Succession Boosts David Mortenson, 49, to Chairman of Mortenson Construction
David Mortenson has been elevated to chairman of M.A. Mortenson Construction Co., as part of the family-owned Minneapolis building contracting giant's planned succession. His father, M. A. “Mort” Mortenson Jr., who was in the role since 1976, now is chairman emeritus. Formerly president, David Mortenson joined the firm in 1991 and was project director of the landmark Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Tom Gunkel remains CEO, and former Chief Operating Officer Dan Johnson is president. Tom Wacker is elevated to COO from senior vice president. Mortenson has 3,800 employees in the US and Canada and $2.5 billion in revenue, it says.
Global design firm Louis Berger, Morristown, N.J., has announced a succession as ofJuly 1 when President and CEO Nicholas J. Masucci becomes chairman. Named CEO is D. James Stamatis, its international operating company president since 2012. Thomas Topolski, executive vice president and managing director for the Middle East and North Africa also since 2012, will replace Stamatis and be based in Paris.
As it prepares for an anticipated start of construction in early 2017 of a high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham, England with an extension to Manchester, UK-based developer-builder HS2 Ltd. has named several new top executives. Nigel McKay has joined the firm as head of construction procurement, according to UK industry publication Building. He had been procurement chief at Lend Lease. Jonathan Crone is named director of the firm's program management office; he had been an executive at Foster Wheeler Energy. Colin Morris has joined the firm as program delivery strategy director. Most recently, he led work for consultant EC Harris with the Saudi government, according to Building. The HS2 line is set to become one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects.
Charles H. Beauduy now is president of Ganflec Architects & Engineers Inc., the design unit of Harrisburg, Pa., engineering firm Gannett Fleming Inc. He succeeds Joseph G. Botchie, who retired in 2014. Beauduy joined the firm in 1980.
Parsons Brinckerhoff has named Karen J. Hedlund, former deputy administrator ofthe Federal Railroad Administration, as director of public-private partnerships (P3s) in its strategic consulting group based in New York City. The firm now is part of Montreal-based WSP Globa
Professional Service Industries Inc. (PSI), the Oak Brook, Ill., consultant has named David L. Orr as senior vice president in its national sales group. Based in Orlando, he had been director of corporate business development for American Water, the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility company in the US.
As part of a restructuring, Hill International, Marlton, N.J., has elevated Raouf S. Ghali to chief operating officer, responsible for all global units. He is based inAthens. Thomas J. Spearing III now is Americas regional president for the firm’s project management group and Dubai-based Mohammed Al Rais is named Middle East regional president, both newly-created positions. The firm also has named eight new senior vice presidents at global locations: Luis Lugo Jr. and Thomas Hofbauer in its construction claims group; Douglas Traver, Daniel J. Heilig, Emmanouil Kotsifis and Joseph A. Naughton in its project management group; Wiliam Screnci in its finance group; and Elizabeth J. Zipf in its proposal and marketing group.
Valerie Cataffa has been elevated to president and chief operating officer of Baltimore-based design and planning firm DDG. She had been vice president and director of operations. Cataffa remains a director and has been a company shareholder since 2003.
Apex Cos. LLC, a Rockville, Md.-based national energy and environmental consultant, has named eight new vice presidents as part of a national expansion: Lynn Arneson, Jay Borkland, Peter M. Granholm, Daniel Smith, John Strecker, Michael Sullivan, and Michael Yost and Ned Young.
