Lowe served on the AECOM board of directors since 1993. He is also the founder of Lowe Enterprises – a real estate development and management company.

In announcing Lowe’s resignation, AECOM said it expected to enter in a new relationship with Lowe Enterprises to benefit from their combined capital and development, asset management, construction and consulting engineering expertise to development projects.

Such a partnership would be done through AECOM’s investment fund – AECOM Capital – which the company said played a key role in development projects where clients were seeking partners that could provide equity investments, along with AECOM’s traditional services.

Although Lowe’s seat will be hard to fill, AECOM chairman and chief executive John Dionisio welcomed the different level of relationship AECOM would enter with the former director.

“The AECOM board has greatly appreciated and benefited from Bob’s passion, talent and wisdom in his more than two decades of service to AECOM,” Dionisio said.

“While we will miss Bob’s in-depth knowledge of business operations, strategy and technology, we look forward to the new relationship between AECOM Capital and Lowe Enterprises.”