Richard Steel graduated in 1970 with a degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from the University of Wales, University College Cardiff. He is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), Member of the Institution of Highways and Transportation (UK) and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Papua New Guinea.
Richard started his career in highway engineering in 1971 and worked for a UK-based engineering consultancy for ten years. During this period, he gained experience in transportation studies and in the investigation, design and construction supervision of highway projects in Nigeria, Algeria, Portugal and the UK.
Richard joined Beca in 1981, working in highway engineering and highway asset management in Papua New Guinea before moving to New Zealand in 1989. He has since carried out multi modal transport feasibility studies and asset management planning studies in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
As a Project Director, Richard is responsible for a wide range of multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, including Beca's involvement in the recently established Auckland Motorway Alliance. He led Beca's services in developing the Auckland Passenger Transport Network Plan and undertaking the South West Auckland Rapid Transit Corridor Study and he is currently leading two World Bank funded highway projects in Samoa.
Richard admires Beca's employee-ownership model and the "one for all and all for one" culture, saying "I believe the D'Artagnan principle is one of Beca's key assets, and it is one of the main reasons I have stayed with Beca for more than 20 years."