Populous Announces New Chief People Officer and Three Appointments to Global Holdings Board

Kristin Gibbar will join the practice as Chief People Officer and Senior Principal, based out of the firm’s Americas HQ In Kansas City, MO.

Gibbar’s experience includes Chief Human Resources Officer and Global HR Director roles at companies including Black & Veatch, Amazon and Sun Microsystems.

She will report to Populous’ CEO and Chair, Earl Santee, who commented on the new appointment:

“As our business and the range of services we can offer to clients continue to expand, our staff growth has also increased steadily. We are now at over 1,200 staff across 29 offices worldwide, so our ability to drive a global people strategy and programs has become increasingly important.

“Kristin’s appointment to this new global position will allow us to create consistency and harmonization in roles, further foster leadership and career development at a pan-regional level, and strategically enhance workforce mobility, performance management, and overall talent management across our regions.”

Populous also announces three new internal appointments to its Global Holdings Board all of whom bring extensive leadership and project experience across the company:

Scott Capstack, Senior Principal and Design Director, Americas

Scott Capstack is a Senior Principal and Regional Board member within the Americas region.  As Design Director of the Americas region, Capstack provides oversight of the regional design process, as well as insight and in-depth knowledge of trends and innovations across building typologies.

A graduate of the University of Kansas, Scott has collaborated with NFL teams, MLS franchises, convention centers, collegiate and university programs and multiple additional clients on projects across the industry. His experience allows him to advise and direct design with an informed, diverse and creative perspective, assisting on all aspects of projects. This combines with a talent for cutting-edge facility design across a portfolio of work that encompasses a variety of athletics facilities and convention centers, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, Gillette Stadium and Levi’s Stadium.

Declan Sharkey, Senior Principal, EMEA

Declan Sharkey is currently a Senior Principal and Regional Board member within the EMEA region.

A creative and forward-thinking architect and industry leader, Sharkey has worked on a diverse portfolio of innovative projects across Europe. This includes multiple current stadium projects in Italy, as well as arenas in Munich, Cardiff, and Cork in his native Ireland. His most recent project, the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, is the largest in the UK and the most sustainable arena in Europe.

In addition to his architectural roles, Sharkey plays a key part in business development for all new arena and elite training facility projects within the EMEA region.

Brett Wightman, Senior Principal, APAC

Brett Wightman is a Senior Principal and Regional Board member within the APAC region, with extensive experience in designing large-scale sports, entertainment and aviation facilities for Populous.

Based in the practice’ Singapore office, Wightman has strong experience working across complex design and construction programs across Asia with multiple stakeholders. Projects include Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan, KL Sports City in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Londoner Arena in Macao and the soon-to-open Kai-Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

Brett has also held leadership roles on recent Populous COEX, Transit-Oriented Development and Aviation projects across Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.