Key hire sees the launch of brand new Ardent directorate

Ardent is delighted to announce another key hire and the launch of a brand-new directorate.

As part of ambitious growth plans, Tom Hacker joins as a Senior Director and Head of a new Planning and Engagement team.

The newly established directorate will initially focus on stakeholder engagement and consultation in the planning process for major infrastructure and regeneration schemes.

Tom joins Ardent following eight years with WSP and a combined 15 years of experience in planning and stakeholder engagement on major infrastructure projects.

Tom comments “I have worked with Ardent for more than 10 years and kept a close eye on the company’s impressive growth. I have been hugely impressed by Ardent’s ambition moving forwards and I am delighted to join this project.

“When we met, we talked about the present but the real focus was on where we wanted to be by 2025 and beyond.

“I am really excited to launch this new offer and start delivering fantastic work for clients across the UK.”

Richard Caten, Ardent CEO, said the new directorate and the arrival of Tom was the latest piece in the jigsaw for the company.

He said: “We’re really pleased to bring in someone of Tom’s expertise and experience – and, most importantly, someone who shares our vision for the future of the business.

“The new Planning and Engagement Directorate complements our other services and means we can offer much more to clients on projects that have a positive impact both economically and socially.

Ardent will not only invest in new staff in the new directorate – it could rise to 30 people in the next five years – it will also be utilising its own, in-house, state-of-the-art ATLAS platform to deliver engagement and consultation services bespoke to each project and client.