Unless, you have ever needed a study done of traffic patterns, planned an underground garage, wanted to design a public park, desperately wanted to regrade a highway, or control traffic flow around a sports stadium, it is highly doubtful that you will know who David Nickle is before the Women's Conference. But you won't forget him once you heard him speak.

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma now living in and around New York, Nickle is Associate Vice President of Engineering for AECOM, the world's largest architectural and engineering firm in the world. Because it's nearly a genetic trait in his family, Nickle has been practicing as an engineer since he was 14. Not surprisingly, he is unfailingly pragmatic, logical, a clear-eyed an unwavering linear thinker who is nearly addicted to finding workable solutions. He is diligent, confident and committed. This is not just how Nickle sees work. This is how he sees life.

When faced with personal issues, Nickle has an uncanny ability to edit histrionics, prejudices, past histories, and focus on the situation at hand and respond with a level of assurance that people find remarkably calming. The added facts that he is ridiculously handsome, incredibly bright, drily humorous, and fiercely loyal, doesn't hurt his powers of persuasion either. He and Hal Rubenstein have been together nearly 14 years. "He's never getting rid of me", says Nickle. Rubenstein says that's fine by him.