SANTA ANA, CA — Michael Baker International announces that Malcolm Dougherty, P.E., has been named Senior Vice President and Regional Director for the firm’s newly formed Western Region. As the firm reimagines Michael Baker to better position the company for accelerated growth and to broaden its capabilities, services, and solutions over the next five years to execute its vision of evolving to become a full-service engineering and consulting firm, it is uniting its former West and Mountain Regions to form the Western Region.

As Western Regional Director, Dougherty will lead more than 800 employees and be responsible for overseeing all engineering, business, and financial operations for 21 offices across eight states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Washington. He continues to report to Kent Zinn, President, Infrastructure, at Michael Baker International and is based out of Michael Baker’s Santa Ana, California, office.

“Throughout his 30-year engineering career, Malcolm’s experience, leadership, recognition of client needs, technical knowledge, and dedication to mentoring the next generation of engineers have set him apart. He is an established industry thought leader and has built a legacy based not only on identifying the best technical engineering solutions to solve the complex challenges of his clients, but also on improving the lives of those in the communities he serves,” Zinn said. “Since joining Michael Baker more than four years ago, Malcolm has expertly led teams both throughout our firm’s footprint in the Western United States and across the country. As he assumes the new role of Western Regional Director, I am confident that he will continue to expertly deliver outstanding service for our clients.”

Dougherty joined Michael Baker in 2018 as the National Practice Lead for Transportation. In this role, he drove the strategic direction, growth, and performance of the practice and led an integrated team of regional transportation and management professionals in all aspects of transportation. He was promoted to National Practice Executive in 2020, overseeing the strategic direction for the company’s national practices, and in 2021 assumed the position of West Regional Director.

Prior to joining Michael Baker, Dougherty spent 26 years in progressive leadership roles with Caltrans, culminating in the position of Director. In this role, he was responsible for the maintenance and operations of more than 50,000 lane miles of roadway in the State Highway System and the delivery of an $11.4-billion construction portfolio. He also had overall fiscal responsibility for the department’s budget of more than $10 billion and 20,000 employees. Prior to his appointment to Director, Dougherty served as Chief Deputy Director and Chief Engineer at Caltrans.

Dougherty holds numerous affiliations and certifications, including: member of the Board of Directors for the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, as well as past positions such as Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Executive Committee, Chair of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Construction, Chair of the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, AASHTO Board of Directors, President of the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and past member of the California Public Works Board.

Dougherty earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California.