Burns & McDonnell Announces New Leadership Class

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Burns & McDonnell is promoting 14 employee-owners, from both the firm's world headquarters in Kansas City and regional offices across the country, to principal. The position represents less than 3.5 percent of the firm's population of more than 6,000. Employee-owners are selected based on demonstrated exceptional performance and technical excellence, as well as acknowledgement of future leadership roles contributing to the growing success of Burns & McDonnell.

"Being a principal is an honor and a responsibility," says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO, Burns & McDonnell. "These individuals lead and inspire others by demonstrating exceptional performance and technical excellence, while bringing our ethics and culture to life each day for our clients, community and each other."

The new principals are:

Robert Bonar, Global Facilities, San Francisco
With more than 25 years of design-build, commissioning and operations experience, Robert Bonar leads the Burns & McDonnell mission critical practice from San Francisco. He is responsible for data center design and construction services, as well as managing programs and projects for large technology clients. Bonar works across various regions and disciplines to develop teams that work together on national and global data center programs. Bonar holds two bachelor's degrees in civil and mechanical engineering from Lehigh University, as well as a master's degree in business administration (MBA) in finance from Vanderbilt University. 

Dana Book, Transmission & Distribution, Kansas City
As director of pipeline services, Dana Book specializes in routing, design, procurement, construction services, permitting and land acquisition for pipeline projects. In his work with the Transmission & Distribution Group, he specializes in pipeline projects within the oil and gas industry. Book works on a variety of pipeline and facility projects, with an emphasis on natural gas utility and natural gas transmission clients, where he is responsible for design and construction services.  Book holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 

Meghan Calabro, Transmission & Distribution, Kansas City
As director of distribution modernization, Meghan Calabro works with electric utilities to prepare the grid for some of the biggest challenges in its existence – aging distribution infrastructure, major regulatory changes, proliferation of distributed energy resources and demands for increased reliability and resiliency. Prior to her current role, she managed the Networks, Integration & Automation department, where she led a department of more than 100 engineers, drafters, designers, specialists and field employees. Her department helped electric utilities to build out reliable, secure, private communications infrastructure. Calabro holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, as well as a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Jeff DeWitt, Energy, Denver
Jeff DeWitt is the regional manager for the Energy Group in Denver for Burns & McDonnell leading strategic initiatives, as well as the team and business development. DeWitt has served as a project manager for a number of energy projects and specializes in feasibility, concept development, cost estimating and technical evaluation. Providing leadership, DeWitt works to enhance all facets of project development, execution and delivery for the power market. He has experience leading the integration of project teams from all Burns & McDonnell office locations, including foreign subsidiaries. Additionally, DeWitt served as project manager alongside the owner for the Ivanpah Solar Thermal Project, which went on to win Power Magazine's Project of the Year in 2013.  DeWitt holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

Dotun Famakinwa, Transmission & Distribution, Atlanta
Dotun Famakinwa is the regional Transmission & Distribution manager in Atlanta for Burns & McDonnell. With more than 20 years of experience, Famakinwa specializes in engineering management, electrical substation engineering, power plant controls system design and power plant development. He has served as project manager, assistant project manager and lead project engineer on projects that involve planning, scheduling, conducting and coordinating detailed phases of substation engineering work. He is regularly tapped to lead a range of projects including power plant and industrial distribution system upgrades, which are vital to the electrical infrastructure of the region. Famakinwa has worked for diverse clients across the Southeast including various investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives and municipalities. Famakinwa holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Kansas.

Kelli Haden, Accounting & Finance, Kansas City
Kelli Haden oversees payroll, accounts payable and financial reporting/general ledger functions as controller of financial reporting in the corporate accounting department for Burns & McDonnell. Haden oversees the monthly financial close process, including the consolidation of multiple foreign and domestic entities. Additionally, she joined the second class of Burns & McDonnell's Emerging Leaders in 2017, a prestigious leadership program developed in part by Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. Haden holds a master's degree in accounting and information systems from the University of Kansas.  

Seth Hanebutt, Global Facilities, Kansas City
Seth Hanebutt is the Manager of Projects for the Food & Consumer Products group and leads a group of engineer-procure-construct (EPC) project managers and project engineers. He and his team execute diverse projects, including feasibility studies, preliminary engineering projects, and EPC projects for clients in the food and consumer products industry. Hanebutt is tasked with project execution planning, organizing and staffing projects, procurement activities for equipment and subcontracts, construction, budget and schedule progress tracking. He has served in roles of EPC lead mechanical engineer, EPC project engineer, business development manager and EPC project manager. Additionally, Hanebutt has international project experience in Canada and Mexico. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology.

Bryan Hawthorne, Business & Technology Solutions, Kansas City
Based at Burns & McDonnell's world headquarters in Kansas City, Bryan Hawthorne is the operations and finance manager for the Business & Technology Solutions (BTS) Group, responsible for the day-to-day operations across Kansas City and eight regional offices. He leads a team focused on assisting clients with capital asset planning, grid modernization, transmission system planning, power supply planning, due diligence reviews, strategic siting assistance, cyber and physical security solutions and technology consulting. Prior to his current role, Hawthorne provided project management services for traditional fossil-fueled power generation projects and renewable energy projects including solar, wind and biomass generation. He has worked for several prominent clients including completing an alternative energy feasibility study for the Coachella Valley Water District and conducting a capital projects long-range forecast for Arizona Public Service. Hawthorne's role in BTS had him manage both operations in the western and southwest regions before moving to his current role of overseeing the overall operational aspects of the BTS global practice. Hawthorne holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Todd Hunt, Construction/Design Business, Kansas City
Todd Hunt is a senior project manager in the Construction Design-Build group at Burns & McDonnell. With more than 26 years of experience, he specializes in project management, project controls, construction management and design in the commercial construction industry. Hunt has been involved in all phases of major engineer-procure-construct (EPC) transmission line and substation construction projects. Working with a myriad of clients, he manages the coordination of governmental agencies, contractors and material suppliers. Hunt worked on the Northwest Transmission Line Project for BC Hydro, working as a project director for the management of the transmission line running through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Hunt holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology.   

Julie Lorenz, Transportation, Kansas City
Julie Lorenz is a strategic consultant with Burns & McDonnell and a leader in the transportation industry. With more than 20 years of experience in developing communication, public affairs and policy development, she leads the Strategic Planning and Policy group which delivers communication and business consulting services to public and private sector clients throughout the country. Lorenz has helped drive key national initiatives with dozens of organizations ranging from the Federal Highway Administration to the Transportation Research Board. She holds a bachelor's degree in both psychology and business administration from Drury University, as well as a master's degree in organizational psychology from the University of Kansas.

Dana Steph, Transmission & Distribution, Houston
Dana Steph is the Transmission & Distribution manager of Business Development in the Houston regional office. As a Professional Engineer, his background includes the engineering and project management for a variety of transmission and distribution projects for clients nationwide. Successful in both business development and project management, Steph has continually expanded business and led the way to developing several customers into core clients. Additionally, Steph's professional accomplishments include serving as a chair in the Corporate Citizen Committee and graduating from Burns & McDonnell's Emerging Leaders program, as well as the Western Energy Institute's Business Acumen for Emerging Leaders. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in structural design from Texas A&M University. 

Jason Turner, Oil, Gas & Chemical, Kansas City
Jason Turner is an EPC project manager based in Burns & McDonnell's world headquarters in Kansas City. Joining Burns & McDonnell 17 years ago, Turner has extensive experience coordinating and leading all aspects of engineering, procurement and construction across a variety of clients, project types and regional offices. Turner delivered a success NGL Fractionation project for ONEOK in Bushton, Kan. Most recently, Jason has completed several large refining projects for Valero including a crude unit in Corpus Christi, Texas ($350 million total installed cost) and alkylation unit in Houston ($250 million total installed cost). These projects utilized engineering, procurement and construction teams from Kansas City, Houston and India. Turner holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Pasanthi Vidyasagara, Energy, Phoenix
Pasanthi Vidyasagara is the electrical department manager for the Energy Global Practice in the Phoenix Burns & McDonnell office. With over 17 years of experience, she leads a team of electrical engineers who focus on executing capital improvement projects for energy clients in the southwest region. As the department manager, she provides leadership and guidance to her team in performing electrical designs for energy systems, writing technical specifications and creating construction drawings, specifications and other contract documents. Vidyasagara has also served as project manager and lead engineer on a variety of multi-disciplinary design projects including GSU Transformer Replacements, medium voltage equipment replacements, as well as Arc Flash Studies and control system replacements. Vidyasagara served as the lead electrical engineer on an environmental improvement project at the APS Cholla Power Plant that won the Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies in Arizona. Her professional accomplishments include being selected to Burns & McDonnell's Emerging Leaders program and receiving the 2018 Outstanding Women in Business Award from the Phoenix Business Journal. Vidyasagara holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Northern Illinois University. 

Rob Young, Environmental Services, New England 
Rob Young is the regional Environmental Services manager of Burns & McDonnell in the Northeast. Based out of Wallingford, Connecticut, Young has had more than 20 years of experience managing permitting, construction, remediation and auditing energy projects throughout the United States and the Bahamas. He and his team have successfully permitted and managed compliance on over $14 billion of energy projects over the last 10 years. In addition to his experience managing siting, permitting and compliance projects, Young has also managed multimedia environmental, health and safety management system development and audits. Young has worked on a diverse set of projects in the electric and gas industry including the Massachusetts Solar Program for Eversource Energy, where he was responsible for managing the siting, permitting and constructing of 19 utility scale solar facilities in less than 18 months. Young holds his bachelor's degree in biology and environmental studies from Central Connecticut State University.

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About Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies made up of more than 6,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be on Fortune's 2018 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit burnsmcd.com.

Contact:  Lydia Schroeder, Burns & McDonnell
812-630-0796
[email protected]  

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