Charlie Hales Rejoins HDR as Director for Urban Planning and Design

Charlie Hales, who previously served as HDR’s senior vice president for transit planning before becoming mayor of Portland, Oregon, has rejoined the company as a senior vice president and the firm’s cross-sector director for urban planning and design. His responsibilities include developing strategy for and leading HDR’s cross-sector teams, and helping HDR’s clients master the challenges of rapidly changing cities. Hales is based in Portland.

Hales is widely regarded as a national leader in shaping the urban environment. He has led development of land use and transportation plans, climate action plans, and transformational infrastructure projects across the United States. He served as HDR’s senior vice president for transit planning for 10 years before serving a four-year term as Portland’s mayor. He developed and helped grow HDR’s transit planning business and helped lead streetcar projects around the country. Hales also served as a Portland city commissioner for 10 years before joining HDR.

Hales is active in the United States Conference of Mayors and served as vice chair of its transportation committee. He is a frequent presenter and active participant in New Partners for Smart Growth, American Public Transportation Association, WTS International, the Congress for the New Urbanism, RailVolution and the Mayor’s Institute on City Design.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to have Charlie back on board,” said Charlie O’Reilly, HDR’s president and chief operating officer. “His ability to help cities develop a vision, and to progress from vision to implementation, is a huge asset for our clients. HDR staff who haven’t had the chance to work with Charlie yet will benefit as well.”

About HDR

For more than a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans nearly 10,000 employees, in more than 225 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future.