Barakat Strengthens GeoDecisions Global Geospatial Efforts

Hazem Barakat, PhD

(June 23, 2015/Abu Dhabi, UAE) GeoDecisions’ Middle East North Africa (MENA) operations are strengthened with the promotion of Hazem Barakat, PhD, to a leadership role within the firm’s parent company, Gannett Fleming. He serves as general manager of Gannett Fleming’s operations in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and business development manager for the MENA operations.

Within this role, he helps GeoDecisions to extend its geographic information system (GIS) initiatives in the MENA region through strategic growth, business development, and project execution. GeoDecisions is an information technology company specializing in geospatial solutions.

“We collaborate with Hazem daily to identify enterprise GIS opportunities in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Oman,” said Kevin Switala, GISP, vice president of federal and international sales and delivery with GeoDecisions. “A great addition to our team, he has a diverse civil engineering background along with significant experience managing photogrammetry and remote sensing projects throughout the MENA region. Through his vast network of industry connections, Hazem helps us establish strategic relationships.”

With more than 20 years of international expertise, Barakat excels in business development, sales and marketing, technical and project management, and training. He served as an Intergraph® division manager in Egypt and managed DBi’s Technology Services Division based in Abu Dhabi.

Barakat amplifies GeoDecisions growth in Abu Dhabi. In 2014, the company developed award-winning applications for the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, including a project administration system and GeoPlanner, a geospatial web portal. In 2015, GeoDecisions developed an innovative mapping portal that aggregates and presents GIS housing data through an intuitive dashboard interface to executives.

An innovator in his own right, Barakat developed an integrated web-based geotechnical information management system, a first-of-its-kind database for the Spatial Data Division of the Abu Dhabi Municipality. He brings a wealth of spatial IT consulting experience and credentials to his new role.

Barakat holds a bachelor of science in civil engineering, as well as a master of science in civil engineering-surveying and photogrammetry, from Egypt’s Cairo University. At Purdue University, he earned a master of science in surveying and photogrammetry and a doctorate in photogrammetry.

As a member of Cairo University’s faculty of engineering, Barakat served as an associate professor for undergraduate and graduate courses in surveying and photogrammetry. He also led lectures in surveying and photogrammetry for undergraduate and graduate courses as a post-doctoral research associate at Purdue University. Recognizing his academic accomplishments, Barakat was awarded the Robert E. Altenhofen Memorial Scholarship for photogrammetry from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

GeoDecisions’ experienced staff of professional consultants, analysts, and developers support clients worldwide. Fundamental to the company’s award-winning approach is the integration of spatial information to empower existing systems and processes. GeoDecisions’ philosophy is based on an enterprisewide approach to the integration of diverse information technologies, data formats, and systems. We are proud to be an Esri Gold-tier Business Partner and ISO 9001:2008 Certified.

Gannett Fleming has served as a partner in global infrastructure for 100 years. We have helped improve communities through transportation, environmental, water, power, and facility-related projects in more than 65 countries. As our 2,000 employees celebrate this milestone, we look forward to a second century of delivering innovation and excellence. We provide planning, design, technology, and construction management services for a diverse range of markets and disciplines. From more than 60 offices around the world, we embrace sustainability and innovation for all activities, finding the best solutions and the most efficient processes to meet our clients’ complex challenges. Founded in 1915, Gannett Fleming had $327 million in revenues in 2014. We are proud to be ISO 9001:2008 Certified.