Texas & Southeast People: April 2026
Katus Watson has been named chief operating officer in the U.S. for professional services firm WSP Global. Based in Tampa, he had been executive vice president and general manager for the Eastern U.S. and Canada regions of Jacobs, and held management roles in its other regions and also previously at its acquired unit CH2M. Watson also chairs the Howard University Civil Engineering Education Dept. Advisory Council and is chairman of United Hands of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides educational resources to underserved rural communities in Jamaica.
Manhattan Construction Group, Tulsa, has promoted Raylena Browning to senior vice president of its Manhattan Construction Co. unit, overseeing preconstruction and business development, based in Houston. She also directs the firm’s BuildHER women’s group. Justin Bell has also been elevated to director of scheduling from senior scheduler, based in Tulsa.
Professional services firm STV has elevated Jose Joseph and Scott Grogan to vice president. Based in Frisco, Texas, Joseph is a senior bridge engineer and project manager with more than 22 years of experience. Grogan, based in Pearland, Texas, has more than 35 years of experience in engineering operations and major rail transit projects in the state, where STV has 14 office locations.
Pylon Building Group, Birmingham, Ala,, has elevated President Reggie Torbor to the added role of CEO, with ownership of the general contractor transferred to him from contractor Brasfield & Gorrie, which initially helped launch the firm in 2023. Pylon has served as general contractor for several Birmingham projects, including Junior Achievement McWane Economic Exploration Center, Girl Scouts USA Vestavia Hills Center and the Regions Bank downtown 20th floor renovation.
Rosendin Electric has named William “Billy” Watts as regional vice president to lead the electrical company’s newly rebranded energy group based in San Antonio. The unit is focused on battery energy storage systems, high voltage power infrastructure, substations and renewable energy. He had been vice president of renewables at Primoris Energy Services.
Justin Rossi has been named CEO of JMH Infrastructure, parent company of Jon M Hall Co., a Sanford, Fla.-based site development firm. He had been senior vice president of construction operations at Rudolph Libbe Inc.
Houston law firm Kilpatrick has hired Barclay Nicholson as partner in its construction and infrastructure practice. Formerly at law firm Sheppard Mullin, his expertise is handling energy-related litigation.
Associated Builders and Contractors Florida Gulf Coast Chapter in Tampa has named Jason Spears, vice president of Peninsular Mechanical Contractors Inc., as 2026 board chairman. He is a 20-year veteran of the commercial construction industry and has held leadership positions at the local, state and national levels within ABC, the group says.
CF Evans Construction, Orangeburg, S.C., has named Charles Blankinship vice president of business development. Most recently he was market development manager at Samet Corp.
Jarrette Burckhalter has joined CDH Partners, a woman-owned architecture and interior design firm in Atlanta and Savannah, as chief operating officer. He formerly held that role at The Manely Firm PC, an international law firm with offices in the U.S. and U.K.
