A Senior Principal at Tonkin + Taylor in Auckland, Chris Bauld is the Discipline Director for Infrastructure and a specialist in project leadership and geotechnical engineering.

Chris has 26 years’ experience in geotechnical engineering and infrastructure construction and has brought both expertise and added value to some of New Zealand’s most notable infrastructure projects. These include the Waterview Connection tunnels, the underground Britomart Rail Station and the Canterbury Earthquake recovery effort.

With core capabilities in major project leadership, complex and challenging engineering issue resolution and geotechnical engineering, Chris is also a proven performer in dynamic and demanding environments. He has been a trusted presence on significant alliance infrastructure projects, on bid design development and in providing advice to CERA in the aftermath of the Canterbury Earthquakes.

In addition to conventional engineering activities, Chris has established himself as a leader of value-engineering. His lateral thinking, coupled with logic and a creative approach to problem-solving, has added considerable value to many high-profile projects by providing fiscally viable, durable alternative delivery options. 

His leadership of the Second Tauranga Harbour Link design team introduced multiple world leading technologies new to New Zealand, resulting in multi-million dollar cost savings.

Chris also provided leadership to the T+T team that advised CERA on the Canterbury Red Zone decisions. This pioneering piece of work, undertaken in a highly emotive and politically-charged environment, unlocked the Canterbury Recovery, allowing tens of thousands of Cantabrians to begin rebuilding their lives.