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2015 Events Events Past Events

Leading US P3 Executive Joins Students for Professional Insights

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

November 2015

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Nicolas Rubio, U.S. President of Cintra, was the most recent P3 leader to join students for a Professional Insights session at the Center. Participants enjoyed a rare opportunity to explore in casual dinner conversation the lessons learned in this leading transportation executive’s involvement with more than 150 private infrastructure projects spanning 30+ countries.

Under his oversight, Cintra is engaged in more than $9 billion in infrastructure projects in the U.S., including SH 130 in Central Texas; North Tarrant Express, LBJ Expressway and I-35W in Dallas-Fort Worth; the Chicago Skyway and the I-77 managed lanes project in North Carolina.  Rubio, who serves on the Center’s Advisory Board, is also on the Steering Committee of Stanford University’s P3 Financial Literacy in the Public Sector Program.  He was a keynote panelist at the 2014 US Treasury/USDOT Transportation Investment Summit which was part of the Move America Forward Presidential initiative.

Rubio also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure, the leading private infrastructure developer’s association in America, and was lauded for his entrepreneurial leadership in the arena by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association as well.

After the Professional Insight session, Rubio went on to provide a guest lecture in Professor Gifford’s P3 Policy class.

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Click to see Rubio’s presentation, entitled Public-Private Partnerships, Rationale and Motivation.

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2015 Events Events Past Events

Professional Insight Series: Jack Basso Shares Career Insights

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Jack Basso, of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Peter J. Basso and Associates, shared a long history of experience and observations with Center students at a November 11 Professional Insights Series event.

Mr. Basso, who specializes in transportation funding and financing and supports clients on a variety of other transportation issues, previously served as AASHTO’s Chief Operating Officer and Business Development Director, USDOT’s Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs, and USDOT’s Chief Financial Officer, among other positions in his 36 years of service in the field.

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In relaxed conversation over pizza and refreshments, students had the opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s key figures about the challenges and rewards of leadership in the transportation arena.

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2015 Events Events Past Events

Transit Featured at Center/NVTC November Roundtable

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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The Center partnered with the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission to host a P3s and Transit Roundtable at the University’s Founders Hall on November 4. P3 leaders, Mike Schneider, Senior Vice President and Director, Strategic Consulting, HDR, Inc., and Doug Koelemay, Director, Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3), were the featured speakers. A diverse audience represented the Federal Transit Administration, State and local governments, regional transit agencies, economic development organizations, and academia, joining in lively discussion about how Northern Virginia can effectively leverage P3s as a funding and financing strategy to meet the region’s transit demand.

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2015 Events Events Past Events

HDR’s Mike Schneider Offers “Professional Insights”

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

November 4, 2015

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Mike Schneider, Senior Vice President and Director, Strategic Consulting HDR, Inc., was this month’s Professional Insights guest, meeting with Center students and staff, November 4.

Mr. Schneider leads HDR’s transportation and infrastructure sector, serving as project director or lead technical advisor for a variety of transit, rail and highway engagements. A civil engineer, urban planner, and transport economist whose primary area of expertise is the planning and development of intermodal transportation systems and facilities, Mr. Schneider has worked in more than 20 countries and authored over 100 papers and juried publications in the fields of infrastructure finance, project delivery, management practices and business development. His career spans highway and toll road development, urban and intercity transit and rail, innovative financing programs and P3s, as well as strategic planning for infrastructure investment. In 2007, he received lifetime achievement recognition from the Association of Road and Transportation Builders (ARTBA) for his contributions to the practice and to utilization of P3s in the delivery of transportation infrastructure.

True to Professional Insights series design, students enjoyed first hand interaction with this industry giant, exploring lessons learned and personal observations about their chosen field in casual conversation over pizza and refreshments.

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Categories
2015 Events Events Past Events

Center Briefs Arkansas Officials at NGA Retreat

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

Governor Asa Hutchinson welcomed Arkansas officials to an October Planning Retreat on P3s. Center Director Jonathan Gifford provided a “P3s 101” briefing at the event, which  increased participant’s understanding of public-private partnerships in Arkansas and explored project opportunities in transportation using case studies.

Gifford shared what P3s are (and are not), and when, why and how they can best be used. The presentation included evidence of P3 impacts and a description of what happens when things go wrong (e.g. renegotiations, buy-outs, transfers, defaults and bankruptcies).

To see Dr. Gifford’s slide presentation, click here.

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2015 Events Events Past Events

Gifford Presents at 4th Annual International Symposium on P3s

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Center Director Jonathan Gifford, PhD, presented a paper at the Fourth Annual International Public-Private Partnership (P3) Symposium hosted by the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy (CPIP) in New York on September 15, 2015. The Symposium was sponsored by the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure, Public Works Financing Newsletter, Parsons Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the University Transportation Research Center – Region II.

The paper, titled “Bankruptcy Policy and Surface Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S. and Europe” was co-authored by Gifford and Graduate Research Associates Lisardo Bolanos and Jeong Yun Kweun. “This study explores bankruptcy legal frameworks as an explanation for perceived differences in U.S. surface transportation P3 outcomes compared to the European market. Through six U.S. and eleven European P3 bankruptcy cases, the study provides some evidence that the U.S. legal framework, either Chapter 9 or 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, favors continuous facility operation through debt restructuring rather than asset liquidation.”

In addition to presentations from P3 authorities from all over the world, the 2-day symposium participants toured the Goethals Bridge PPP and participated in roundtable discussions about public perceptions of P3s.

Click here to read the “Bankruptcy Policy and Surface Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S. and Europe” paper in full.

Click here to see Professor Gifford’s symposium presentation.

Click here to read a memo written by Professor Gifford, Jeong Yun Kweun and Porter Wheeler entitled, ” Pushback against P3s: The Political Economy of Public-Private Partnerships”.