisting with all aspects of projects. He combines this with a knack for cutting-edge facility design with a portfolio of work spanning a variety of athletics and convention center venues, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, Gillette Stadium and Levi’s Stadium.

Speaking about the new appointments to the company’s Global Holdings board, Santee enthused: “This is an exciting time for Populous as we continue to combine strong regional performance and design excellence with an increased focus on pan-regional and global strategy, allowing us to continue to grow through expanded services to our customers around the world. Scott, Declan and Brett are extremely experienced leaders who will bring exceptional knowledge and talent from their regional leadership organization to the Global Holdings Board.”

More information about Populous

Photos (from top): Kristin Gibbar, Brett Wightman, Declan Sharkey and Scott Capstack. Source: Population.

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