Opus appoints global head of people and strategy

Global infrastructure consultancy, Opus International Consultants (Opus) has appointed Ingrid Shannon-Smith to their Executive Leadership Team in the role of Director, People & Technical Capital and Strategy.

Mrs Shannon-Smith is a leading advisor on strategic capability building, talent management, and innovative leadership development. She has advised over 85 companies in 30 countries, ranging from start-ups to the world’s largest corporations.

Her appointment signals Opus’ ambitious plans according to Opus Chief Executive Dr David Prentice, who said: "This is a very exciting time in the development of our business. Ingrid’s passion for reimagining how people work and how that creates value will certainly challenge and drive us forward to create more value for our clients, the communities they serve and society."

Mrs Shannon-Smith was Vice President for Organisation Development & Change at Nokia where she re-designed key processes, systems and practices to successfully unleash the talent in the business and shorten development timetables.

Most recently she was the Global Managing Director for The Cambridge Project, based in Sydney, where she worked with a range of global blue chip organisations to enhance economic growth through new leadership and organisational development practices.

With a strong background in innovation, research, behavioural science, and people, Dr Prentice believes Mrs Shannon-Smith has found a good home in Opus: "Our success is built on our people. We have 3,000 leading infrastructure experts across the world and a dedicated research centre all focussed on providing pioneering solutions for infrastructure challenges."

During her career Mrs Shannon-Smith has held senior executive positions for some of the world’s leading organisations, has been involved in a number of successful start-ups, and has advised government at various levels.

"Ingrid’s track-record certainly speaks for itself. She is a risk taker and a true entrepreneur. We are looking forward to learning from all of her experiences and seeing her in action as she guides and supports the development of our people and grows and maximises our technical expertise," said Dr Prentice.