Kristie Forrest

Biography

Kristie Forrest is a Deputy Program Manager who has worked on some of CH2M’s signature transit programs, such as the Rapid Transit Program (Metrolinx) in Toronto, the largest transit program in Canadian history. Kristie helps the program team focus on client delivery, working alongside the client to define their needs, then reaching across our organization to bring them the best staff to achieve that vision. For Metrolinx, that meant helping them establish governance and formalize their business processes in all facets of program and project management and the development of a Rapid Transit Program Business Plan. Kristie understands that excellent client service means constantly checking in with client staff on our performance. She conducted a client survey and based on the feedback worked with our team to amend work approaches as necessary to enhance our culture of service delivery. Says Kristie, "I’ve learned that it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and sometimes you need to take a big step back and look at the program as a whole and ask, 'are we delivering continuous improvement to exceed the client’s expectations?' If not, do something about it. Not only have we been complimented by our client on our improved service levels and overall responsiveness, we've also recently been termed a ‘consultant of choice,’ which is a testament to our brilliant team." Kristie was proud to announce that CH2M received a contract extension for owners engineer/program management support for another five years for USD$75 million. One of the critical success factors of the contract extension was finding and building a new team of senior contracting staff that could execute a multi-billion dollar alternative financing and procurement contract. With support from CH2M’s Program Delivery of Excellence group, the talent acquisition specialist in Vancouver, the regional management team and her colleagues back in London (where she originates), Kristie is helping to secure and mobilize a highly experienced team. Will it pay off? She will have to ask her client in the next client survey. Kristie calls herself a generalist – we call her a game changer because she collaborates with everyone and isn't afraid to implement different approaches if it means a better outcome for the client.

Research Interest

financing