Long Beach, California - Moffatt & Nichol has announced with deep sadness the passing of Robert D. Nichol, the firm’s Chairman and former President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Nichol has guided Moffatt & Nichol since he became the company’s second president in 1975, leading it to its global prominence in the engineering industry as a top maritime and transportation design and advisory firm.
Until his retirement in 2006, Mr. Nichol directed the firm's steady growth, building a reputation for innovation and integrity while positioning the firm as the premier waterfront consulting engineering firm in the marketplace. Mr. Nichol was a Commissioner of the National Commission of the U.S. Section at the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congress (PIANC). He served as a member of the National Research Council Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems and is a Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers. He was conferred the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Distinguished Member Award (2011), Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award (OPAL) Lifetime Achievement Award for Management (2010), and ASCE California Lifetime Achievement Award (2013). He also received the 2005 Golden Beaver Award for Engineering from The Beavers, a heavy construction organization. Mr. Nichol’s son, Eric Nichol, assumed the role of Moffatt & Nichol President and Chief Executive Officer in 2006 and continues to lead the company’s day-to-day business activities. He says his father will be deeply missed, but he will be remembered for his many professional contributions to the industry and will live on in the enduring culture that he established at Moffatt & Nichol. In addition to Eric Nichol, Robert Nichol is survived by his son, Douglas, wife, Georgia, and two grandchildren. He was 84 years old. ###