If you had to choose your next professional destination, which factor would matter most? Salary? Opportunities for professional development? An international experience? Or the people and talent within your new company? For Khalid Bougalim, the answer was clear. While working at a transport consultancy, he met an ACCIONA manager who left a lasting impression on him.
One day, the proposal arrived: join ACCIONA. Khalid did not hesitate. If it meant working with people like the ACCIONA manager he had collaborated with as a consultant, the answer was yes. Because while all the other factors are crucial in a professional career, without talent—without people you can rely on and trust—everything else is called into question. As Khalid puts it, “the quality of the people says a lot about a company’s corporate culture”. Which is exactly why they are at the heart of this section of our website.
He tells us his story from Atlanta, his current base, where he is responsible for business development in concessions. Like his previous posting in São Paulo, this move followed an important conversation—this time with his partner. A decision reached by mutual agreement, supported by the backing of his company.
Moving to another country always has an impact on family life. And an organisation that knows how to manage that transition and provide the necessary support to everyone involved is essential in navigating the uncertainty such moves can initially bring.
This interview offers insight into the fascinating world of concessions, but above all, it sheds light on the factors that shape major life decisions—and how they can serve as guidance for others. This is the life and career of Khalid Bougalim.
Khalid is part of the same team as Borja Franco, whom we interviewed recently and who played a key role in one of ACCIONA’s most significant recent milestones. “We’ve secured the largest concessions project in our history, the SR-400, and we’re currently analysing another of a similar scale.”
Managed lanes allow us to manage traffic in a way that prevents the motorway from becoming congested and ensures conditions are always appropriate.
The SR-400 project involves the construction and operation of managed lanes designed to relieve traffic congestion in the area. “The defining feature of managed lanes is that, when demand is high—that is, when traffic increases—you can adjust the toll. That’s how you ensure that toll lanes don’t become congested and that conditions remain optimal at all times,” he explains.
If you want to explore the fascinating world of megaprojects in general, and the SR-400 in particular, we recommend reading the interview with Borja. In short, a concession of this type—typically spanning fifty years—requires complex socioeconomic analysis of users, as well as forecasts on the evolution of automotive technologies. Factors such as the emergence of autonomous vehicles, or even why someone chooses to drive on a motorway on a Friday rather than a Tuesday, influence how willing users are to pay for improved conditions.
Why did Khalid choose this area? “What attracted me was that it sits at the intersection of economics and engineering. There’s a side of concessions that’s very financial, very investment-driven, but there’s also a very technical side linked to civil infrastructure works.”
Khalid has been in Atlanta for a year, working on the new concession he mentioned earlier. But how did he get there? As always, the aim of this section is to understand where the people who make up ACCIONA come from—and where they are heading.
At the start of the interview, we ask Khalid about the correct pronunciation of his name. “I’ve been called everything,” he says, laughing. We agree on an aspirated “h” at the beginning. “My parents are Moroccan, but I was born in El Escorial.” And it was there, in the nearby mountains north of Madrid, the capital of Spain, that he spent his childhood. “I can’t wait to go back soon to eat a croquette at my favourite restaurant in Guadarrama and go for a walk in the countryside,” he says.
His was a childhood spent outdoors, with plenty of football. “I played a lot of football, as a centre-back for the Guadarrama team. I was very physical—old school, as they say.” Sergio Ramos style? “Something like that,” he laughs.
He recalls feeling drawn to numbers during secondary school. “I’ve always had a good relationship with mathematics. I even received top marks. It’s not especially important, but it did earn me a scholarship in my first year at university. Maths, technical drawing and physics came naturally to me. Chemistry and biology, not so much.”
Khalid’s father was an agricultural engineer, something his mother noticed early on would influence her son’s career. “My mum always found it amusing—she used to say that when I was eight or nine, I already told her I was going to be an engineer.”
His specific calling, however, came from elsewhere. “My interest in civil engineering came from a friend of my parents who worked in construction and travelled a lot around Latin America, building bridges and similar projects. When I visited his house as a child, he had scale models of bridges and structures. I found it fascinating.” Once at university, he realised bridges weren’t his path—but the world of infrastructure had already opened up before him.
“I’m a ‘roads, canals and ports engineer’, as we say in Spanish. Or a civil engineer in English. The Spanish term sounds rather grand, while English has simplified it,” he says. That preference for clarity and straightforward expression runs throughout the interview.
During my degree, I was far more interested in transport planning than in structural calculations.
At university, he discovered a new direction. “I was much more interested in transport planning than in structural calculations.” He later completed a master’s degree at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, specialising in that discipline. There, he developed a traffic model aimed at reducing congestion on the M600 road near Navacerrada, close to where he lived. Transport planning may sound abstract, but when framed as saving half an hour of commuting time each day, it becomes immediately tangible.
Khalid explains how that daily frustration is quantified. “Level of service ranges from A to F. A means free-flow traffic, driving at the speed you want. With B, you can still maintain speed, but traffic starts to build. With C, density increases. E and F mean congestion and gridlock.”
Khalid’s professional career began at an Asturian consultancy, where he worked as a traffic engineer. “I took part in drafting the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for Calatayud. I specialised in mobility studies.” He gives a clear example: “Do you know how access to the Sambil shopping centre in Madrid collapsed because of how its entrances were designed? That kind of issue.”
He gives us some insight into how those issues are addressed: “We analyse them using digital models—traffic models—to see how they can be improved.” It is, he tells us, work that sits within the Smart City concept. Shortly afterwards, he collaborated with ACCIONA as an advisor on the analysis of a demand project in Pūhoi, New Zealand. “That was where I met the Demand Manager at ACCIONA Concessions.”
At the time, Khalid had other plans. “I was about to move to Cambridge to work for a British consultancy. I’d already applied for a role at ACCIONA, but I had my tickets to the UK. Two weeks before leaving, ACCIONA called me.”
What attracted me to ACCIONA was its international dimension, its growth potential and the new challenges it offers, but above all the people—the manager was highly respected at an international level.
He was open to the idea, but the timeline was tight. “When I spoke to the Demand Manager, with whom I already had a very strong personal and professional relationship, I decided to stay.” What tipped the balance? “ACCIONA’s international dimension, its growth potential and the opportunity to take on new challenges. There’s flexibility to develop professionally. But above all, it was the connection with the team—especially with the Demand Manager, who was highly respected internationally.”
In June 2019, Khalid officially joined ACCIONA at its Madrid headquarters.
The move was far from disruptive. “It was quite a smooth transition because what I did at the consultancy and what I did at ACCIONA was essentially the same, just from the other side of the table. I also continued working on projects like the one in New Zealand.”
Most of the work involved international projects, alongside market analysis. “We worked on projects in Peru, reviewed some in Brazil and Spain, and began analysing opportunities in North America, particularly in managed lanes.” Demand risk and economic viability were central, and in the background, the SR-400 was already taking shape.
“I think the turning point was winning the I-10 project about a year and a half ago, when we secured the contract to replace a bridge in Louisiana. That was the first milestone that marked our entry into the US market.” He then clarifies: “Well, the US road market, because the Fargo Canal project was already under way.”
At that point, during the I-10 phase, Khalid had already moved into the business development area. A change of role was not the only thing ahead of him, however.
Shortly after his partner arrived, Khalid told her: “Don’t get too comfortable—we’ve been offered Atlanta.” The SR-400 concession had reshaped their plans. “ACCIONA knew I’d just moved, but they felt I could be a good fit in the US.”
“I had already worked in the internal traffic concessions team and on managed lanes projects. I was familiar with the SR-400 typology.” It was also appealing for his partner, who spoke English fluently. So Khalid, Alba and their dachshund—who travels everywhere with them—packed up once again.
As an aside, and speaking of language barriers, Khalid is fluent in Spanish, Moroccan Arabic, French, some Portuguese and English.
But returning to Atlanta, he is now focused on the new concession he mentioned at the beginning of the article.
After more than five years at ACCIONA, since the day he made that decision driven by the strength of the team, Khalid is now in a position to take a deeper look at the reality of the company.
One of the initiatives he highlights for younger employees is iXPA, which “aims to provide a more transversal form of training across all areas of the business.” Training is not limited to early-career profiles: “Then there’s iMPA, which is a master’s programme for more senior professionals, focused on developing soft skills for managing large and complex projects. And then there’s the MBA for executives. There’s a clear pattern of support at different levels.”
Career development, of course, does not happen through training alone. “There are many career opportunities, and I think that if you reach a point where a particular area no longer appeals to you as much, you can change. There are always opportunities to take on something new, which I see as very positive,” he says, referring to mobility between departments.
That opportunity to train and grow across different areas has further implications. “There are many long careers at ACCIONA… I’d say that around 70% of the concessions workforce has been with the company for more than fifteen years. It’s positive that positions of responsibility are held by people with long careers within the company, that internal talent is backed and encouraged to reach its full potential.”
It’s positive that positions of responsibility are held by people with long careers within the company, and that internal talent is prioritised.
Looking ahead, Khalid is considering a role more closely linked to on-site project delivery once contracts are awarded. “I’d like to take part in execution—being on the project itself, not just on bids.” While he enjoys strategy and early-stage analysis, he is curious to see how a motorway or metro line moves from paper to reality. He is also considering an MBA to strengthen his management skills if the time comes to take that next step.
On a personal level, he and Alba have been making the most of their time in Atlanta by travelling around the country. “We want to visit Nashville—it’s only a three-hour drive.” Starting a family is also part of their plans, but for now they are focused on making the most of the opportunities their careers offer.
After all, growth—both personal and professional—is part of life itself. You just need to find the right place to make it happen.