Between 1999 and 2005 I served on the board of the Institute of Contemporary Arts. I was appointed specifically because of my expertise in branding and advanced technologies.
AECOM isn't very well known in the UK yet, but it is a huge and growing construction conglomerate offering services in every aspect of the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the built environment.
AECOM has grown in some territories by acquisition, and many of the companies that they had bought had their own brands and reputations and their own long-standing relationships with customers.
Atkins, very well-known in the UK, provides a range of services that relate to designing and managing buildings and infrastructure such as roads and rail. They are part of a number of Public-Private Initiatives (PPIs).
The scope and range of their operations makes it hard even for long-standing customers to take everything in, and sometimes opportunities were lost simply because no-one realised that Atkins could help.