Black & Veatch, Overland Park, Kan., has elevated Jim Lewis to chief administrative officer and president of the company’s administrative division. He had been executive vice president and director of project support for the company’s energy unit. As CAO, Lewis replaces Howard Withey, who has retired after 22 years at the firm. Lewis will lead firm operations and manage IT, enterprise risk and facilities, among other duties.
The American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Va., has recognized five individuals with its 2011 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Award for lifetime achievement and impact. The winners are Kris R. Nielsen, chairman and president of Pegasus-Global Holdings Inc., Cie Alum, Wash., for leadership in construction as an expert in risk and program management; William F. Baker Jr., partner at architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago, for design innovation in tall buildings and structural systems; Col. Stephen J. Ressler, associate professor and deputy head of the civil-mechanical engineering program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., for contributions to engineering education and for developing a nationwide Internet-based design competition that has introduced engineering to 50,000 middle- and high-school students; Joseph A. “ Bud ” Ahearn, a retired U.S. Air Force major general and now vice chairman of CH2M Hill Cos., Denver, for government leadership in running the service’s $10-billion worldwide development program; and Gregs Thomopulos, chairman and CEO of Stanley Consultants Inc., Muscatine, Iowa, and president of FIDIC, the international design organization, for his career impact in management.