Midwest People: Updates About Construction Professionals for May 2020
Sevan Multi-Site Solutions of Downer’s Grove, Ill., has hired Paul Evans as chief financial officer. Sevan provides design, program management, construction services and data analytics. Evans will oversee Sevan’s global finance functions and will play an integral role in shaping the strategic direction of the company. Before joining Sevan, Evans served as interim CEO and as a board member at Hill International, was CFO at MYR Group, CEO at Conex Energy Corp. and treasurer at NorthWestern Energy.
Sc
ott Steffes has joined Chicago-based Wight & Co. as a project director, leading integrated teams on large-scale multisector projects. Steffes was most recently an associate director/studio head at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and previously worked for Kohn Pederson Fox and Tsoi/Kobus Associates.
Sharon Bremser has been hired by Austin, Texas-based planning and construction management software company Aurigo as director of account management. Bremser previously worked for the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation for 34 years and retired as WisDOT’s design and construction technologies chief. She will be based in Aurigo’s Madison, Wis., office.
Steve Kellerman has joined Burns & McDonnell as construction director for transportation projects. Kellerman has 20 years of experience in the construction of roads, bridges and rail systems and recently served as third-party manager for a $288-million design-build project in eastern Kansas, supporting the construction of 27 bridges and two diverging diamond interchanges.
KAI Enterprises of St. Louis has hired Mike Pratl as principal and market leader of KAI Design. Pratl had been a principal at Jacobs in St. Louis for the past 25 years.
James Isom has joined McCownGordon Construction as a vice president at its Kansas City, Mo., headquarters. Isom brings nearly 20 years of experience in construction management, design-build and leadership to the new role.
Brian Grimes has been promoted to office director of engineer Ross & Baruzzini’s Indianapolis office. Grimes joined Ross & Baruzzini in 2019 as leader of the firm’s higher education and research market for the Indianapolis region. His career spans 23-plus years with roles as a senior project manager and mechanical engineer on new construction and renovation assignments valued from $10,000 to $500 million in the government, pharmaceutical and commercial sectors.
General contractor WDS Construction Inc. of Beaver Dam, Wis., recently announced the retirement of Steve Westra, director of WDS Works. Westra spent 55 years in construction. He started by sweeping the floors at jobsites owned by his father’s construction business, Westra Construction, of which he later served as president and CEO for 21 years. During his leadership tenure there, Westra served as an influential voice in the construction industry, holding roles with the Associated Builders and Contractors at the state, regional and national level. After leaving Westra Construction, Steve Westra helped his son, Ben Westra, start his own company, WDS Construction. The three generations of family contractors before Ben (William, Dewey and Steve) make up the company’s name, WDS. Steve Westra provided advice during the business’ start and was an asset during the company’s first 15 years.
