AECOM CEO Mike Burke was 'asked to leave', alleges insider, over leadership questions following IBM IT outsourcing

Burke has been trying to push through the sale of the engineering firm before company AGM this month, say sources

Mike Burke, CEO of construction firm AECOM, was asked to leave the firm, according to a senior inside source at the organisation.

Burke announced plans to retire from his dual position at CEO and chairman of the board of AECOM in November 2019, adding that he would remain in the role until a successor is identified, or until the date of the firm's next annual general meeting, scheduled for March 2020.

However the inside source, who requested anonymity, claimed that Burke was pushed out by other board members, who were unhappy with his leadership. The source added that Burke was allowed to remain until March, and has been trying to rush the sale of the firm through before his departure, as he "stands to make millions".

Canadian engineering giant WSP Global has been in talks recently to acquire AECOM.

AECOM has had a troubled few years, with a £2.3 billion deal to outsource the firm's IT to IBM proving especially problematic, resulting in alleged low staff morale and significant project delays, according to numerous inside sources who contacted Computing.

One source described the relationship with IBM as 'absolutely horrible'.

"The IBM relationship has been absolutely horrible," the source told Computing. "I think there's a lot of upset people, and that goes all the way up to the CEO. Even at that high level, they're not happy," they added.