29/05/2026
Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE arrived at Aston University in the 1980s into an industry where informal networks routinely shut out anyone without connections.
Aston's deep ties to industry gave him what those networks wouldn't; a summer placement before he'd even finished his degree, and an MBA that put him on a board at 35.
Over the following three decades, Nelson led the Association for Consultancy and Engineering for 14 years, became CEO of The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), and brokered agreements with the World Bank and seven multilateral development banks governing over $170 billion in annual global infrastructure investment across 102 countries.
"I'd gone from being a small boy in Birmingham to someone representing the whole of global engineering across 102 countries around the world."
Read more about Dr Ogunshakin's journey: https://www.aston.ac.uk/aston-made/nelson-ogunshakin
60 stories for 60 years. Aston Made. For the world. 🌍