Dutch engineering consultant chief Heather Polinsky shared strong views on firm’s current bid and future strengths in exclusive interview for ENR Groundbreakers podcast
After rejecting a second, unsolicited takeover proposal from Canadian engineering giant WSP Global, Arcadis CEO Heather Polinsky called the Dutch engineering consultant’s response to the offer a “galvanizing moment” as it charts a course for regional expansion of its services.
Speaking on the ENR Groundbreakers podcast, Polinsky addressed WSP Global’s $5.7-billion second bid, made last month, as “opportunistic,” a “little aggressive” and “not in line with the culture of Arcadis” or the company’s plans for growth.
WSP Global’s first unsolicited offer, sent to Arcadis on July 14 for $4.8 billion, was rejected on similar grounds.
“The feedback from our team members is that they believe in our strategy, our standalone strategy going forward. Our board [also] believes in our standalone strategy going forward,” said Polinsky, who joined Arcadis in 1999 from the U.S. Army Environmental Command, held several executive roles and was officially elevated to CEO in May. “We’ve only just begun to transform the company and create the value we can create through Arcadis.”
Polinsky relishes her past role in shaping the company’s strategy as global president for resilience and mobility and says she has relocated to Amsterdam to build a leadership team that is “highly connected and established.”
After Arcadis posted positive Q1 and half year results earlier this month, Polinsky said the firm is focused on simplifying operations and services to fit a “sector-led model” as part of a three-year strategic plan.
“Arcadis has historically tried to do a lot for a lot of people, a lot of different sectors, and sometimes it’s a little difficult to understand exactly what we stand for and exactly what we’re famous for,” she said, declaring, “We’re going to change that.”
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Polinsky said the company aims to reaffirm its identity as an engineering solutions provider, invest in the trusted client relationships that are working while pursuing new partners.
“We’re growing at, in some cases, double digis, and we’re producing strong profitability in those sectors, so we’re going to do more of what we’re really good at, and we’re not going to try to be everything to everyone,” said Polinsky. “That is really about making deliberate choices as an organization as to where we can invest.”
According to Polinsky, company priorities are transportation, water, and energy sectors. In a step toward building up the latter, the firm announced on July 28 that it will buy Spanish power design specialist Satel to strengthen its grid modernization, renewable energy and data center hyperscaling capabilities across Europe.
“It’s a really big opportunity for us to make it easier for our clients to hire us, easier for people to know what Arcadis stands for, to build on our strengths, and … to sell and deliver work,” said Polinsky. “As I mentioned, Arcadis is a purpose-led organization, and our mission, which has been consistent since 2012, is improving quality of life—and the only way we do that is through the trust of our clients.”
Arcadis ranked No. 4 on ENR’s 2026 Top 225 Global Design Firms list, reporting over $4.9 billion in revenue.
