Seattle – Cumming, a leading international project management and cost consultancy, has announced that the firm has hired Finlay McLay to fill the role of Chief Operating Officer after an extensive internal and external search. McLay will be based out of Cumming’s growing Seattle office and will report to the consultancy’s incoming CEO David Baird.

With a succession plan in the works for the past several years, Cumming promoted David Baird from the firm’s COO role to CEO earlier in 2020, creating a need for a strategic COO hire to successfully drive the business forward. McLay will support Baird as the two leaders guide the construction consultancy through its highly anticipated next chapter of internal innovation and upcoming geographic expansions.

McLay has more than 30 years of construction industry experience, with most of his time spent in leadership positions at some of the industry’s most prominent project and cost management consulting firms. McLay most recently held an executive role at SNC-Lavalin, a global project management and engineering services firm and the parent company of the Atkins and Faithful + Gould brands. Prior to his time there, McLay was the President, Americas Region, at the international project management consulting company, Rider Hunt International (rhi). Originally from the United Kingdom, McLay has worked extensively overseas in various locations across Southeast Asia, South America, the United States, and Canada.

“Our founder Finlay Cumming started building this consultancy from the ground up more than 25 years ago, and now as he moves on to his new role as Executive Chairman, we have put in place the next generation of executive leadership to continue to build on his success,” said Baird. “McLay brings decades of industry knowledge, a unique global construction perspective, and is a proven leader with a strong track record of driving growth. He will be an invaluable addition to our leadership team as we look towards our future.”

Cumming’s diverse portfolio includes an array of assignments in the aviation, corporate office, culture, education, data center, healthcare, hospitality, life sciences, manufacturing, public works, and retail sectors totaling more than $600 billion in project value. Cumming’s worldwide team includes 900 professionals across 30 U.S. and four U.K. offices.