- February 3, 2026
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Home News, Industry News, News, Press Releases
Leading Design and Architecture practice Populous has announced the appointment of two new global roles that expand its operational capacity around the world.
Gavin Houldin has joined the practice as Global Chief Operating Officer, focusing on strengthening global operations by standardising systems and processes, leading integration efforts for acquisitions, and optimising business and project performance.
Gavin has joined Populous from Arcadis, where he served as Senior Vice President and Operations Director for their global Places business in North America, leading a team of over 600 in the Americas and an additional 250 in global excellence centres across India, the Philippines, and Romania. Prior to that he held senior leadership positions at AECOM in both Africa and the United States. He brings deep expertise in global operations, M&A integration, and driving performance across large, multidisciplinary teams.
Bruce Miller, CEO and Chair of Populous, said:
“With his extensive experience in architecture, engineering, and project-based professional services, Gavin brings a collaborative, people-centric leadership style and a focus on design excellence and client service. His proven track record in scaling businesses through organic growth and M&A integration, coupled with strong commercial acumen and strategic thinking, make him ideally suited to help drive Populous into our next phase of growth and innovation.”
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, Teryn Hightower has also joined Populous as Head of Global M&A Integration, responsible for creating and leading a disciplined global integration strategy for Populous acquisitions.
The 2026 SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition – focused on elevating the live experience – is being hosted at Everton’s spectacular new Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 1st and 2nd, with an Opening Night Icebreaker at Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium on September 30th. Populous is a longstanding event sponsor.
Teryn joins Populous from Accenture, where she has spent more than seven years leading post-merger integration within Corporate Development, focused on aligning strategy, operations, systems and teams, to deliver against long-term business objectives.
Populous announced the acquisition of aviation design firm Fentress Architects in June 2025 to create Fentress Studios, significantly broadening the scope and scale of services that Populous offers clients across the globe.
Both roles are based in the United States, but will be fully global in scope, working across the firm’s regional headquarters in Kansas City, London and Brisbane and the 34 Populous studios around the world.
About Populous
Populous is a global design firm that began with a singular focus – to draw people together around the things they love, through experiences that capture all the senses, amplifying the atmosphere of excitement and pure joy shared in human moments. We design iconic spaces for the world’s most renowned names in sports and entertainment, from stadiums such as the London Olympic Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to arenas and event spaces such as the Sphere in Las Vegas, and urban environments like the ICC Darling Harbour Master Plan in Sydney, as well as major transport projects such as the redevelopment of Kansai International Airport.
With our APAC head office in Brisbane, our diverse team includes specialists across a range of disciplines, from architecture and interior design to branded environments, urban planning and event design.
Having been involved in 15 Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games since 1996, our work has transformed neighbourhoods, revitalised cities, built relationships and connected people to the incredible and the awe-inspiring. It’s our vision for design excellence that has led Fast Company to name Populous one of the world’s 50 most innovative companies, ranking us No. 1 in architecture.
Source & imagery, courtesy of Populous
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