In what it terms an "unplanned event," Bechtel Group Inc. said on Feb. 3 that President William N. "Bill" Dudley now takes on the added role of CEO, replacing Riley P. Bechtel, who remains chairman.

 

Dudley

The company said Bechtel is vacating the CEO role he had assumed in mid-1990 "for health reasons."

A company spokeswoman confirmed to ENR that Bechtel, 61, was diagnosed in December with early-stage Parkinson's disease and is undergoing treatment.

Dudley, who is also 61 and has been corporate president and chief operating officer since 2008, will be the first CEO from outside the family. He joined the firm in 1981 and previously headed several key corporate business units.

The company says Dudley has been its "top candidate for CEO succession for some time." No COO replacement was announced, but Bechtel named Jack Futcher, former president of the oil, gas and chemicals business, as executive vice president and Brendan Bechtel, former general manager of the liquefied-natural-gas unit, to succeed him.

Bechtel ranks at No. 1 on ENR's list of the Top 400 Contractors, with $29.4 billion in 2012 global revenue.

 

Ohl

Phil Ohl has joined Kurion Inc., an Irvine, Calif., nuclear and hazardous waste technology firm, as chief operating officer, following its Jan. 29 purchase of Vista Engineering Technologies, Richland, Wash. He was Vista president. Venture-capital-backed Kurion says the deal triples its staff size. It is developing proprietary technologies for contaminated seawater to cool the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan and for waste vitrification in the U.K., says the Tri-Cities Herald. Ohl is past president of the Washington State STEM Education Foundation.

Dan Kieny has joined Black & Veatch as chief information officer and senior vice president to oversee its global information technology services. Formerly vice president and global innovation director for MWH Global Inc., he replaces Brad Vaughan, who has retired. Kieny is based in Overland Park, Kan.

Pennoni Associates Inc., Philadelphia, has named Robert Hayden associate vice president. The change follows its Jan. 29 buy of B.D. Abel Inc., a Wilmington, Del., mechanical and HVAC engineer, of which Hayden was president. Pennoni ranks at No. 92 on ENR's list of The Top 500 Design Firms.

 

Unger Young

Suzanne Unger Young has joined Three Oaks Engineering, Durham, N.C., as a co-founder and as president. The woman-owned firm specializes in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, public outreach and compliance, with a focus on transportation projects. Young was manager of the transportation planning group in Cary, N.C., for Michael Baker Corp.

PCL Construction, Edmonton, Alberta, has elevated Shaun Yancey to president and chief operating officer of its U.S. operations, replacing Peter Beaupré, who has retired. Yancey, who joined PCL in 1982 as a project engineer, was senior vice president. The firm also formed a new Office of the CEO to better align the chiefs of its key global operating units. The firm ranks at No. 5 on ENR's list of The Top 400 Contractors, with $6 billion in 2012 global revenue.

Frieson

Engineering firm Psomas, Los Angeles, has named Steven Frieson as a vice president and leader of its transportation and public-works teams in Southern California. He was co-owner of Birge Engineering and Arroyo Engineers.

John P. Muñoz has joined CDM Smith as a vice president for public-private partnerships and innovative finance. Based in Austin, he was deputy director of the Texas Dept. of Transportation's finance division. The firm says Muñoz was a key player in the agency's major P3 projects in Texas.

The Water Environment Federation, a 36,000-member water-quality research and advocacy group, elevated Eileen O'Neill to executive director. She had been interim since mid-2013 and formerly deputy executive director.