CEO's Message

Fellow shareholders,

I was honored to assume the role of CEO in January 2023. Drawing from my 16 years with Jacobs, my aim as CEO is to build upon the remarkable progress being made to diversify our capabilities and offerings, thereby expanding opportunities and value for our clients, our shareholders and our people. Since that time I’ve valued the opportunity to continue to connect with many of our stakeholders, visiting projects and offices around the globe. I continue to be inspired by our work providing solutions and outcomes which are having a positive impact in the world today and for the future.

A dynamic business for a changing world

Universally, our clients are being asked to do more, faster and with less, whether it be managing skills shortages, tighter budgets or supply chain limitations, all while navigating global climate change and complex geopolitical conditions. We’re seeing larger, more multifaceted projects across key sectors aligned to critical infrastructure and sustainability. Anticipating the global mega trends most important to our clients, we’re leveraging the science-based, deep domain experience we’ve gained over decades to solve complex challenges around climate response, social value, resource constraints, cybersecurity, data and technology.

With the transformational moves within our portfolio in the sectors we serve, I firmly believe this is the time for us to capitalize on opportunities to lead our industry, while optimizing and streamlining our business to accelerate organic growth.

As we work on some of the most critical infrastructure projects around the world, we’re positively advancing what thoughtful, quality and nature positive infrastructure can do to support our communities in the future and how we can help promote equitable systems.

Solutions for a better future

Our strategy is taking Jacobs to new levels of success by focusing on three significant growth accelerators — climate response, data solutions, and consulting & advisory services. Climate change is the biggest global disruptor of our time, and the way it impacts people’s everyday lives speaks to the importance of how we act now and plan for the future. Our climate response accelerator is focused on end-to-end solutions that we co-create with our clients in energy transition, decarbonization, adaptation & resilience, and regenerative & nature-based climate solutions.

We’re helping clients navigate the future around clean, secure, affordable energy supply, decarbonization, electrification demand and decentralization. Opportunities around clean energy and utility grid infrastructure upgrades continue to expand — as reflected by our work with National Grid in the U.S. and the U.K., SuedLink in Germany, Fortescue Future Industries globally, and one of the largest offshore wind ports in the U.S., the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. In addition, we’re designing, engineering and delivering electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facilities for four of the largest EV manufacturing plants in the U.S., and helping transit agencies, municipalities and state transportation departments electrify and green their fleets. With the U.S. CHIPS Act and similar legislative drivers, we’re capturing aligned opportunities in semiconductors, particularly in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, as the world reshapes global supply chains. We’re also partnering with the world’s leading Life Sciences firms to advance transformative treatments and therapies — delivering advanced manufacturing facilities that positively impact people’s lives and shape a better tomorrow.

Climate change, compounded by population growth, water scarcity and vulnerability to natural hazards, has increased the need for integrated, scalable solutions for resilient water resources. From coastal protection and ecosystem restoration to OneWater planning, where we take a holistic view across the entire water cycle, we support some of the largest programs globally — like our work with the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Pure Water Project and Singapore Public Utilities Board.

Our continued focus on data solutions is crucial to supporting these projects. We’re investing in big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and generative design while building a technology backbone that enables us to add value in a more efficient way. We’re developing proprietary solutions and also working in partnership with Palantir to develop smart algorithms and create consistent and scalable products that connect predictive AI modeling with day-to-day operations and process optimization for clients. We’re using our digital products, Aqua DNA and Intelligent O&M, to assist the City of Wilmington, U.S., to reduce chemical and energy consumption and make positive environmental impact through smarter deployment of preventative maintenance activities.

Our majority investment in PA Consulting is also proving highly successful with synergies in our consulting & advisory services accelerating opportunities in multiple sectors as we discover new opportunities that deploy our complementary strengths. Together, we’re providing strategic management and technical services to The Copenhagen Metro, one of the most advanced public transport systems in Europe.

Our transformation trajectory

We also reached an important milestone in our journey to become a more streamlined and higher value company focused on addressing critical infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and sustainability challenges. In November 2023, we entered into a definitive agreement to spin-off and combine our Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) and Cyber & Intelligence (C&I) government services businesses with Amentum to create a new, publicly-traded player in the government services sector positioned to address many of the world's most complex and critical challenges. I’ve seen firsthand the world-class innovation and problem-solving our CMS and C&I teams have brought to Jacobs, and I am excited for the great opportunities ahead.

Our transformational journey would not have been possible without our experienced and highly engaged Board of Directors. We recently welcomed our newest members to the Board, Julie Sloat and Louis Pinkham. With more than 60 years’ experience between them across business, technology manufacturing and energy transition, they bring a track record of scaling ground-breaking products and services, developing organizations, and building cross-industry, strategic partnerships. In July 2022, we welcomed Claudia Jaramillo as Executive Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development. Claudia played an important role, alongside then CFO Kevin Berryman, on the issuance of our first-ever Sustainability-Linked Bond in February 2023 and, in August 2023, she transitioned into her new role as Chief Financial Officer. Her record of leadership and operational execution ideally positions her to serve in this role to further advance our strategy.

As a key member of our executive leadership team since 2014, Kevin has been instrumental in transforming Jacobs into a higher growth, higher value technology-enabled solutions provider. During his tenure, Kevin has been a proactive partner in forming and implementing our strategies and has driven strong financial performance focused on disciplined cost control, robust cash flow generation and effective capital deployment, in addition to demonstrating committed leadership to our cultural transformation.

I want to thank Kevin for his dedication to the CFO role and the entire Company and I look forward to continuing to work with him as he provides strategic insights to the long-term vision of both independent Jacobs and independent CMS. It’s noteworthy that in Jacobs’ 76 years as a company, we’ve seen only five CEOs and four CFOs, which speaks volumes to our stability in a dynamic world.

Empowering our people

To provide the best talent to deliver for our clients we must be the best place our people want to work and build a career. At Jacobs, our aim is to create an environment that supports our Employee Value Statement — A World Where You Can! This is our commitment to our broadly diverse employees to support them in being their best self and to give them opportunity to continually learn and grow. As part of our Culture of Caring, we promote agile careers to enable our people to develop new skills and unlock career opportunities across our business. Our successful and award-winning programs for our graduates, interns and apprentices, our leadership development programs and other learning opportunities also empower our people to be their best for our clients. In addition, our global wellbeing programs, tools and benefits integrate physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing, to help our people thrive. We know that the better and more inclusive our team is around the globe, the better we will be in bringing innovative solutions to our clients.

More growth on the horizon

With the major government funding commitments such as the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and similar mechanisms in the European Union and beyond, the increasing prevalence of climate response and digital enablement is driving a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver transformational change to the clients and communities we serve. With our global talent base, we believe we can modernize critical infrastructure across higher margin markets — enjoying additional market-share — with efficient, automated, sustainable and resilient solutions that help mitigate the climate crisis and deliver connected, secure and smart infrastructure through a lens of social equity and inclusivity.

At Jacobs, we set the standards for what’s possible and we have the capability to bring together the best minds in the industry. We have remained dynamic and agile, delivering for our clients, and evolving into a company of more than 60,000 talented teammates who are united by the purpose of creating a more connected, sustainable world. I would like to thank all our people for their passion and commitment to supporting our clients and delivering the best solutions to drive a positive impact in the world. I’m excited about this next chapter in our transformation and our ability to turn ideas into meaningful, positive outcomes that bring benefits to all our stakeholders.