AECOM Capital, the investment and development arm of AECOM, announced the hiring of Bill Smith to serve as executive vice president of design and construction and Ted Fentin to serve as a managing director.

Since AECOM Capital’s founding in January 2013, it has invested in 14 projects across residential, commercial and mixed-uses in top-tier U.S. markets, with a development value of US$3.5 billion and over 7.5 million square feet.

Smith brings more than 25 years of experience in the real estate development industry with extensive expertise in conceiving and delivering complex mixed-use urban projects. Prior to joining AECOM Capital, Smith spent 17 years at MGM Resorts International as president of the MGM MIRAGE Design Group in Las Vegas, and led and completed the master planning, design and construction of the US$9-billion, 18 million square foot CityCenter in Las Vegas. That project, completed in partnership with Tishman Construction, an AECOM company, is the largest privately financed project in U.S. history.

Mr. Fentin has more than 17 years of experience in the real estate industry, including a role as senior vice president with CBRE in the debt and structured finance group. In that position, he co-led a 10-person team and advised on more than US$1 billion of debt and equity transactions, specializing in the capitalization of ground-up development throughout the Western United States.

AECOM Capital Chief Executive John T. Livingston, said:

“As we continue to grow and develop mixed use projects, we need someone with Bill’s experience and incomparable leadership in the industry to oversee design and construction. His resume speaks for itself — he quite literally wrote the book on how to create a world-class mixed-use development.”

“Ted’s diverse industry experience in financing, developing, executing and managing large-scale real estate projects is the perfect fit for AECOM Capital’s integrated platform. His deep connections on the West Coast have the ability to pay significant dividends; we are excited to welcome him to the team and look forward to him playing an integral role as our division continues its rapid growth.”