The Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy is fortunate to have a prestigious board of leaders from industry, academia and government to guide us in our programming, teaching and research.

Steve Beatty, CPIP Chair
Former Global Chairman KPMG Infrastructure (Non-Exec) at KPMG

CPIP Advisory Board Chair Steve Beatty has noted, “CPIP has done an outstanding job building the premier Advisory Board in the infrastructure field. We have business leaders and professional experts in finance, law, public policy, government, technology, construction management, security and academia who are available to students, faculty and researchers to provide guidance on physical, social and digital infrastructure. Board members display a commitment to advancing research, developing the next generation of infrastructure leaders, and assisting CPIP in its public outreach mission. This kind of support will ensure CPIP’s leadership role among academic institutions in infrastructure policy.”

Steve has over 35 years’ experience in infrastructure and until his retirement in 2023 led the firm’s global Infrastructure business for more than a decade. He is well-recognized as an infrastructure expert and has worked on engagements across six continents. Steve has advised both public and private sector clients extensively in infrastructure strategy, real estate development, transportation planning, public-private partnership policy development, infrastructure investment and project financing.

He has assisted public sector clients across the project lifecycle including scoping, design, negotiation with private developers and execution. For private sector clients, Steve has led the development of business strategies, financing approaches, preparation of bids related to mega-infrastructure projects as well as purchase and sale of operational assets.

In retirement Steve lectures at the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, Chairs the Advisory Board of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and advises a number of public and private organizations around the world.

Rick Geddes, CPIP Academic Director and Founder
Professor, Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy; Professor, Department of Economics, Cornell University

Rick’s research focuses on policies facilitating investment in the renovation and construction of U.S. transportation infrastructure through PPPs. He also has conducted wide-ranging research in other fields including electric utility reform, postal service policy, corporate governance, women’s property rights, and antitrust policy. Rick is affiliated with the Mineta Transportation Institute of San Jose State University and is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was a commissioner on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (2008). Rick holds a Ph.D. and MA in Economics from the University of Chicago.

H. Oliver Gao, CPIP Associate Director
Howard Simpson Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University

Oliver is Director of Systems Engineering and Director of Center for Transportation, Environment, and Community Health (CTECH) at Cornell University. Oliver’s research focuses on transportation systems, environment (specifically air quality and climate change), energy, and sustainable development. He is a member of Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation and Air Quality. Oliver holds degrees from the University of California at Davis (Ph.D. in CEE, M.S. in Statistics, and M.S. in Agriculture and Resource Economics), a MS degree in Civil Engineering, and undergraduate degrees in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science from Tsinghua University, China. Before joining Cornell, Oliver was an analyst in the mathematical and econometrical modeling division of the Rohatyn Group, LLG, a Wall Street hedge fund specializing in emerging markets such as the BRIC countries.

Thomas Denis O’ Rourke, CPIP Associate Director
Thomas R. Briggs Professor in Engineering Emeritus, Cornell University and Chair of the International Advisory Group, Cambridge University

Professor Tom O’Rourke holds a Ph.D. and M.S. degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S.C.E. from Cornell. He has been a member of the teaching and research staffs at Cornell University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His teaching and professional practice include geotechnical engineering for earth retention systems, foundations, and soil/structure interaction; earthquake engineering; underground construction technology, and engineering of large, geographically distributed systems, such as water supplies, gas and liquid fuel systems, electric power, and transportation facilities. He has authored or co-authored over 360 publications on geotechnical, underground, earthquake engineering, and impact of extreme events on civil infrastructure. He was principal or co-principal investigator on more than 75 research projects, and has supervised 24 Ph.D. and 22 M.S. theses. Since 1995 he delivered 150 invited lectures, keynote, and conference presentations worldwide. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received numerous awards from professional societies, including ASCE, Institution of Civil Engineers (United Kingdom), and the American Society for Testing and Materials. Tom has served as chair or member of the consulting boards of many large underground construction projects, as well as the peer reviews for projects associated with highway, rapid transit, water supply, and energy distribution systems. He holds US Patent #5713393 for “frictionless pipe”, Feb. 1998, and jointly holds US Patent # 8701469 for flexible substrate sensor system for environmental & infrastructure monitoring, Apr. 2014.

Richard Coyle, CPIP Executive Director

Richard Coyle is the Executive Director of the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy. Prior to this, he was the founding Executive Director of the Emerging Markets Institute at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he established the organization as a thought leader. As Sr. Director of International Corporate Affairs for Wal-Mart Stores, he led media and government relations for the firm’s proposed market entry into Russia. He also served as corporate spokesperson for the Wal-Mart’s Global Procurement organization, which included the world’s largest supply chain. Earlier in his career, he served as the Maine State Director of International Trade and helped grow exports by 30%. During his tenure, the Maine International Trade Center won awards from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and FDI Magazine. He has held other roles in the medical device, publishing, computer peripheral and oil & gas industries.

From 1989-94, he held expatriate roles in finance and operations with Digital Equipment Corporation in Germany and the Netherlands. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz), the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Federal Republic of Germany, for his work in international trade. He speaks German and English and holds dual citizenship with the Republic of Ireland.

Mr. Coyle has a strong academic background, having earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics degree at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He completed post-MBA coursework at Bentley University, earning an Advanced Graduate Business Certificate in international business. He also studied German language and literature at the University of Vienna in Austria.

Advisory Board

• Francisco Abularach (representing Mark Crosbie), Senior Partner, Antin Infrastructure Partners
• Dean Angelakos, Executive Director, Greater New York Laborers – Employers Cooperation & Education Trust (GNYLECET)
• Jennifer Aument, Chief Executive Officer, The New Terminal One @ JFK
• Alfonso Barona (representing Belen Marcos), CEO North America, VINCI Concessions
• Darren Bechtel, Founder & Managing Director, Brick & Mortar Ventures
• Jon Berger, Retired CEO, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company
• James Berner, Managing Director (Partner), Diversified Infrastructure; Co-Head, Evergreen Infrastructure Fund, BlackRock
• Ricardo Bosch, North America Commercial and Bidding Vice President, Cintra US
• Mark Campbell, President, Bechtel Enterprises
• Mario J. Carbone, Chief Operating Officer, Progressive Pipeline Management
• Denis Crevier, Strategic Advisor to the Global Infrastructure Hub
• Mark Crosbie, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, Antin Infrastructure Partners
• W. Andrew Deihl, Sector Head of Private Infrastructure, Nuveen – A TIAA Company
• Raymond DiPrinzio, Managing Director; Sponsor Coverage & Co-Head of Infrastructure Global Structured Finance – North America Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
• Jorge Fernandez, Managing Director, Infrastructure| Real Estate & Finance, Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
• Michael Foley, MSA Head of Development, Ferrovial Airports
• John Foote, Lecturer-Science, Technology and Infrastructure Policy,
  The MPA Program in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
• Peter Ford, Founder, SkyRock Advisors
• Pat Foye, Operating Partner, Ardian
• Will Gorham (YPI Co-President), Vice President, Business Development and Partnering, Plenary Americas
• Steve Greenberg, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Nexwell
• Martha Gross, Executive Director, Transit Development and Delivery, Maryland Department of Transportation
• Nuria Haltiwanger, CEO for ACS Infrastructure Development, Inc. and ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc.
• Patrick D. Harder, US and North America Co-Head of Infrastructure at Norton Rose Fulbright
• Robert B. Hellman Jr., Managing Director & CEO, American Infrastructure Partners
• Wally Hunter, Managing Director, EnerTech Capital
• Chris Ireland, Senior Managing Director, Greenfield and Renewables, Infrastructure and Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
• Ross Israel, Head of Global Infrastructure, QIC
• Noah Jolley, Vice President, Advisory, HNTB Corporation
• Christopher Kouza, CEO Kouza Capital
• Joung Lee, Deputy Director-Chief Policy Officer, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
• Sue Lee, CEO, Lesura Strategies, LLC
• Gareth Lifton, Managing Director, Infrastructure & Climate Advisory, KPMG
• Scott Litman, Managing Director, Infrastructure Investing, GCM Grosvenor
• Belen Marcos, President, Vinci Highways
• William C. Pappas, Managing Director, Lease and Infrastructure Finance Group, Prudential Capital Group
• Javier Pérez Fortea, CEO, Globalvia
• Karl H. Reichelt, Chief Commercial Officer, Cavnue
• Alexis Rosenberg (YPI Co-President), Senior Associate, Ashurst LLP
• Himanshu Saxena, Chairman and CEO, LOTUS Infrastructure Partners
• Anna Scaglione, Professor at Cornell Tech
• Kevin Shuba, Senior Advisor, Private Equity Infrastructure / Board Member
• Raman J Singh, CEO & Chief Architect, IN4.OS US LLC, Washington DC
• Peggy Smyth (representing Ross Israel), Partner, QIC
• Mariana Torres Montoya, Senior Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group
• Douglas Weill, Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Hodes Weill & Associates
• Jeff Weiss, Executive Chairman, Distributed Sun
• Scott Zuchorski, Global Head of Infrastructure and Project Finance, Fitch Ratings

Emeritus Board of Advisors

• Anthony Ferrari, Co-Founder and President, CRIMSON Asset Management
• Keith Hennessey, Chief Financial Officer, Bechtel Global, Inc.
• Edward Merlis, Consultant, Edward A. Merlis LLC
• Olivia Steedman, Senior Managing Director, Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan (OTPP)