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 AECOM office building inMarkham, Ontario, Canada | |
| Formerly | AECOM Technology Corporation (1990–2015) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | |
| Predecessor | Ashland Technology |
| Founded | 1990; 36 years ago (1990) |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Troy Rudd (CEO) |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  US$16.1 billion (2025) |
| US$1.03 billion (2025 | |
| US$562 million (2025) | |
| Total assets | US$12.2 billion (2025) |
| Total equity | US$2.49 billion (2025) |
Number of employees | 51,000 (2025) |
| Website | aecom |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of September 30, 2025[update].[1] | |
AECOM (/eɪ.iːˈkɒm/,ay-ee-KOM; formerlyAECOM Technology Corporation) is an Americanmultinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, and is now AECOM.[2] The company is listed on theNew York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under theticker symbol ACM.
As of 2023, AECOM had approximately 51,000 employees, and was number 291 on the 2023Fortune 500 list.[3]
AECOM traces its origins to Kentucky-basedAshland Oil & Refining Company, which in turn grew out of Swiss Drilling Company, founded in Oklahoma in 1910 by J. Fred Miles. He gained control of some 200,000 acres and formed Swiss Oil Company in Lexington. In 1924, Miles launched a refining operation called Ashland Refining Company, headed byPaul Blazer. While the parent company struggled, leading to the ouster of Miles, Ashland prospered under Blazer's leadership, and in 1936, he was named chief executive officer of the reorganized company, Ashland Oil & Refining Company. In 1966, Ashland acquired Warren Brothers and became involved inhighway construction and construction materials. The company was able to take advantage of refinery byproducts to produceasphalt. Ashland grew into one of the nation's major road-construction firms, and laid a foundation for AECOM. Through a series of acquisitions and technological developments, Ashland grew to include chemical,petrochemical, highway construction, andconstruction materials firms within its realm, laying the groundwork for amanagement buyout of Ashland Technology in 1985.[4]
In the 1970s, Ashland Oil & Refining became Ashland Oil, Inc. Five years later the company consolidated its construction assets into a construction division and also formed acoal company subsidiary, indicative of a changing focus at Ashland. Although it generated more than $1 billion a year in sales, Ashland was a small player in theoil industry at a time when the cost of exploration was prohibitively expensive. By 1980, Ashland sold its production assets, and a year later was reorganized as a modified holding company. A new corporate strategy was implemented as Ashland now focused on refining and marketing and sought to grow its non-refining businesses.
In 1984, Ashland acquiredDaniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM), an architectural firm located in Los Angeles, California.[5] Originally focused onmilitary architecture projects, after World War II it had become one of the first integrated engineering and architectural firms in the western United States. The acquisition of DMJM also included its president,Richard G. Newman. In 1985, DMJM became part of a new subsidiary,Ashland Technology Corporation. Two years later Newman was named its new chief executive and president.[6]
When Ashland chose to return to its corepetroleum refining business in the late 1980s, Newman recommended an employee buyback proposal, resulting in the spin-off of Ashland Technology and the creation of AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Management) in 1990.[7] The company went on to acquire a number of engineering, design and planning firms including engineering company Maunsell, urbanism and sustainability practiceEDAW, Economic Research Associates (ERA), environmental management firmENSR andThe RETEC Group Inc., architectsEllerbe Becket[8] andDavis Langdon, thequantity surveyors and construction consultants.[9]
In 2000, AECOM acquiredMetcalf and Eddy, a water andwastewater engineering firm based in Massachusetts[10] and London-based Guy Maunsell International, expanding the firm's reach in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong/China, Australia and the Middle East.[11] In 2003, AECOM developed an award-winning landscape plan forJinji Lake inSuzhou Industrial Park; the lake was developed from a shallow and marshy pond into one of the largest lake front parks in China.[12]: 110–111
In September 2004 it acquired the Canadian company,UMA Engineering Ltd.[13] ENSR[14] and EDAW[15] joined AECOM in 2005.
AECOM went public during May 2007 with an initial public offering on the NYSE, netting $468.3 million.[16] In January 2008, AECOM acquired The Services Group, Inc., a provider of consulting services to theUS Agency for International Development and other multi-lateral donor organizations. In July 2008, AECOM purchased Earth Tech Inc., a consulting and engineering firm, fromTyco International for $510 million.[17][18] On July 14, 2010, AECOM announced its acquisition of Tishman Construction Corp., a leading provider of construction management services in the United States, whose projects include both the building of the original Twin Towers in New York City in 1973 and One World Trade Center in the aftermath of 9/11.[19] On July 13, 2014, AECOM announced its acquisition ofURS Corporation, an engineering, construction, and technical services firm for US$56.31 per share in cash and stock, pegging the enterprise value of URS at approximately $6 billion.[20][21] Effective July 10, 2014, it acquired ACE International Consultants SL, a Madrid-based provider of consulting services. In July 2014, it acquired Hunt Construction Group, adding to AECOM's construction services business.[22] In July 2017, AECOM acquired Shimmick Construction Company.[23] Officials at the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District blamed the acquisition for delaying construction of a safety barrier at the bridge by 2 years.[24]
In 2018, AECOM along with 91 additionalFortune 500 companies had "paid an effective federal tax rate of 0% or less" as a result of Donald Trump'sTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[25]
In October 2019, AECOM announced plans to sell their Management Services division to private equity firmAmerican Securities LLC andLindsay Goldberg for $2.405 billion.[26][27] Management Services provides services and support to governmental clients including theDepartment of Energy andDepartment of Defense. On January 31, 2020, this transaction was completed with the new company being calledAmentum.[28] In October 2020, AECOM announced the sale of its Power construction business to private equity firm CriticalPoint Capital.[29] In December 2020, AECOM announced the sale of its Civil construction business, including Shimmick Construction, to private equity firm Oroco Capital, which completed January 5, 2021.[30] AECOM explained these divestitures as a "transformation into a higher-margin, lower-risk Professional Services business".[29]
In August 2021, AECOM announced plans to relocate its global headquarters fromLos Angeles, California toDallas, Texas.[31]
In 2025, AECOM acquired Norway-based artificial intelligence start-up company Consigli.[32]
The company has worked onmegaprojects including theSutong Yangtze River Bridge (the world's longestcable-stayed bridge),One World Trade Center (the tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere), as well as some of the largest sports venues, ports, and disaster recovery programs in the world.[33]
AECOM provides Archaeology, Architecture & Design, Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture, Asset Management, Construction, Cost Management, Decommissioning & Closure, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Services, International Development, IT & Cyber Security, Operations & Maintenance, Planning & Consulting, Program Management/Construction Management, Risk Management & Resilience and Technical Services.[34]
AECOM's first president and CEO was Richard G. Newman, who came to Ashland through its acquisition of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM). Under Ashland Oil's ownership, he was president and chief operating officer of DMJM from October 1985 to December 1988. While president of Ashland Technology Corp. from December 1988 until May 1990, Newman was instrumental in taking it from a division of Ashland Oil to an independent company. He was president when the company changed its name to AECOM Technology Corporation in April 1990. Newman was president until 1993, and then chairman, president and CEO from May 1993 to October 2000, and chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2005.[35]
In October 2005,John M. Dionisio succeeded Newman as president and CEO of AECOM.[35] In 2011, Dionisio became chairman of the company.[36] Dionisio had previously served as COO from October 2003 to October 2005 and president and CEO of the subsidiary DMJM+Harris from October 2000 to October 2003.[35]
In October 2011, Michael S. Burke succeeded Dionisio as president and then in March 2014 succeeded him as CEO.[37] Burke joined AECOM in 2005 and was appointed CFO in 2006.[38]
In 2011, Stephen M. Kadenacy was named chief financial officer, later promoted to president and COO.[39] In 2017, Kadenacy left the company and was succeeded as COO by Randy Wotring.[40]
As of March 2019[update], key leaders of AECOM were as follows:[41]
In November 2019, AECOM announced that Burke would retire as chairman and CEO. The change was announced to be effective after either the next annual meeting or completion of the search for a replacement. At the same time, AECOM said that the board of directors would be expanded to include representatives ofactivist-shareholderStarboard Value, the fifth largest shareholder.[42][43] Amid market speculation that AECOM would be acquired byWSP Global,[44][45] AECOM announced the selection of W. Troy Rudd to be CEO. The change will be effective as of October 1, 2020[update]. Before his appointment as CEO, Rudd served as CFO for the company. The announcement included naming Lara Poloni as the new president.[46] The announcement resulted in the resignation of the Starboard Value board member in protest over the selection.[47] AECOM was included onFortune's list of the world's most admired companies in 2024.[48]
As of October 2025, key leadership were:[49]
AECOM is headquartered in Dallas,[50] Texas, United States, with clients in more than 150 countries. The company reported revenue of US$16.1 billion during the 12 months that ended September 30, 2025.[51]
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