Andrew Brown was appointed winner in the Mentor of the Year category at the annual CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards. Andrew is a principal of Golder Associates and director of Golder Associates Africa. He is also the lead of Golder’s Reclamation and Closure Division.

This award emphasises the mentorship of young engineers and it recognises the most valuable contribution mentors make in the industry. In his capacity as strategic advisor to the Environmental Planning Business Unit within Golder, Andrew plays a fundamental mentoring role to junior-, intermediate- and senior civil- and environmental engineers and scientists.

Individuals of various levels regularly accompany him to conferences, site visits and project meetings throughout the globe to share his knowledge and develop their skills. Andrew’s ‘open door’ policy encourages team members to raise queries and/or engage in informal debates, creating an environment conducive to personal growth and technical skills development.

Andrew’s extensive experience in technical, project and people management provides for relevant and diverse mentoring in a way that challenges the individual to his or her level of experience by giving professional advice from prefeasibility level to detailed design level. His experience and expertise in institutional, mining and large industrial environmental matters has been gained during 22 years with the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) and his 17 years with Golder.

At DWA, Andrew headed up the mining portfolio within the Directorate: Water Quality Management. His role included the development of catchment management plans, as well as the development of a water quality management strategy for the mining industry in South Africa.

Andrew initiated and managed the rehabilitation of abandoned mines throughout the coal mining areas of South Africa, as well as an extensive research project on cover design with the National Water Research Commission – the results of which are now widely applied within southern Africa.