Shirley Chen

Shirley Chen is at the helm of AECOM’s Buildings + Places division in Hong Kong, and is spearheading digital innovation across Asia in the same sector. Her two-decade long career has broadened from a landscape architecture background into a multi-disciplinary one, encompassing an array of design and engineering disciplines.

Shirley is adept at navigating intricate business challenges while promoting a culture of creativity, innovation, and sustainability among her team. She has partnered with governments and top-tier developers to bring to fruition landmark projects, including large-scale municipal initiatives, social infrastructure, new development areas, iconic commercial complexes, luxury hotels, upscale residential landscapes, and streetscapes. Her leadership has earned recognition for both her and the projects under her charge from numerous industry bodies.

A proponent of digital innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration to accelerate the creation of sustainable legacies for clients and the communities they serve, Shirley adopts an integrated approach, merging planning, urban design, engineering, landscape design, and economics consulting in her work. Her effort extends to fostering regional and global collaboration across Hong Kong, Mainland China, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and the United States, encouraging a rich exchange of ideas and delivering excellent projects.

Shirley is also active contributor to her field, having been invited as an industry expert on various platforms including ULI GBA and InnoSpace GBA’s Green Future Innovation Think Tank. She has mentored postgraduate students from CUHK in urban design at their “New” New Town project for Venice Biennale 2023, which explores future urbanism in Hong Kong. A staunch advocate for workplace equity, diversity and inclusion, Shirley’s dedication to nurturing female leadership is exemplified by her mentorship role in The Women’s Foundation’s Mentoring Programme for Women Leaders for the 2023-2024 cohort.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

-Work with our clients to strive towards carbon neutrality
-Contribute more sustainable buildings and places for cities
-Drive digital transformation for accelerating sustainable design in the industry