Executive Chairman of the Board + Founder
Since founding the firm in his basement in 1977, Mal’s entrepreneurial spirit quickly propelled McLaren Engineering Group to the forefront of the AEC industry. His vision built the foundation which enables us to provide an unparalleled line of quality services and make positive impacts on communities worldwide.
Today, as Executive Chairman of the Board, Mal provides strategic advisory oversight as he heads the firm’s Board of Directors.
In the early days, Mal was a driving force behind the concept of the “engineer-as-diver” profession, combining his passion for recreational diving with his skills as a professional engineer to offer underwater investigative services. Since then, his out-of-the-box thinking, passion for innovation, and technical excellence quickly launched an ever-growing engineering empire that has expanded to diverse markets and offices worldwide.
Throughout his career, Mal has led the design and engineering of some of the world’s most important bridges, structures, waterfront developments, and entertainment venues. Highlights include a pair of 100-foot tall animatronic Cranes in Sentosa Bay, Singapore, comprehensive work on 95 percent of New York City’s ferry landings, concert stages for The Rolling Stones, development of the famous MECU Pier 6 Pavilion in Baltimore, and a feasibility study on an urban aerial ropeway gondola that seeks to revolutionize transportation infrastructure. A pioneer in delivering bridge construction by the Design-Build method, Mal also led the firm in the first DB bridge project in New York State.
I started McLaren Engineering Group when I was 25 years old with a slide rule in one hand and a shovel in the other. Four decades later, I’m proud to say that the firm has developed beyond my expectations and continues that trajectory of growth by adding more iconic projects to our portfolio and strategically expanding our service line offerings with some of the top talent in the industry. The entrepreneurial basis for our success is the ability to recognize opportunities, and act on them. I am very pleased that this spirit has been captured by our next generation of leaders at McLaren.
The award recognizes Mal’s outstanding contributions to further advance the engineering profession from helping foster STEM talent through early education and awareness with the Engineering Expo to being involved in various industry organizations aimed at bettering new policy decisions and ways to harness the exponential acceleration of technology.
Congratulations to Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board, Malcolm McLaren, PE, winner of the National Society of Professional Engineers – NY (Rockland Chapter) 2022 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD!
Accountability is most important when evaluating innovations related to design. A lesson learned is it is a mistake to assume the originator of the innovation will be accountable for the outcome.
“I started McLaren Engineering Group when I was 25 years old with a slide rule in one hand and a shovel in the other,” said McLaren. “Four decades later… I am very pleased that this spirit has been captured by our next generation of leaders at McLaren.”
Modern urban planning has been struggling to rise above the challenges being posed by urban density, economic constraints, geographic barriers and an ever-growing carbon footprint. Major metropolitan areas in the United States grappling with congestion and traffic issues have recently begun considering a progressive, cost-effective and innovative way to move people—urban aerial ropeway gondolas.
The Capital District in New York represents an ideal location for an aerial ropeway installation.
The National Academy of Construction (NAC) today announced that it has elected Malcolm G. McLaren, the CEO of McLaren Engineering Group, to its 2019 class. Mal McLaren is the only Professional Engineer from New Jersey that has been inducted into NAC’s 2019 class.
The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) recently held the 5th Annual Best Practice Conference to salute business leadership in West Orange, New Jersey. “We became an Employee Owned Company five years ago, an ESOP, said Mal. “
Want to know the real story behind how our founder got his start? Malcolm McLaren told Site Selection Magazine about his first professional engineer diving job up a live sewer outfall in the Hudson River. He also shares stories from the firm’s post-9/11 disaster recovery work, his idea for a Gondola connecting Albany, designing terminals for NYC’s new ferry service, and creating a floating GlassBarge to commemorate Corning’s 150-year anniversary.
The Waterfront Alliance honored Malcolm G. McLaren, president and CEO, McLaren Engineering Group, with the 2016 Heroes of the Harbor award on 5 October 2016.