As a college student, David L. Richter dreamed of being a developer of urban skylines and an entrepreneur á la Trump and Rouse. He became an engineer and lawyer instead and landed in the family business—claims consultant and project manager Hill International Inc., Marlton, N.J. But now, as a key half of Hill’s top management team along with his father Irvin E. Richter, David aims to create a project management megafirm and is altering landscapes around the world as well as in the construction industry.
In the last three decades, Hill International has morphed from a one-person claims consulting firm that the senior Richter started at home to a global project manager with 1,500 employees in 70 offices and projections of $300 million in 2007 revenue. The firm rose seven places on ENR’s List of the Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms, with $197.6 million in revenue last year.