Welcoming Remarks

Norbert W. Young, Jr., FAIA - view bio »
President, McGraw-Hill Construction

Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Stephen E. Sandherr - view bio »
Chief Executive Officer, Associated General Contractors of America

Keynote: Sizing Up the Market for Construction & Materials

Contractors have spare capacity, and materials costs are falling—for now. But what will happen to contractor availability and materials prices if fiscal and monetary measures quickly boost the U.S. economy? How much will worldwide economic growth affect U.S. materials cost and availability? AGC’s Chief Economist Ken Simonson will assess the prospects.

Kenneth Simonson, Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America - view bio »

Keynote Panel
Weathering the Storm & Preparing for What’s Next

This panel of leading industry professionals will share their perspectives regarding the impact of the financial crisis on the construction industry.  Questions to be addressed include:

• Is credit tightening up?

• How will this impact our clients and our customers?
• Are AEC firms being affected by a slowdown in payments from private, and even public, sector customers?
• How will the stimulus affect the AEC community?
• Will new funding and project delivery sources be required or likely to appear?
• What is going to happen to public-private partnerships and private infrastructure in America?  Is there funding available?
• Public investors have played an important role in many AEC firms in recent years.  Are we going to see, or have week seen or experienced, a retreat of private investors from the AEC sector?
• How will the public valuations affect ESOPs, many of whose valuation rose along with the public markets’ multiples?  Will they have to be reduced, and how will this affect employees?
• Will the credit markets provide sufficient funding for future repurchase of ESOP shares?
• While the AEC field is not heavily leveraged, there have been some recent increases in debt within the industry.  How will this affect the AEC field?
• Are there companies that were hoping or waiting to go public or be acquired?  How will a slowdown affect them?

Moderator:
Derish M. Wolff - view bio »
Chairman, Berger Group Holdings, Inc.

Panelists:
Charlie Bacon - view bio »
President & Chief Executive Officer, Limbach Facility Services LLC
Michael Horodniceanu - view bio »
President, MTA Capital Construction
Ira Levy - view bio »
Northeast Region Chief Executive, AECOM
Bill Siegel, P.E. - view bio »
Chief Executive Officer – Elect, Kleinfelder, Inc.

Project Finance & Delivery: Is the Infrastructure Model Changing?

The U.S. infrastructure industry has seen a growing backlog of investment ($2.2 trillion); longer time frames from project conception to operation; low productivity growth; and inadequate funding and no clear strategy to provide it. Growing urbanization is creating a demand for a new class of “giga” projects and new financing and management structures. Can we deliver 21st century infrastructure with the current 20th century “industrial” model or must a new model evolve? This panel will look at:

• What stimulus funding means for the industry
• What sources of funding still exist and what new ones will be required?
• How will the new stimulus programs impact short, medium and long term infrastructure investments?
• How infrastructure programs will need to be delivered, including the role of new models such as “strategic program management”, public-private partnerships and design-build.
• How will the stimulus bill's "transparency and reporting" requirements impact further contracting in the infrastructure sector?
• How the engineering and construction industry model may need to change to support efficient 21st century infrastructure delivery.
• Using alternative financing methods in the water/wastewater sector and the potential impact of proposed tax changes related to private activity bonds

Moderator:
Robert Prieto - view bio »
Senior Vice President, Fluor Corporation

Panelists:
David Seltzer
Co-Founder, Mercator Advisors LLC.
Peter Beaupré - view bio »
President & Chief Operating Officer, PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.
Ben Djiounas - view bio »
Associate, JPMorgan
Brendan Duval - view bio »
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head US Diversified Industries Group, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc.
Mark Modzelewski - view bio »
Co-Founder, Water Innovations Alliance

The Impact of the Economic Climate on Merger & Acquisition Activity in the U.S. Construction Industry

Merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. construction industry is a relatively modern day phenomenon. There was not much of this activity until 30 years ago. Since then it has been increasing at an unprecedented rate each decade. As we look to the future, we expect this to continue and new trends to emerge that will affect the M&A landscape. This presentation will help you:

• Understand why foreign interests will continue to view the U.S construction market as a desirable opportunity.
• Learn why M&A trends tend to develop with the large engineering and construction firms and work their way to midmarket firms.
• Evaluate the strategic thinking currently driving the consolidation of engineering and construction firms.
• Look at the emergence of the “two-tiered” construction marketplace and the implications of that evolution.
• Consider drivers that will increase the number of midmarket contractor acquisitions such as regionalization, aging baby boomers and other relevant demographics.
• Look at the risk inherent in many contractor acquisitions and some of the strategic thinking behind those acquisitions.

Hank M. Harris - view bio »
President & Managing Director, FMI Corporation

Chairperson’s Recap of Day One

Conference Chairperson
Stephen E. Sandherr - view bio »
Chief Executive Officer, Associated General Contractors of America

The New Energy Infrastructure Sector & the New Energy Economy

This session will examine alternative energy sources and how the credit crunch is going to impact the nuclear power resurgence.  Panelists will also address solutions to private power project financing.

Moderator:
Peter Maloney - view bio »
Chief Editor, Platts Global Power Report

Panelists:
Michael Kappaz - view bio »
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, K & M Group of Companies LLC
Daniel S. McGarvey, CPCU, ARM, CEBS - view bio »
Managing Director, Marsh
Stuart Murray - view bio »
Director in Infrastructure & Energy Finance, Citi
Bob Percopo - view bio »
Executive Vice President, AIG Global Marine & Energy
Dean Whatmoor - view bio »
Manager of Logistics & Resource Development, Verdant Power, Inc.

Tax Update for Engineering & Construction Companies

Today’s credit crunch makes it more important for companies to manage their cash tax burden. This session will cover the most significant tax planning opportunities that apply in this industry along with a legislative update about what a taxpayer can expect under the new administration.

Susan Tinsley Bennett - view bio »
Americas Tax Director – Engineering & Construction, Ernst & Young LLP

Improving Project Valuation Drivers

With the continuing dislocation in the credit markets and an economy slowing at a pace never seen since the great depression, we ask a panel of industry experts about the likely impact on infrastructure delivery and infrastructure project valuation drivers. Topics to be examined will include:

• The impact of President Obama’s stimulus package on infrastructure
• What is the likely impact on infrastructure project delivery and structures due to the ongoing illiquid credit markets?
• Will an economic recession lead to more or less infrastructure projects?
• How is the economic slowdown and credit crisis impacting the construction industry and what are the likely long term consequences?
• Will we see more U.S. construction firms focus on infrastructure and public-private partnerships as a result of a slowdown in commercial and real estate development?
• How will the federal government react and how can it assist in quelling some of the current difficulties in getting projects to financial close?
• Is this environment better or worse for public-private partnerships?
• Will the correction in the credit markets call into question the affordability of public-private partnerships?
• Are the leveraged deals of the past (Chicago Skyway, Indiana Toll Road etc.) gone forever?
• Do the states have to rethink their risk allocation models for public-private partnerships?

Moderator:
Conor Kelly - view bio »
Managing Director, Scotia Capital

Panelists:
Pamela Bailey-Campbell - view bio »
Senior Vice President, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Samara Barend - view bio »
Executive Director, New York State Commission on State Asset Maximization
Cheryl E. Jones - view bio »
Senior Project Finance Advisor, TIFIA Credit Program, U. S. Department of Transportation
George E. Leventis, P.E. - view bio »
President, Langan International, Sr Principal, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services

Keynote: The 2009 Outlook for U.S. Construction Activity

The construction industry is facing numerous constraints in 2009. The financial turmoil has made an already tight lending environment even tighter, and the weak economy is causing such market fundamentals as occupancies deteriorate further. The troubled funding picture is also having a negative impact on such publicly financed structure types as schools and hospitals, as well as infrastructure work. This presentation will examine recent economic developments affecting construction, and provide an update to the 2009 forecast of U.S. construction starts. The sectors to be covered include:

• Single family housing and multifamily housing
• Commercial buildings
• Institutional buildings, plus manufacturing buildings
• Public works and electrical utilities

Robert Murray - view bio »
Vice President, Economic Affairs, McGraw-Hill Construction