Bentley launches Infrastructure Ambassadors Council

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EXTON, PA. — Bentley Systems, Inc., appointed ambassadors to its just-launched Bentley Infrastructure Ambassadors Council to engage the global communities of practitioners, constituents, and organizations interested in the key challenges of and opportunities resulting from sustaining infrastructure. The ambassadors appointed by Bentley include Norbert Young, former leader of McGraw-Hill Construction; Jim Porter, former chief engineer and vice president of engineering and operations, DuPont; and Patrick McCrory, former mayor of Charlotte, N.C. Young will chair the council. Later this month, the ambassadors will introduce a series of presentations, through Bentley’s Be Connected online seminar series, on a broad range of topics crucial for achieving sustainable infrastructure, including interoperability, prefabrication, safety, resilient operations, and nurturing a shared holistic vision across business professionals, engineers, infrastructure owner-operators, and the public.

Among the messages the ambassadors will convey throughout public and private audiences are:
•infrastructure is the fundamental driver for sustainable economic growth — locally, regionally, and globally;
•addressing the world’s enormous and valuable infrastructure needs will create significant growth opportunities for the design and construction industries;
•understanding and meeting the technology needs of architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators leads to continuous improvement in operational performance, safety, and sustainability;
•transitioning to intelligent, higher performing infrastructure — by applying information modeling, data interoperability across all applications, and integrated project collaboration — is now the primary enabler of more effective infrastructure investment yielding long-term returns.

“Improving the world’s infrastructure, to sustain our economies and environment is a monumental aspiration that requires and deserves increasing support from key public- and private-sector doers,” said Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley. “While enthusiasm for expanded investment in infrastructure is growing, with greater recent understanding of the superior returns afforded by infrastructure intelligence and resilience, much more awareness of this imperative is needed. Bentley has formed our new Infrastructure Ambassadors Council to help accomplish this, for the benefit of all infrastructure professionals and constituents, through the best and most experienced infrastructure communicators we know. Norb, Jim, and Pat have already led salutary careers ‘sustaining infrastructure,’ earning the unprecedented respect of all pertinent constituencies between them, and we’re gratified that they’ve agreed to devote their ambassadorial efforts, alongside our own at Bentley Systems, to this cause.”

Norbert Young is managing director of Duck Cove Associates, LLC, a Maine-based consulting company providing strategic planning, business development, and business transformation services. Young, who has 40 years of experience in the U.S. and global design and construction industries, was president of McGraw-Hill Construction from 1999 until 2009, during which time he also helped to found and lead the International Alliance for Interoperability. Previous to McGraw-Hill, he spent eight years with the Bovis Construction Group, a global leader in the management of high-profile construction projects. Young is a Fellow of The American Institute of Architects, was elected to the National Academy of Construction in October 2008, and was designated an honorary Fellow by the Royal Architects Institute of Canada in June 2007. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Construction Users Roundtable. In addition, he served nine years as a trustee of the National Building Museum and as vice chairman of the national ACE Mentor program — a high-school level initiative designed to identify and attract new talent to the design and construction industries.

Jim Porter was chief engineer and vice president of engineering and operations for DuPont from 2006 until his recent retirement. He first joined DuPont in 1966 as a chemical engineer, was named vice president of engineering in 1996, and became vice president, safety, health and environment, and engineering in 2004. He has served as chair for the Construction Industry Institute and Delaware’s United Negro College Fund, and is a member of the board of governors for the Argonne National Laboratory, the board of directors of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, the National Research Council’s Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment, and the National Academy of Construction. He also has served on the boards of FIATECH, the Mascaro Sustainability Initiative, and the Fieldbus Foundation. Today, Porter is the founder and president of Sustainable Operations Solutions, LLC, which provides consulting services to help companies make sustainable improvements in workplace safety, process safety management, capital effectiveness, and operations productivity.

Patrick McCrory recently completed an unprecedented seven terms as mayor of Charlotte, N.C. During his tenure as mayor, McCrory successfully secured support and funding for the construction of the city’s light rail line and a third parallel runway at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He also was instrumental in recruiting to the area such companies as TIAA-CREF, General Dynamics Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales Culinary School. McCrory also led campaigns to bring the NASCAR Hall of Fame to the city and build the Charlotte Arena and U.S. National Whitewater Center. McCrory improved Charlotte’s overall quality of life through his efforts to establish a Residential Tree Ordinance, which requires developers to save 10 percent of the trees in every residential development, and established 42 miles of bike lanes throughout the city. McCrory chairs the U.S. Conference of Mayors Environment Committee and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Committee in 2003.