Lester Kao advises public and private entities on a range of issues including infrastructure management, funding and finance, decarbonization strategy, target operating model (TOM)/governance deployment, and risk management and mitigation strategies. His multidisciplinary skillset spans across the capital program lifecycle with industry expertise that includes transportation, aviation, mobility, ports/logistics, energy, higher education, and government. With more than a decade of experience, he is committed to helping clients transform their organizations and projects.

Lester leverages data science and analysis to enhance stakeholder understanding and decision-making of large-scale capital projects. He combines extensive project finance, data analysis, and strategy/operations experience to deliver value and actionable insights to organizations. His scope of services includes project structuring, financial planning, operating model transformation, risk mitigation, and asset decarbonization.

Before joining CohnReznick, Lester worked in the infrastructure capital projects advisory practice for a Big Four firm, leading initiatives encompassing risk assessment and mitigation, asset value-for-money, global capital projects best practices, and artificial intelligence adoption. Prior to this, he was with a leading civil engineering firm overseeing capital program strategy and excellence. His clients included a major port authority with extensive seaport and airport operations on the U.S. West Coast.