Stantec announced the addition of Kirk Meredith, Mike Smejkal, Alex Mariz, and Carl Abdallah to the firm’s growing North American aviation infrastructure team. Meredith joins as the new airport sector leader for the United States, Smejkal as senior project manager, Mariz as senior airport planner, and Abdallah as aviation engineering manager. Each will be responsible for strengthening the services the firm provides to airports across the United States and Canada.
“The hustle and bustle is back at airports across North America. Passengers are returning to the skies and airport authorities are embarking on new projects and resuming those put on hold during the pandemic,” said Brian Norris, senior vice president of Stantec’s North American Transportation business. “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.”
As the firm’s new airport infrastructure sector leader for the United States, Kirk Meredith will work with all business lines pursuing strategic pursuits around airports. He brings 35 years of experience and has managed programs at over a dozen Group V and Group VI aircraft-capable airports (as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration) across the United States. In addition, he has extensive experience coordinating and aligning federal, state, and local agencies with owners, airlines, and other stakeholders to deliver airport programs successfully. During his career, Meredith served as director of construction support services for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), where he oversaw an integrated construction management and safety team that managed the implementation of ATL’s $6.2 billion master plan.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Spring Garden College and two master’s degrees from the University of Florida, in architecture and building construction.
Mike Smejkal joins as a senior project manager. He will be responsible for helping to grow the firm’s aviation practice and managing airport projects across the Southwest. Smejkal brings over two decades of experience as both an airport owner and consultant working on airfield, landside, and terminal projects from concept to closeout. Most recently, Smejkal served as Vice President of Planning and Engineering for the Tucson Airport Authority where he oversaw the planning, programming, EIS, design, and start of construction for the $350 million Airfield Safety Enhancement Program as well as all other capital projects at both Tucson International and Ryan Field airports.
He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a registered professional engineer in multiple states, and is an Accredited Airport Executive of the American Association of Airport Executives.
As a senior airport planner, Alex Mariz specializes in heliports, airfield geometry, and apron planning. He also advises on aircraft parking stands, aircraft bridging, and apron pavement markings, and has extensive experience in runway payload/range analysis, airfield demand/capacity analysis, obstacle limitation surfaces, RET siting, airport and heliport site selection, and airport master plans focusing on the assessment and expansion needs of airside infrastructure. Mariz will draw from his experience working on projects in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Mexico, Ecuador, Antigua, Malta, and Canada.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Guelph and a master’s degree in airport planning and management from Loughborough University.
Carl Abdallah joins as an aviation engineering manager responsible for leading Stantec’s aviation infrastructure work in Canada. With 17 years of experience, he has successfully executed and managed numerous projects in the fields of construction and design engineering, specifically relating to airport infrastructure. His projects span nine different countries and various active airfields including large international airports, military airports, and local general aviation facilities. Along with his project accomplishments, he has also developed and managed internal teams of consultants that are globally recognized for their efficient processes in providing quality airport consulting services.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and a graduate certificate in airport planning, design, and development from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
