Andrew Ball has joined Suffolk Construction Co., Boston, as president of its San Francisco-based western region. He is formerly president and CEO of Webcor Builders, a San Francisco contractor in which Japan's Obayashi Corp. bought a 70% stake in 2007. According to published reports, Ball's five-year contract was not renewed. He was replaced in his former roles in August by Jes Pederson, who was the firm's executive vice president. Suffolk ranks at No. 40 on ENR's list of the Top 400 Contractors, with about $1.3 billion in 2011 revenue. Webcor ranks at No. 64, with $797 million in revenue last year.

 

BALL

Hemant Modi has joined Columbus, Ohio-based design consultant FITCH as director of architecture. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., he is formerly senior associate and business leader at engineer-architect-construction management firm SSOE. Modi specializes in the international retail and commercial markets.

Shive-Hattery Inc., a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based architect-engineer, has elevated James A. Lee to president. In that role, the former executive vice president succeeds Thomas M. Hayden, who remains chairman. Lee joined the firm in 1985. Shive-Hattery further tells ENR that Spero Valavanis has joined the firm as vice president and office director in Valparaiso, Ind. The new role follows the firm's September acquisition of Design Organization, an interior design firm of which he was president. Shive-Hattery ranks at No. 232 on ENR's list of the Top 500 Design Firms, with $42.4 million in 2011 revenue.

 

LEE

Paula McQueen has joined transportation engineering firm Volkert Inc., Mobile, Ala., as vice president. The new role follows the firm's acquisition, announced on Oct. 29, of Ft. Myers, Fla.-based Allied Engineering and Testing, of which she was founder and president. Allied, with 90 employees, specializes in construction engineering, inspection and materials testing. Volkert, which has 650 employees, ranks at No. 119 on ENR's list of the Top 500 Design Firms, with $93 million in 2011 revenue.

Barton Malow, the Southfield, Mich.-based contractor, has hired Lars Luedeman as director of finance and strategy. He was director of corporate advisory services at auditing and management consultant Grant Thornton. Barton Malow says its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion.

 

EDWARDS

The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, an Alexandria, Va.-based group that represents the U.S. aggregates sector, has elevated Gus Edwards to the positions of president and CEO. Formerly executive vice president, he succeeds Joy Pinniger, who retired on Nov. 2. Edwards joined a predecessor of NSSGA in 1997 as vice president. He has also served as a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Commerce Dept. and as a deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Craig M. Free has joined architect-engineering firm PageSoutherlandPage, Washington, D.C., as vice president. He had been president and CEO of Diversified Laboratory Services, a Marietta, Ga., firm that provides programming, design and biosafety/biosecurity risk assessments for national and international research facilities. He also had been a project officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., where he specialized in the design of high-containment biological, chemical and radiological research laboratories. Free is based in Washington.

The Beck Group, a Dallas-based contractor and construction manager, has named Fred Perpall to be CEO, effective on Jan. 1. He will succeed Peter Beck, who has served in the role for about 20 years; Beck will become executive chairman, says the firm. Most recently, Perpall served as the company's director of eastern-division operations. The Beck Group ranks at No. 130 on ENR's list of the Top 400 Contractors, with $448 million in 2011 revenue.

Natasha Shah has joined Southland Industries, a mechanical-engineering firm headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., as vice president of energy services. Based in Dulles, Va., she had been director of the federal energy division at Siemens Industry Inc. Shah now leads Southland's energy-sector initiatives.

Balfour Beatty Construction has restructured management in its western region. Dale Pellow has been promoted to region CEO; he had been chief operating officer of the firm's Howard S. Wright units. Eric Stenman has been promoted to chief of enterprise development for the national firm; based in San Diego, he had been Southwest region CEO. Named as new division presidents are Brian Cahill, who will cover Southern California and Arizona; Gordon Childress, who will cover northern California; Dan Peyovich, who will oversee Washington state, and Jim Sather, who will be responsible for operations in Oregon.