Mike King

Describe what the Mott Mac Life means to you in three words

Partnering, excellence, fun

What do you enjoy about working here?

I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of working with vibrant, interesting people across multiple disciplines and working with external partners also driven by excellence.

Tell us about your specialism and why you chose it

I specialise in the structural engineering of sports venues and leading multi-disciplinary teams designing venues. I graduated in the early 1990s when ‘Hi-Tech’ architecture was ‘in’ and expression of structure was a fundamental part of the architecture. In my early years I worked in a team in Sydney working on a few stadium projects and loved that as engineers we could have a role in forming the architecture – I was hooked!

Why did you choose to join Mott MacDonald?

It’s important to me to work in an employee-owned organisation where the company is in control of its own destiny. I also want to work in a company that is global and can tap into the best knowledge across the world to solve the biggest challenges locally.

How has your career progressed since joining?

Well, I joined Mott MacDonald first in 1994, and after a 28-year departure came back, so my career has progressed a lot ‘since first joining’. I now lead teams on major projects in Sydney and beyond, and work with some of the best people in the industry.

What have you learnt while working at Mott MacDonald?

I’ve learned to reach out to a wide range of colleagues across geographies to get a diversity of views and solutions to problems. When we tap into the knowledge across state and country borders the whole is almost always greater than the sum of the parts, in terms of knowledge.

How do you demonstrate Technical Excellence in your work?

Listening actively to those around me, collaborators and clients. Encouraging younger engineers through coaching and knowledge sharing.

How do you contribute to Mott MacDonald making a difference to people and the planet?

The projects we work on always have a benefit to society. In my particular area, venues, our projects help build community spirit and pride and provide joyful experiences to the people who use the venues.

Where in the world has your role taken you?

My role has taken me from Sydney to working in the UK, the US, Singapore and back to Sydney over 35 years, and working on projects in over 20 countries.

What are your career highlights and achievements?

Experiencing the first day at the London Olympics in one of the venues that my team delivered is probably my biggest highlight as well as watching the faces of my children light up as they enjoy a football match in one of stadiums that I have been part of designing.

Awards and recognitions

• Engineers Australia - Create Magazine
• Australia’s Most Innovative EngineersAwards - 2016

Publications

• London 2012 Aquatics Centre – Gordon Mungall, Mike King, ‘The Structural Engineer June 2012’ – Journal of the Institution of Structural Engineers (UK)
• Singapore Sports Hub: Engineering the National Stadium –Mike King et al, ‘The Structural Engineer September 2016’ – Journal of the Institution of Structural Engineers (UK)
• National Geographic 'Superstructures – Engineering Marvels, S1:E5 Biggest Dome' - 'The incredible engineering behind the famous Singapore National Stadium is revealed’ - 2019 Documentary
• ‘Going for Green – Aquatic Centre in the Olympic Park’ for the Foreign Office in the UK. - 2010 Documentary
• ‘How to design a stadium’ – Arup Adventures 2020 - 4 Minute video of my kids and me on some fundamentals of the Singapore National Stadium design. Part of a series for kids to watch on Arup projects in the early phases of COVID