The PENTA Building Group has promoted Jason Luna to project executive. With more than 30 years in the construction industry, he will continue to lead the company’s growth in the health care sector in Arizona, overseeing projects in the Phoenix area.

With this promotion, Luna also becomes a member of PENTA’s executive leadership team, joining high-level executives in driving plans to further the company’s strategic vision. Since the early 2000s, Luna has served in roles including superintendent before transitioning into project management and making health care construction his specialty. Luna also has experience in industrial water treatment plants, higher education and commercial projects. Luna earned his master’s degree from Colorado State University in 2016.

Priscilla Benavides has joined Parametrix as a senior consultant at the company’s Albuquerque office, bringing more than 25 years of experience in transportation engineering, design and project management and development to her position. Benavides comes to Parametrix from the New Mexico Dept. of Transportation (NMDOT), where she managed both construction and design teams. Most recently, she served as regional manager for the central region design division, responsible for delivering the department’s State Transportation Improvement Plan along with providing engineering, design and project development expertise for NMDOT’s District Three and District Six.

Zach Herrington has been promoted to senior vice president and leader of the Americas West region for Burns & McDonnell. In this role, Herrington will lead the firm’s business in the Western U.S., including California, the Southwest and the Mountain regions.

Since joining the company in 2011, Herrington has served in a variety of positions, including EPC project manager, national director of construction and director of operations for the Mountain region.

G. Michael Hoover, Sundt president, CEO and chairman of the board, received the Golden Beaver Award for leadership at the 68th Annual Golden Beavers Awards dinner on Jan. 19. Since taking his current role in 2016, Hoover has led the company to nearly triple its revenue since 2015 while also expanding its reach from four states to nearly 24 and also continuing the Tempe, Ariz.-based company’s philanthropic tradition.

Sundt Construction has named Summer Oliver its corporate director of marketing. Oliver will lead the marketing group and direct strategic initiatives that support Sundt’s business units. Oliver has experience across a variety of industries, most recently as the assistant vice president of corporate marketing for Macerich—a national owner, operator and developer of retail and mixed-use destinations.

Jaki Scott has joined Minnesota-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. as director of operations in Phoenix, following its acquisition of Sonoran Crest Construction, of which she had been CEO since 2018. TJ Roe, chairman and founder of Sonoran Crest, becomes director of business development. Sonoran Crest becomes a Kraus-Anderson division. The acquisition will expand the parent firm’s growth in the southwest U.S., which it says is the fifth largest U.S. construction market and a national hub for the healthcare industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Donna Riley, Dean of the School of Engineering and Computing at the University of New Mexico, was named by the New Mexico Technology Council to win the Women in Tech Award for 2024, which she received on March 13 in Albuquerque. In the role since last April, Riley also is a professor in the Gerald May Dept. of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at the school and is former head of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She also is a founding faculty member of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the first engineering program at a U.S. women’s college. The Women in Tech award recognizes outstanding women in STEM in New Mexico.

Sundt has also promoted Lisa Mann to assistant controller. In this role, Mann will be overseeing many of Sundt’s key accounting functions, including financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, accounts payable and payroll. Mann is a certified public accountant and certified construction industry finance professional. Prior to joining Sundt, she specialized in audits of construction contractors.