 |
Managing Construction's Financial Crisis: How to Capitalize on the Challenges Ahead
Conference Chairperson
Stephen E. Sandherr
Chief Executive Officer,
Associated General Contractors of America
Stephen Sandherr joined the AGC of America staff in 1984 as Assistant Director of Collective Bargaining Services. From 1986 to 1989 he served as AGC’s Director of Congressional Relations. He practiced law with the firm of Thompson, Mann and Hutson in Washington, DC from 1989 to 1990, and served as Labor and Small Business Counsel for the National Association of Home Builders from 1990 to 1991. He rejoined AGC as Executive Director of Congressional Relations and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 1997.
Currently, as Chief Executive Officer, Steve’s role is to maintain relations with AGC’s 97 chapters nationwide, coordinate government relations activities and enhance AGC’s involvement with business coalitions. In 2006, the American Society of Association Executives cited AGC as one of 9 “remarkable” associations in its landmark study “7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t.”
Steve is a 1980 graduate of the University of Scranton with a B.S. in Political Science. He earned his law degree from the Catholic University of America in 1983, and is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia. He is a trustee of the National Building Museum in Washington.
He resides with his wife, Cynthia, in Alexandria, Virginia.
Charlie Bacon
President & Chief Executive Officer, Limbach Facility Services LLC
Mr. Bacon is the President & CEO of Limbach Facility Services LLC, one of the largest privately held mechanical contracting and service companies in the USA with revenues in excess of $350 million annually. Joining the Limbach organization in early 2004, Charlie is responsible for the overall performance of the business and its strategic direction. Prior to joining Limbach, Charlie was the President & CEO of the North and South American operations of Bovis Lend Lease.
Mr. Bacon’s passion for the Limbach business is focused on three key areas. First, the care and well being of the Limbach people; Second, delivering successful projects and services to targeted customers so that all stakeholders win, and; Third, delivering the financial results allowing the firm to continue to invest in the future development and expansion of Limbach.
Mr. Bacon is active with the Mechanical Contractors Association and serves on the National Safety Committee with a focus of advancing Behavioral Based Safety & Wellness programs such as Limbach’s Incident & Injury Free Commitment.
External to the business, Mr. Bacon supports a number of boards with a focus on education and development of youth. He serves as a trustee of his alma mater, Utica College. In 2004 he became a member of the ACE Mentorship Board to further his commitment with youth development for the industry. Mr. Bacon is also active with the New Jersey Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
Pamela Bailey-Campbell
Senior Vice President, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Pamela Bailey-Campbell leads all aspects of public-private partnerships across all infrastructure sectors in the Americas. Ms. Bailey-Campbell is a nationally recognized leader in the field, with more than 25 years of experience in the development, financing, and implementation of projects that involve public-private partnerships (PPPs) for highways, transit and other infrastructure. She has expertise in the entire development process for innovative financing and delivery of projects including strategic policy and organizational issues, as well as all elements of procurement, evaluation and negotiations. Her advisory expertise includes feasibility and risk assessments as well as HOT and other pricing approaches.
One of the advantages Ms. Bailey-Campbell brings to clients is her hands-on PPP expertise while holding executive positions with the E-470 Public Highway Authority where she developed and implemented one of the first public-private projects. A few highlights of her work include the original development and subsequent concession procurement for the Northwest Parkway, the Innovative Partnerships Program for the Oregon Department of Transportation, the SR125 (Southbay Expressway) concession in California and the first non-recourse financing of a toll road in Canada.
Ms. Bailey-Campbell is President of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Public-Private Venture Division and is an active participant in International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association where she serves as the Vice-chair for the Finance Steering Committee and on several Program Committees. She frequently writes and speaks on PPPs.
Samara Barend
Executive Director, New York State Commission on State Asset Maximization
Samara Barend graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received her Masters Degree in Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. From 1996 to 1999, she spearheaded the I-86 Campaign, a grassroots movement she initiated to convert New York's Route 17 into Interstate 86 that garnered support from all levels of local government and both sides of the aisle. She then assembled a coalition of civic, business, and community leaders to lobby for the legislation. Sam garnered support from both of New York's U.S. Senators, eight New York U.S. Representatives, and countless local officials. She drafted the Senate bill to create I-86, which was passed by Congress as part of the Transportation Reauthorization. In just a few years, the newly redesignated section of I-86 has already created over 8,000 new jobs and is generating more than $3 billion in economic development for New York's Southern Tier region. Sam continues with this coalition today, lobbying for funding to expand and repair this and many other integral highways throughout New York State.
In 2000, she worked in 56 New York counties as the Statewide Neighborhood Program Director for Hillary Clinton's successful U.S. Senate campaign. Prior to joining the Clinton campaign, Sam served as Deputy New York State Field Director for Al Gore for President. She served as Upstate Director for the New York Democratic State Committee from 2000-2002. In 2004, Sam ran as the Democratic candidate in New York’s 29th U.S. Congressional district race, holding her opponent to 50.8% of the vote and becoming one of the youngest women to run for federal office.
As Vice President and Government Affairs Director for STV, a national U.S. engineering and architectural firm, Samara monitored and interpreted federal and state legislation, appropriations and authorizations, and proposed or existing federal and state regulations, keeping executive management apprised of potential industry impacts and proposed policy responses. She also served as representative on key industry associations and was responsible for overseeing, and often leading, industry wide policy initiatives. Samara currently serves as Executive Director of the State Asset Maximization Commission, created through an Executive Order issued by Governor Paterson in 2008 to explore public-private partnership opportunities for New York State.
Peter E. Beaupré
President and Chief Operating Officer, PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.
Peter joined PCL in 1980 and has held numerous positions of leadership in Canada and the U.S. He is President and Chief Operating Officer for PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc. and is responsible for leading all of PCL’s U.S. operations consisting of their industrial, civil, and buildings construction groups. Peter is also a member of PCL's Board of Directors.
Established in 1906, the PCL family of companies consistently ranks among the top construction organizations in North America, with annual billings of approximately $6 billion. Their work, which spans the commercial buildings, civil, and industrial markets, is directed out of more than 22 major cities across the continent.
Peter lives with his wife JoAnn in Denver, Colorado.
Susan Tinsley Bennett
Americas Tax Director – Engineering & Construction, Ernst & Young LLP
With over 25 years of experience, Susan serves in a dual role. She is currently a partner in the Southwest Area’s Quantitative Services Practice focusing on Section 41 (Research Credit) and Section 199 (Domestic Manufacturing Deduction) and serves as the Americas Tax Director for the Engineering and Construction industry.
As an industry representative for the Engineering and Construction industry, Susan focuses on spearheading industry issues with trade organizations and sponsoring industry roundtables. For example, Susan led an industry group commenting process for Section 199 and wrote two comment letters for the AGC trade organization. She serves on the AGC finance committee and represents the industry in the annual AICPA roundtable. She has met with IRS and treasury personnel periodically over the last two years in this role. Susan is also responsible for sponsor the E&Y Tax Director’s Roundtable.
Susan recently came to the Southwest Area tax practice from National Tax, where she served as a National partner in the research credit practice and focused on assisting clients in entering and resolving their current and prior year research tax credit audits through the expedited process of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Pre-Filing Agreement (PFA) program. In this capacity, Susan has completed seven PFA’s. Susan also represented three of the five taxpayers in the IRS Recordkeeping Pilot Program (RCRA). In addition, Susan recently completed a recent Fast Track in the research credit arena after the research credit was designated as a Tier 1 issue.
Her participation in the PFA, RCRA, and Fast Track processes makes Susan one of the most active individual advisors alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. As such, she is a frequent speaker for the AICPA, TEI, Texas Society of CPAs, ATLAS, CITE, and a number of industry organizations.
Susan serves as a technical advisor and engagement partner on large research credit and Section 199 projects across the country, both in controversy and in the study environment. She is currently working as the advisor on three post-Tier 1 controversy cases. She has been asked by the IRS to do industry-specific training and has participated in joint taxpayer-IRS panels.
Ben Djiounas
Associate, JPMorgan
Ben Djiounas is an associate in J.P. Morgan's Infrastructure Advisory Group. His responsibilities include coverage of infrastructure clients and executing M&A, debt & equity syndication and advisory mandates for these clients. Recent deal experience includes advising Abertis and Citi consortium on $12.8 billion bid for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Mr. Djiounas has also completed lead managed debt transactions for transportation clients totaling over $5 billion. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Mr. Djiounas advised aviation clients on M&A and restructuring transactions. He graduated with Honors from Babson College and is a CFA charterholder.
Brendan Duval
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head US Diversified Industries Group, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc.
Brendan Duval is a Senior Managing Director of Macquarie Securities (USA), Inc . in the Corporate Finance division. He is US Co-Head of Diversified Industries Group. In this role Brendan has led important initiatives such as the establishment of specialized sector focused team’s in Aviation and Aerospace, Engineering and Construction and Public Market Strategies.
He has dual degrees from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Engineering (Major in Robotics) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Accounting).
Brendan was one the original members of Macquarie's US Investment Banking team focused on infrastructure and utilities established in 2000. Between 2000 and 2006 he took a lead role on the majority of Macquarie's US toll road investments. He has advised on the origination, structuring and financing of a number of Macquarie Infrastructure Partner's (MIP) and Macquarie Infrastructure Group's ("MIG") toll road investments. Prior his toll road advisory roles, Brendan advised on transactions in the Australian, Canadian and US regulated utility sectors.
Hank M. Harris
President & Managing Director, FMI Corporation
Hank Harris is President and Managing Director of FMI, management consultants to the construction industry. Hank is responsible for the management of all of FMI and its services to the marketplace. He primarily works for firms in matters of organization, strategic planning and the execution of strategic plans through mergers and acquisitions. Hank understands the industry from a unique perspective. His background with regional building, real estate and development organizations provides him with a practical approach, while his extensive activities in management education and consulting provide him with an objective viewpoint. Hank has consulted to a variety of industry players, and his advice is sought by engineering, contracting, EPC and related industry firms. Experience in conducting seminars and speaking nationally, coupled with an enthusiastic style, makes Hank an effective and highly regarded speaker. He delivers his material so that it applies directly to the way industry professionals do business. Over the years, Hank has published an extensive array of articles and white papers on managerial topics related to the industry. He has also written two books on the application of strategic planning to managing construction-industry firms. Hank has a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in marketing from the University of Richmond and a Master of Business Administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a certified management consultant and a member of the American Arbitration Association. Hank stays active in many industry associations and serves on the boards of directors and advisory boards for several major companies and associations.
Michael Horodniceanu
President, MTA Capital Construction
Dr. Horodniceanu, President of MTA Capital Construction, has brought his leadership and vision to both the private and public sectors for more than 30 years. His experiences in planning, engineering, administration and finance, as well as his responsiveness to people and ideas, have made a difference not only in his business endeavors but also in his academic and civic activities.He has hands-on experience in the development of long-term planning for capital improvement projects and operational management programs for governmental entities.
Prior to joining MTA Capital Construction, he was Chairman and CEO of the Urbitran Group, a New York City-based civil engineering firm, from 1980 to 1986, and again from 1990 until this past July. Under his leadership, the company extended its reach beyond its core expertise of transportation planning into architectural, engineering, planning and construction management services and grew into a 250-person multi-disciplinary organization with annual revenues exceeding $36 million. Between 1986 and 1990, Dr. Horodniceanu served as New York City’s Traffic Commissioner, overseeing an agency program with a yearly operational budget of over $750 million, as well as a $4 billion capital constructions program.
Over the years Dr. Horodniceanu has authored numerous reports, articles and books, and made many public presentations. He has been listed in the Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who in the East. Dr. Horodniceanuis a licensed Professional Engineer and earned a Ph.D. in Transportation Planning & Engineering from Polytechnic University of New York, a Master’s in Engineering Management from Columbia University and a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from the Israel Institute of Technology. He is fluent in English, French, Hebrew and Romanian.
Cheryl E. Jones
Senior Project Finance Advisor, TIFIA Credit Program, U. S. Department of Transportation
Cheryl E. Jones joined the TIFIA Credit Program as a Project Finance Advisor in 2001. Ms. Jones, who has more nearly 30 years’ experience in public finance investment banking and financial advisory work, has managed a large number of public financings and implemented a wide range of innovations over the course of her career. She has served as senior manager or financial advisor for more than $100 billion of tax-exempt and taxable securities for transportation, real estate, economic development, education, water and sewer, public power, airport and seaport, and general government issuers. For the TIFIA program, Ms. Jones has served as senior negotiator for New York City’s Staten Island Ferries and Ferry Terminals Project, the Florida DOT’s Miami Intermodal Center Rental Car Facility Project, the Transportation Corridor Systems in Orange County California, the Louisiana Transportation Authority’s LA-1 Project which was awarded the Bond Buyer’s Southeast Deal of the Year in 2005, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s Warwick Train Station Project, the Pocahontas Parkway refinancing and Richmond Airport Connector Project, and the Capital Beltway Project.
Ms. Jones graduated from Boston University and holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Michael H. Kappaz
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, K & M Group of Companies LLC
Mr. Kappaz is the founder Chairman and CEO of the K&M Group of Companies a premier energy group dedicated to bringing safe, clear and reliable electricity around the world. The K&M group includes K&M International Power Group,K&M Engineering and Consulting Corporation (K&M) and K&M Global Construction Services LLC. Founded in 1986 the K&M Group is an internationally recognized leader in development, finance ownership, and operation of power stations. The Group also performs engineering, construction, development, and project finance, primarily in the energy, telecommunications, and environmental sectors.
Prior to founding K&M, Mr. Kappaz was Vice President and General Manager of Bechtel Power International Operations.
Mr. Kappaz holds a bachelor of science in industrial engineering and operations research from Polytechnic Institute of New York and a master’s in business administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California. He has also completed post-graduate work at Stanford University and The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kappaz is married to Mrs. Chafica Dau Kappaz. The couple has six children.
Conor Kelly
Managing Director, Scotia Capital
Conor Kelly has over 17 years experience within the banking industry including in corporate finance, leasing, commercial real estate lending, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, leverage buy-outs, monetization, securitizations, collateralized debt obligations and project/infrastructure financing. Conor recently joined Scotia Capital as a Managing Director in their Infrastructure Group. Prior to this, he was with DEPFA Bank plc (“DEPFA”) as Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Finance, Americas, where he worked with both the public and private sectors in advising, structuring and financing over $20 billion worth of infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships (“P3”) around the world including in transportation (toll roads, shadow toll roads, rail, seaports and airports), health, waste, water and wastewater, prisons, education, energy as well as other essential infrastructure sectors.
Conor worked on some of North America’s leading P3 projects including the Capital Beltway financing in Virginia, the Pocahontas Parkway acquisition financing in Virginia, the Indiana Toll Road and Chicago Skyway privatizations, the Golden Ears Bridge P3 in British Columbia, Canada and many of the North American port acquisitions.
Prior to taking up his position as Head of Infrastructure Finance, Americas, Conor headed up DEPFA’s infrastructure financing activities in the Baltics, Iberia, Ireland and the Nordic region and was involved in financing the very first P3 financings in Japan, Korea, Portugal, Norway, Estonia, Ireland, Cyprus and the United States.
George E. Leventis, P.E.
President, Langan International, Sr Principal, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services
George Leventis is a senior principal of Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, a 600-person, 39-year-old consulting firm, specializing in Land Development, Geotechnical, Environmental, Site/Civil, Traffic, and Natural Resources Engineering. In this capacity, he has been directly responsible for client support and development in New York City. Most recently, as President of Langan International, he has been leading the firm’s growing international practice, spearheading the opening of Langan International’s two offices in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE.
Mr. Leventis has served as Technical Advisor to Commercial banks on numerous privately financed and public-private partnership large infrastructure concession projects, including the award-winning $1-billion Rion-Antirion Bridge in Greece, two 400-km motorways in Greece (the EKPPT Motorway and the Ionia ODOS Motorway), the Pafos-Polis Motorway in Cyprus, and the Chacao Channel Bridge in Chile, as well as the evaluation of the potential privatization of the Athens Metro expansion. He also served as Director General of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, Athens 2004, S.A, overseeing all activities related to Olympic works and the environment. In New York City, Mr. Leventis’ involvement includes significant high-profile projects such as the new Moynihan Station Redevelopment, the Javits Center expansion, the new Giants/Jets Stadium, the UN Capital program, the Lincoln Center reconstruction, and the Hudson Yards Redevelopment.
Mr. Leventis holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and a Master of Science Degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His awards include the 1993 Grand Award of the State of New Jersey for his work on the Liberty Science Center; the ACEC 1995 National Honor Award for his work on the New York Hospital expansion over the FDR Drive in Manhattan; and the ACEC 2005 National Grand Award, ASCE 2005 Outstanding Civil Engineers Achievement Award (OCEA/OPAL), and DFI 2007 Outstanding Project Award for his work on the Rion-Antirion Bridge.
Ira Levy
Northeast Region Chief Executive, AECOM
Ira Levy is the Northeast Region Chief Executive for AECOM. In this capacity he is responsible for all operations within AECOM’s Northeastern Region, which encompasses more than 3,000 staff members within the transportation, water, design, environment and energy business lines.
The former President of DMJM Harris, a legacy AECOM company, Mr. Levy brings a successful career in leadership and project execution to his new role. Over the course of his 36-year career Mr. Levy has been responsible for delivering such landmark projects as the $17-billion Second Avenue Subway, the first new subway in Manhattan since the 1930s; the $2-billion World Trade Center Hub, where AECOM is working in association with renowned architect Santiago Calatrava and others; as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico’s world class public transit system, Tren Urbano.
A licensed Professional Engineer, Mr. Levy’s background includes extensive experience in the execution of diverse projects with a strong emphasis on public interface, environmental issues and alternate delivery methods. Active in representing AECOM and the industry, Mr. Levy has held leadership roles in technical, charitable and industry associations as well as on public boards.
AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services with 41,000 people in more than 100 countries. The firm is a leader in the delivery of engineering, design, environmental, and infrastructure services.
Peter Maloney
Chief Editor, Platts Global Power Report
Peter Maloney is the chief editor of Platts Global Power Report. He has been covering the private power industry since 1989. His previous experience includes writing, editing and reporting articles on the banking industry for U.S. Banker and on the stock market for Institutional Investors’ Portfolio Letter.
Mr. Maloney was the recipient of a Jesse H. Neal award for editorial excellence in 1990 while at U.S. Banker and an editorial excellence award from McGraw-Hill in 1996 for The Global Utility Book. He has also written freelance articles for a variety of publications, including The New York Times.
Global Power Report has covered the independent power industry since 1985 providing in-depth and up-to-date news on greenfield plants, solicitations, privatizations, financial closings, and trends in the competitive power industry.
Platts, one of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is a leading worldwide provider of energy information, marketing services, independent industry news and price benchmarks.
Daniel S. McGarvey, CPCU, ARM, CEBS
Managing Director,
Marsh
Dan is the Chairman of Marsh’s U.S. Utility Practice. He has served the risk management needs of utility clients for nineteen years, and has provided consulting and placement services for more than half of the nation’s nuclear plant operators.
Dan graduated from the US Naval Academy and is a retired navy commander who served in the nuclear surface ship community, attaining the designation of Naval Nuclear Chief Engineer. He was hired in 1989 as a nuclear risk consultant, and during eight years in Phoenix served in client executive and sales professional roles, leading the service of utility, construction and public entity clients. Since relocating to the Carolinas in 1997, he has served the firm as a client executive, regional utility practice leader, national nuclear practice leader, Carolinas sales leader, and Greenville SC office head. Dan was cited as one of the nations’s most influential insurance brokers in Risk & Insurance Magazine’s inaugural Power Broker issue and received this recognition again in 2008.
Mark Modzelewski
Co-Founder, Water Innovations Alliance
Francis Mark Modzelewski is a technology entrepreneur, investor and pundit. Modzelewski is involved in co-founding and developing new technology companies and was recently involved in the launch of microbial fuel cell company Trophos Energy. He is also leading efforts to launch the Water Innovations Alliance and stealth water technology company.
Modzelewski is the former managing director and co-founder of Bang Ventures, an investment firm based in New York with offices in Cambridge focused on technology investments including Web 2.0, and new energy innovations.
Modzelewski also writes on technology and venture capital issues for a number of publications including Xconomy, Boston Herald and the soon to relaunch Hub 2.0 Blog. He appears regularly as a commentator on Fox Business News. Modzelewski co-founded New Europe Ventures, a Polish-based venture capital firm; as well as the Benet Group, Leonardo BioSystems, Lux Research and the NanoBusiness Alliance. He has served as a senior executive at NanoDynamics (and continues to advise the company), Opion, GolinHarris and NRW. In addition, he has consulted for companies ranging from NanoSys to Engelhard to Mastercard to Yahoo to eSpeed to Pixar to DaimlerChrysler. He also taught Technology Entrepreneurship at RPI's Lally School of Business.
Before entering the private sector, Modzelewski was an appointee in the Clinton Administration developing policy, legal and communication strategy efforts on a range of issues as Special Assistant to Secretary Henry Cisneros of the U.S. Depart. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Secretary Daniel Glickman of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA). He worked closely at HUD with Undersecretary Roberta Achtenberg.
Today Modzelewski is a member of the Nanotechnology Technical Advisory Group to the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST),several company boards. Water Innovations Alliance, Health 2.0 Northeast and the University of Texas Technology Commercialization Committee. He is a noted supporter of the arts and animal rights causes, particularly ending breed specific legislation. Modzelewski earned an B.F.A from Boston University and a J.D. from University of Denver College of Law.
Robert Murray
Vice President, Economic Affairs
McGraw-Hill Construction
Robert Murray is Vice President of Economic Affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, the leading source of project news, product information, industry analysis and editorial coverage for design and construction professionals.
Murray joined McGraw-Hill Construction in 1980 as an economist, with a primary focus on analyzing construction industry trends. In the mid-1980s he directed a team of economists that developed the Construction Market Forecasting Service, providing five-year projections for 22 building types by nine regions of the U.S. This product has subsequently become the pre-eminent forecast of the nation's construction industry, and it serves as the foundation for other construction and real estate forecast products offered by the McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics Group.
Murray is the author of the Construction Outlook, and also coordinates the five-year industry forecast and the Construction Market Forecasting Service, which analyzes national and regional trends for building products.
Murray received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University, and holds both an M.B.A. and a Master 's degree in economics from Columbia University.
Stuart Murray
Director in Infrastructure & Energy Finance, Citi
Stuart Murray is a Director in Infrastructure & Energy Finance and has over 11 years experience in structured finance, with a focus on energy & power transactions and clients. Prior to joining Citi’s Infrastructure & Energy Finance group, Stuart was a banker in Citi’s Power & Utilities group, managing a diverse portfolio of North American power & utility clients. Prior to joining Citi, Stuart was the Director of Corporate Finance at The AES Corporation, the global independent power producer based in Arlington, Virginia. Before joining AES, Stuart was a Vice President in Leveraged Finance at JPMorgan Chase & Co., working out of JPMorgan’s New York and London offices where he executed non-investment-grade financings in the leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. Stuart received a BA from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he was named an Edward Tuck Scholar.
Bob Percopo
Executive Vice President - AIG Global Marine & Energy
Mr. Percopo has 35 years of experience in infrastructure, energy and power, project finance and structured finance in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He joined the AIG Member Companies in 1998 to oversee the project finance advisory operations of AIU Energy Division.
In December of 2000 he was asked to join AIG Highstar Capital, L.P. as a partner. AIG Highstar is a private equity fund managed by AIG with a focus on power generation, transportation and environmental service. Bob is currently Executive Vice President, Investments with management responsibility for the Project Finance Advisory unit of AIG Global Marine & Energy providing project finance advisor services to clients worldwide.
Mr. Percopo received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Economics and Marketing from Rutgers University.
Robert Prieto
Senior Vice President, Fluor Corporation
Robert Prieto is senior vice president for Fluor, where he leads strategy for Fluor’s Industrial & Infrastructure group. Mr. Prieto focuses on the development and delivery of large, complex projects worldwide. He currently has an executive sponsorship role on the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.
Prior to joining Fluor, Bob served as chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.
He is a member of the executive committee of the National Center for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a member of the board of the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation, and co-founder and member of the board of the Disaster Resource Network. He currently serves on the National Research Council’s committee framing the challenges on Critical Infrastructure Systems. Until 2006 he served as one of three U.S. presidential appointees to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and served as chairman of the Engineering and Construction Governors of The World Economic Forum and co-chair of the infrastructure task force formed after September 11th by the New York City Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Polytechnic University of New York.
William C. (Bill) Siegel, PE
Chief Executive Officer – Elect, Kleinfelder, Inc.
Mr. Siegel is the CEO-elect for The Kleinfelder Group—an employee-owned science and engineering consulting firm providing solutions to meet our world’s complex infrastructure and natural resource challenges. Mr. Siegel has served on Kleinfelder’s Board of Directors since 2001, and will assume the CEO role on April 1, 2009.
Mr. Siegel joined Kleinfelder in 1985 as a staff engineer and has been a key technical and management contributor at all levels of the company. He’s taken on leadership roles in California, Nevada, and Colorado and led offices to record profit levels. He also led Kleinfelder’s recent successful expansion efforts with an acquisition, integration, and organic growth strategy that extended Kleinfelder’s reach from coast-to-coast.
In addition, Mr. Siegel led a division that expanded the company’s activities in the water resources, transportation, and energy markets. Mr. Siegel also managed company-wide marketing, communications, and program management groups.
Mr. Siegel is a registered professional engineer, with technical expertise in geotechnical and construction materials engineering. He has presented technical and business papers to the Transportation Research Board, the Deep Foundations Institute, and the ACEC-CO. He’s also been active in local APWA, ASCE, and ACEC chapters. He was elected to the Boards of Directors of the California Geotechnical Engineers Association and the ACEC-CO.
Mr. Siegel is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering. His masters degree program included a thesis on polymer modified asphalt cement. His research and thesis was funded by Dow Chemical, with the results used by Dow in product development and advertising. He also completed the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Kenneth D. Simonson
Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America
Ken Simonson became Chief Economist of Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the leading national trade association for the construction industry, on September 10th, 2001.
Ken has 30 years of experience analyzing, advocating and communicating about economic and tax issues. Before joining AGC, he spent 3 years as senior economic advisor in the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration and 13 years as vice president and chief economist for the American Trucking Associations. He also worked with the President’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, and an economic consulting firm.
Ken writes the Data DIGest, a weekly one-page email newsletter that summarizes the latest economic news relevant to construction. He is co-author of AGC’s monthly Construction Tax News, a one-page email covering federal and state tax developments affecting the industry. In addition, he has written eight booklets explaining tax provisions in plain English, and he is interviewed often by CNBC, USA Today, Business Week and other national media. Ken contributes frequently to a variety of business and professional publications and conferences.
Ken was 2001 Chairman of the National Economists Club and is the co-chair of the Tax Economists Forum.He is vice president of Community Tax Aid, an organization that prepares returns for free for low-income taxpayers.He was one of the principal subjects of The Lobbyists, a bestseller by Washington Post columnist Jeffrey Birnbaum.
Ken has a BA in economics from the University of Chicago, an MA in economics from Northwestern, and he has taken graduate economics courses at the Université de Paris, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown.
S. Dean Whatmoor
Manager of Logistics & Resource Development, Verdant Power, Inc.
Dean Whatmoor is the Logistician for Verdant Power and has worked for Verdant in this capacity for about three years. In addition to managing logistics for turbine deployment, he heads the Safety Committee and manages the Resource Assessment Team in their efforts to explore potential turbine sites both in the U.S. and internationally. As with all Verdant Power employees, Dean divides his time between hands-on mechanical work, communications with Verdant partners, clients and government agencies and planning for future projects.
Before working at Verdant Power, Dean served as a Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley, and was the top “rookie” producer of new accounts in his branch. Prior to Morgan, his other experience includes being a technical sales representative for Swagelok Companies, an industry leader in fluid system components with clients ranging from NASA to fossil and nuclear power plants. His training and professional education for this position required he gain a solid understanding of mechanics and basic engineering. And, his work involved reviewing engineering specs to prepare sales proposals that met engineering requirements for a myriad of customers throughout the Washington DC region.
Dean’s primary logistics, supervision and management training comes from his four years of active duty experience in the U.S. Army, Ordnance Corps. Prior to becoming an officer, Dean was an enlisted Infantryman in the U.S. Army Reserve for 5 years culminating with the qualification of Drill Sergeant.
He holds a BSBA in Finance from East Central University in Oklahoma.
Derish M. Wolff
Chairman, Berger Group Holdings, Inc.
Derish M. Wolff is Chairman of Berger Group Holdings, Inc. Formerly President and Chief Executive Officer, he has been active in the consulting, planning and engineering profession since 1961 when he first joined Louis Berger International, Inc. During his long career with Berger, Mr. Wolff has worked in over 80 countries on a variety of assignments. He has served as Chairman of the International Engineering Committee of the American Consulting Engineers Council, was a member of the 1986 Presidential Trade Delegation to Japan, the Industry Sector Advisory Committee to the U.S. Trade and Development Program from 1989 to 1992, the 1989 Center for Strategic and International Studies Steering Group on the GATT Negotiations, and has been a member of the Bretton Woods Committee since 1987. He has taught a graduate course at MIT since 2001 and from 2001 to 2005 served as a member of the Department of State’s Industry Advisory Panel. He serves on the Board of Overseers and the Advisory Panel at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and on the Advisory Board of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Director on several domestic and international corporations, including Chelbi, Klohn Crippen, EA Engineering Science and Technology, Berger Devine Yaeger, Ammann & Whitney, the RBA Group and UV Solutions. He is a 1957 graduate of the Wharton School where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1959.
Norbert W. Young, Jr., FAIA
President, McGraw-Hill Construction
Norbert W. Young, Jr. is president of McGraw-Hill Construction, the leading source of project news, product information, industry analysis and editorial coverage for design and construction professionals. McGraw- Hill Construction is comprised of such prestigious brands as Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, Regional Publications and construction.com. Together, these brands serve as the leading provider of print and electronic products and services to the industrial, commercial and residential construction and building industry.
Norbert joined The McGraw-Hill Companies in December 1997 as vice president, editorial, for Dodge. Previous to Dodge, Mr. Young spent eight years with the Bovis Construction Group, a global leader in the management of high profile construction projects. In 1994, he was appointed president for the newly created Bovis Management Systems (BMS), which was established to serve the construction and project management needs for both private and public sector clients on a national, as well as global basis. Notable clients and projects which benefited from Mr. Young's involvement include the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Bank of America, NYNEX and Sun Microsystems.
During the 1980's, Young was a partner at Toombs Development Company, New Canaan, CT. He managed all aspects of design and construction, including governmental permitting and approvals for the firm's real estate developments in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey.
He started his career in Philadelphia as an architect, where he gained 12 years experience covering a wide range of building types and projects. He holds a Master's of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor's of Arts from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME.
A registered architect, his professional affiliations include membership in the Urban Land Institute, a Fellow of The American Institute of Architects and the International Alliance for Interoperability, where he serves as Chairman of the IAI-NA Board of Directors. In addition, he serves as a trustee of the National Building Museum, is a regent of the American Architectural Foundation and an Overseer for the Graduate School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania. He has lectured nationally on such topics as the impact of technology on the construction industry, project delivery approaches, managing the risk of the design and construction process and outsourcing trends.
Norbert resides in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife, Christine.
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved
