Hi Nishadi!  Please begin by telling us about your education and where you thought that path would initially take you.

I attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where I pursued undergraduate and master’s degrees. My undergraduate degree was in civil engineering, and my master’s degree was in engineering management, focusing on construction management. I’ll admit that I never imagined myself working in the construction industry. However, an unexpected summer internship with a general contractor soon changed my perspective.

Your story is very relatable. Project Controls often isn’t the primary field of practice for many of us.  Tell us more about this experience and how it gave you hands-on construction management experience.

I recognize that many professionals in this field often come from diverse backgrounds, such as engineering or construction, rather than specifically aiming for project controls. My personal story is a testament to this, as my journey into project controls was not a deliberate choice but rather an unexpected path I stumbled upon.

The internship was a requirement of my curriculum, and initially I saw it as a temporary experience. However, I quickly discovered my passion for the field while working on various projects.

After my successful internship, I realized that construction and project management had captured my interest. Seeing how different elements come together to create large-scale projects was fascinating. I decided to pursue a career in project controls, as it combined my passion for engineering with my newfound interest in project management. I continued working there through my senior year and then through my master’s. 

It sounds like this internship gave you a leap into the construction world; where did it lead you next?

My internship was on site at the International Monetary Fund Headquarters 2 building in Washington, DC.  After graduation, I continued as an office engineer, then a project engineer, and ultimately got into project scheduling.  The scheduling team was looking for people, and a senior colleague suggested that I might benefit from a rotation through the scheduling department.  Scheduling was not a popular choice among my peers at the time, but I realized that I liked gaining visibility into the entire project and understanding the details and logic on how a project is built.

I was the onsite scheduler for the Johns Hopkins Hospital New Clinical Building in Baltimore, Maryland, managing the schedule during construction.  It was at this point that I decided I really liked the scheduling world and wanted to learn more.  That’s when I jumped into the consulting side. I started consulting and have been doing this for 13 years!

Amazing!  It’s wonderful to hear that your career in project controls has been such a positive experience for you. 

I love it.  I love the challenge.  I went from working on one project for three and a half years to now doing 100+ projects for many different clients in a year.  There is always something different every day, and I truly enjoy the variety of my work.  I have the opportunity to wear many different hats and see perspectives from different people, and I get to use that knowledge to help our clients.

Your career and role today as VP at K2 has given you many growth opportunities.

I was very nervous about leaving a large, well-known company, but I’m so glad I made that leap because K2 was a better fit for me and a great decision for my career.  We support clients, owners, and contractors on various projects and provide project management and project controls services, systems integration, and deployment of complex security solutions. My role started out as a scheduler, and then I worked my way up to senior scheduler and scheduling manager. 

Now, I oversee the operations for our critical path controls division, which includes scheduling, claims, process improvements, analytics, virtual design and construction and earned value management systems.  We’ve expanded along the way, and I’ve been fortunate to have leaders who believe in my ability and capability and have allowed me to challenge myself and grow.  It was hard work, and I had to put in a lot of blood, sweat, and even some tears, but they continuously pushed me out of my comfort zone while always supporting me when needed.  That trust and support have allowed me to come out of my shell and given me the confidence to take on any challenge. 

It is wonderful to hear that this has been your experience, especially now that you are in a leadership position and know how to guide others through their own career growth.

My experience has been very supportive.  I’ve learned from different leaders, taken what I admired about their leadership styles, and tried to make it my own.  Hopefully, it will allow me to be a better manager and leader, and I will try to be mindful and conscientious of what my team is going through and how I can help them.  We have a phenomenal team, and I want them to feel supported, challenged, and excited when they come to work every day. 

There are always challenges, particularly with projects.  When our clients bring us on, it is because they need help.  Project teams have so much on their plate; our job is to make their lives easier, provide expert advice, and help them solve their problems.  When we focus on these priorities, the result is that we have established amazing long-term relationships with our clients.  K2 has been in business for 33 years, and we are still working for our first customer! 

Tell us more about what led you to join AACE Women in Project Controls Committee.

Previously, when I worked for a large general contractor, I saw the establishment and growth of a women’s group within the company. This experience gave me a glimpse of the positive impact such communities can have on individuals and the professional environment. I also had the opportunity to attend the Women in Construction Conference in DC several times. 

When the opportunity to join the AACE WPC Committee arose, I saw it as a natural fit. My boss, Michael Marcell, Chair of AACE’s Earned Value Management Subcommittee, forwarded an email seeking volunteers for the community, and I saw it as an excellent opportunity to further engage in my field of interest. I confess that I’m not a natural extrovert, but I recognize the importance of networking and building relationships within my industry.

When I reflect on my journey to where I am today, I feel excited about being part of the project controls community.  I especially value the importance of finding like-minded individuals, particularly other women in the field, who share similar experiences and challenges.  Discovering a community of women in similar roles has been a valuable and empowering experience.

Nishadi’s story serves as an inspiration for those who may find themselves in a similar situation. She proves that taking advantage of opportunities and embracing unexpected experiences can lead to exciting and fulfilling career paths. Today, Nishadi is an accomplished professional in project controls, and she continues to contribute to the community by sharing her knowledge and learning from others.

As we concluded our interview, Nishadi expressed her enthusiasm for the future of her career in project controls. She looks forward to the community’s continued growth and the opportunity to connect with more inspiring individuals. Nishadi’s journey highlights the importance of finding passion in unexpected places and the value of building communities that support and empower professionals in their chosen fields.

What has motivated you to venture into engineering studies?

I grew up in an engineering family. My father and an older brother are civil engineers, and another older brother is an architect. The family owns and operates an engineering contractor business in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. I have always been intrigued by their conversations about engineering problems and construction issues. As the younger daughter of the family, I wanted to be included in those conversations and contribute to their problem-solving. That’s why I decided to study engineering at the university!

How did your family feel about your decision?

In the beginning, my father was worried. “Why not choose a ‘softer’ discipline?” Fathers are always worried about their daughters; they don’t want them to have to work too hard, and they don’t want them to get dirty in the field or be in industries where historically there was a gender imbalance. But in the end, I told him that engineering runs in my blood and I needed to pursue something I love. My dedication won him over. I ranked at the top of the class year after year throughout my undergraduate years to prove to everyone that I had made the right decision.

You chose project controls as your specialty after your undergraduate studies. How did you end up selecting that trajectory?

After I graduated, my education earned me a place in my father’s contractor business. He became my compass and my anchor from then on. My father had always told me that to be a good engineer, you need to be on the perpetual path of learning to understand all aspects of the business – including how projects are planned, how they should be budgeted, how costs are managed, and how contracts are negotiated. So, I joined the project controls department of the company!

 My father’s other advice was, “Don’t know the answer? Ask, read, search, and learn!”  That’s what I did. I started my master’s degree in construction management, with concentrated studies in planning and cost management while working. After learning the ropes at the company, I quickly became immersed in the thoughts of how I could improve the business and make things more efficient. I snuck into my father’s library to read all his books on cost control. Then, I decided to build an extensive cost database to estimate and tender contracts faster and more accurately! I reveled in the responsibility I was given, and I loved that I contributed to the company being more profitable!

You have also decided to further your studies by pursuing a doctorate degree in construction management. What prompted that decision, and how did that change your career?

Furthering my studies was part passion and part need. I love to solve problems. At the same time, the more projects you work on, the more you realize what you don’t know. Around the early 2010s, I worked on several power plant and electrical substation projects. These projects opened up the world of “contract management” to me, from contract development to stakeholder management, and claims management. I decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the American University in Cairo and ultimately focused my research on simulation and optimization modeling to construct civil works for electrical substations.

Soon after my Ph.D., I also became a professor at the Kafr El-Sheikh University, teaching construction management. Teaching was rewarding as it allowed me to share my passion for construction management with my students! I also believed I had a responsibility to help the undergraduates and my post-graduate students, just like how my father guided me.

After you got your doctorate, you decided to leave the family business. How did your family react to that?

My father was opposed to me leaving the family business. As a protective and loving father, he wanted his daughter to be kept under his wings. However, my mother helped convince him that allowing me to work elsewhere was a great learning opportunity. Working outside the family business was a tough transition, but the joy of learning for different management firms and the plethora of projects out there was a tremendously rewarding experience.

What is one of the biggest highlights of your career, in your opinion?

Professionally, my current position as a contracts manager at Hill International Inc. is a position that brings joy to me every day. Hill International is a global construction consultant firm, and this opened a new horizon of unique and exciting projects for me, including the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Monorail. It is a supportive company for me as a woman in the field of project control and gave me excellent opportunities to learn and develop.

From a personal perspective, I would have to say obtaining my Master of Laws degree in 2023 is a big highlight. As a part of the family contractor business, we were always just the initiator of claims. If I could understand the “other side” of a claim, I would have a comprehensive view of contract arbitration and adjudication! As a contract manager, I’m still constantly learning from different contracts from different disciplines, court rulings, and industry lessons learned. With all the education and experience I’ve received, I was able to look for the most optimal win-win solution for the engineer, the project manager, and the contractor – all the roles in which I have gained first-hand experience.

What advice would you give to women considering a path in construction management, project controls, or claims dispute?

I will relay the best advice I have received from my father, who, to this day, is still my lighthouse in my career and my life. He told me always to seek opportunities and try new things, even though deep inside, I feel I may not be qualified for that role. Take the challenge, learn, and persevere.

Let the quality of your work speak for you. Start writing papers as an undergraduate because writing down your thoughts logically, and don’t be afraid to get feedback from experts in the field as it is one of the best ways to learn. I always encourage my students to familiarize themselves with best practices and attend and present at AACE events to “ask, read, search, and learn!” 

Rania Fayed, Ph.D., LLM, MSc, FCIArb, PMP, is an experienced construction management professional working at Hill International Inc. in Egypt. She is the vice president of the AACE Egypt Section and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) liaison for the AACE Women in Project Controls committee.