West People: March 2025
Ural Yal has been named the CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based Shimmick Corp. Yal brings 26 years of experience in water and critical infrastructure construction to his new role. He previously served as executive vice president with Flatiron, overseeing the company’s growth into new markets. Yal takes over from Steve Richards, who has retired following a 43-year career at the firm. Under Richard’s leadership, Shimmick successfully completed its transition to a stand-alone public company.
Skanska has named Trevor Wyckoff, a 24-year company veteran, executive vice president and general manager overseeing its building operations in Oregon and southwest Washington. In this role, Wyckoff will develop and implement Skanska’s business plan to drive strategic growth throughout the region.
Heath May has been named chief executive officer and chairman for architecture and design firm HKS. May, who is based in Los Angeles, succeeds Dan Nobel, who has served as HKS CEO since 2014. May is slated to begin the CEO role in January 2026, following a year of apprenticeship and preparation alongside Noble. May has more than two decades of experience at HKS, leading critical projects such as SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and CMNTY Culture Campus in Los Angeles. He previously served as global practice director of LINE (Laboratory for INtensive Exploration).
Emily Kay is Balfour Beatty’s new president of buildings operations in California. She succeeds Brian Cahill in the role. Kay joined Balfour Beatty 11 years ago and most recently served as vice president of operations in California, where she led Los Angeles-area K-12 and county project teams while also spearheading the expansion of Balfour Beatty’s special projects group in Los Angeles and Orange County.
Geoff Bachanas has been named president of Sacramento, Calif.-based Kitchell CEM, one of the four operating companies within the Kitchell corporation. Bachanas will lead Kitchell CEM in advancing innovative solutions for complex capital improvement projects. With the firm since 2001, he most recently served as Kitchell CEM’s vice president of operations.
Lori Dunn-Guion has been named Swinerton’s senior vice president and regional manager in Northern California, overseeing the company’s operations across the region, including Sacramento, the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. She succeeds Terry McKellips in the role. A 28-year veteran of the firm, Dunn-Guion has specialized in leading teams handling successful high-rise, commercial and civic projects. Ryan Wasell has been named Swinerton’s vice president and division manager for the company’s Oregon division.
Pat Kelly, the vice president of operational excellence for Granite Construction Co., has been named the incoming president of the Associated General Contractors of California. Within AGC of California, he has held several significant leadership roles. He has served as treasurer, chair and vice chair of the Inland Empire district board of directors, vice president of the highway and transportation division and chair of the constructor awards committee.
Nick Meter has been named president of Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Tangram Interiors. Meter, who has been with Tangram since 2006, joined the firm’s executive team in 2023 after successfully leading the revenue generation efforts as vice president of sales. Meter takes over from Joe Lozowski, who will continue with Tangram in the role of CEO.
