Note: A service and celebration to remember Kris Nielsen will be held on Saturday, March 9, Noon, at Unionville Ranch Arena in Cle Elum, Wash. For more information, please contact Brenda Pearson, b.pearson@pegasus-global.com, or 509-857-2235.

Kris R. Nielsen, a specialist consultant in best practices, risk management and mediation on global construction projects and chairman of Pegasus Global Holdings Inc., died on Feb. 16 in Cle Elum, Wash., of a rare soft tissue cancer, says Patricia D. Galloway, his wife and the consulting firm's CEO. She says he was diagnosed in 2010.

NIELSEN

Nielsen, a civil engineer, attorney and lecturer, co-authored "Managing Gigaprojects," a book published last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers, among many other other books and articles.

He also was chairman and principal of The Nielsen-Wurster Group, a consultant he founded in 1976 that is now part of Marsh USA.

Nielsen was elected to the Pan American Academy of Engineering in 2008 and cited by ASCE for lifetime achievement in 2010. Says Galloway, "He spent the last 40 years raising the bar on risk management in megaproject construction."

Nielsen and Galloway also launched a foundation to fund research in engineering, business and social management. See related link for more information.