Tributes for Senior Partner, Kevin Harper, as he celebrates 20 years with BSBG

Words by BSBG Media Team, Thursday 28 September 2023

Brewer Smith Brewer Group (BSBG) Senior Partner, Kevin Harper, last month celebrated 20 years with the practice. Kevin joined BSBG in 2003, moving from Glasgow, Scotland, to Dubai, after a meeting with Managing Partner, Alistair McMillan.

Kevin has led a number of large-scale projects within the BSBG portfolio, including Bluewaters Residences, The Island and the BSBG-designed JA Lake View Hotel. He is currently leading multiple projects in KSA, with the recently opened Misk Schools Campus, Aman Wadi Safar, and Misk Headquarters Building among the highlights. He started his career with BSBG as an architect, and quickly progressed to a senior position, becoming a key figure within the BSBG +executive team. He was promoted to Senior Partner in 2021.

Commenting on reaching the milestone of 20 years, Kevin said: “I joined BSBG to build great buildings, and I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have achieved this on some of the most challenging and exciting projects in the region. These are the types of projects that we dream of being involved with, and I’m very thankful to Alistair and the rest of the senior management team for the opportunity, support and guidance they have given me through the years.”

Kevin is currently working alongside Denniston, the designers of Aman Wadi Safar, to deliver a luxury five-star resort embedded within the hilltops and mountains, set across a 60-square-kilometre site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Denniston’s Head of Projects, Jonathan Ridler, paid tribute to Kevin on his accomplishments and the qualities he has, which enable him to oversee the highest level of delivery standards on BSBG projects. He said: “I have been in the fortunate position to have worked with Kevin for a number of years, both as a client and as a fellow architect. In both scenarios, Kevin has proved to be the rare breed of individual that manages to keep calm and level-headed in extremely challenging and trying situations, where the impossible is expected. Somehow, Kevin manages to keep the ship on an even keel and rally the team around him with his cool, objective and thoughtful attitude. Kevin is a team player, a consummate professional, and most importantly in this day and age, he knows what he's doing and how to get it done. Kevin, congratulations on the 20 years, you don't look old enough!”

BSBG Lead Architect, Gabrielle Robles, who has worked alongside Kevin for more than a decade and a half, gave his thoughts on him both as a mentor and a leader: “I met Kevin during my job interview 17 years ago,” he recalled. “I’m proud to say I have been working with him ever since. As a mentor, he gives his staff clear guidance, while also providing the confidence that allows them to stand on their own two feet. I am one of those fortunate enough to have benefitted from his approach."

Gabrielle Robles

Lead Architect

"As a mentor, he gives his staff clear guidance, while also providing the confidence that allows them to stand on their own two feet."

Gabrielle continued: “Being more of a Project Director as he is now, his passion is stronger than ever, and he still gets stuck into every project - and even gets his magic pen out from time to time! This just shows how flexible he is in his job and his ongoing love for design. Outside of work, he is still one of the most down to earth people I’ve ever met. Congratulations Kevin, it’s a pleasure to work with you every day!”

BSBG Senior Partner, Andrew Bereza, also offered his congratulations to Kevin on reaching this milestone. He said: “It’s been a privilege to have worked closely with Kevin for 18 of his 20 years at BSBG. He is an exemplary leader and an extremely talented architect, and has taken charge of some of our largest and most complicated projects to fully coordinated, expertly planned, and meticulously detailed construction documents.

“Kevin has never shied away from even the most difficult of tasks, which have included two corporate restructures, and he has always carried himself through both the good and challenging times with dignity, humility and genuine empathy, which has endeared him to all staff both past and present."

Andrew Bereza

Senior Partner

"You could never find a better partner or colleague, and he has shown himself to be a most valuable contributor to all the things that make BSBG great."

“You could never find a better partner or colleague, and he has shown himself to be a most valuable contributor to all the things that make BSBG great. All of us at BSBG wish Kevin nothing but the best for his next 20 years here, and huge congratulations on everything he has achieved in his first 20.”

Coming soon, we speak to Kevin in depth about his journey, his career so far, and the future for him and BSBG in a feature article.

BSBG Media Team

Related Articles

Henrik Bautista and Hameed Seyed look back on more than 20 years with BSBG!

In focus: Kevin Harper - looking back on 20 years with BSBG

Interview | Celebrating International Women’s Day