Articles

Keynote Speaker - December 2021

Keynote Speaker

Carlos F. Aguilar, President & Chief Executive Officer

Topic: High Speed, Low Impact

 CARLOS F. AGUILAR, PhD, serves as the President and CEO of Texas
Central, a private, Texas-based company developing a high-speed
passenger train that will connect North Texas and Houston.
Dr. Aguilar brings the experience overseeing large-scale infrastructure
projects that will be critical as Texas Central moves into the planning
and building phases. He has more than 30 years’ understanding in
combining multiparty negotiations and complex financing structures
with the on-the-ground realities of engineering, construction
management and safety.

Before joining Texas Central, Dr. Aguilar served as a senior vice
president at the global engineering company CH2M Hill, where he sat
on its Management Committee and was chairman of the CCPP Project
Consortium for the Ichthys LNG Facility.

He formerly was president of BrightSource Construction Management and senior vice president at BrightSource
Energy, a developer of large-scale solar thermal power plants. Dr. Aguilar led the development, engineering,
procurement and construction of the company’s portfolio of projects, including the development and construction
of Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the largest solar thermal plant in the world.

Dr. Aguilar spent 12 years with Bechtel Corp., where he held several leadership roles. His successes included
overseeing the initial financing of the first five-year program for the $30 billion, 30-year project to upgrade the
London Underground's Jubilee, Piccadilly and Northern Lines.

Dr. Aguilar received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
from Duke University, a Master of Science degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Technological Economics
from the University of Stirling in Scotland.

In addition to his role at Texas Central, Dr. Aguilar maintains a strong personal interest in sustainable development
for the world's poorest people, and serves on the board of Counterpart International, a global development
organization.