People Moves: June, 2024
Diamond Schmitt has a flurry of appointments, McElhanney gets a new CEO and multiple builders get nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year.
Hasan Youssef has joined Infrastructure BC as a senior associate. Youssef brings experience in project management and engineering, having recently served as an assistant project manager at Pomerleau.
Diamond Schmitt has announced the appointment of two new principals, five new senior Associates, seven new associates, and one new director, along with two administrative promotions, strengthening the firm’s leadership team. See all the changes here.
Nadine Fullarton has started a new position as CEO at Housing Hub of New Brunswick. Fullarton previously served as CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton and as a director on the Canadian Construction Association’s board.
Cavin Green has been promoted to chief operating officer at Cedar Coast. Green says he looks forward to providing continued support to the Cedar Coast team, its investors as well as other business partners.
Javier Sevilla Roca has been promoted to CEO of Flatiron Construction. Roca will continue guiding the company as it focuses on emerging growth markets while continuing to strengthen its broad leadership in heavy civil construction. Prior to joining Flatiron in 2013 as chief operating officer, Javier was CEO of Pulice Construction.
Mike Lamontagne has been promoted to director of construction at Westridge Construction. He has been with the company for nearly 20 years. Westridge officials stated that he has been a cornerstone of the company’s success. Beyond his professional achievements, Lamontagne recently received the Volunteer of the Year (South) Award for Hockey Saskatchewan, highlighting his commitment to giving back to the community.
Lisa Prime is Diamond Schmitt’s new director of sustainability. Prime brings over 30 years of experience in community planning, progressive green building design, and developing performance-based solutions at an urban scale, including master plans for Toronto’s waterfront, the City of Markham, and Halton Hills; and has developed sustainable strategies and climate policies for municipalities across the Greater Toronto Area and Winnipeg Region. Lisa will guide Diamond Schmitt’s sustainability approach, driving strategy, education, and analysis of benefit on projects across all sectors.
Loraleigh Kovacik has started a new position as RAM’s vice president of business development. Kovacik brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight from her extensive career in building and
transforming businesses and leading high-performance teams in the energy, telecommunications, and IT industries. She has previously held leadership positions for ATCO Infrastructure Services, Rogers
Communications and Sprint Canada.
Kirk Fisher, CEO of Lark Group, is celebrating 35 years with the company. Officials say Fisher has been instrumental in shaping the company’s trajectory for decades. His journey began at the King George Mobile Home Park and continued as he played a pivotal role in establishing the Health and Technology District and the HealthTech Connex group of companies.
Multiple Canadian construction professionals have been shortlisted for EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Pacific Region). They include:
- ETRO Construction president Mike Maierle
- Orion Construction president Josh Gaglardi
- Michael Green Architecture founder Michael Green
- Michael Green Architecture principal Natalie Telewiak
- Concert Properties CEO Christine Bergeron
- First Nations Major Projects Coalition CEO Niilo Edwards
- Musqueam Capital Corp. CEO Stephen Lee.
Jennifer Price is McElhanney’s new president and CEO. She is taking over for Allan Russell, who served in the role since 2013. Her previous roles include CEO, US of Buro Happold, and executive and senior leadership positions at AECOM, CH2M, and GHD.
Jennifer’s strategic mindset and leadership skills have consistently yielded success in her previous endeavors. She will empower her strong management team while mirroring the personal attributes that reflect McElhanney’s valued culture.
Catherine Roome, PEng, McElhanney Ltd. board chair
Charlton Mosdier has started a new position as senior project manager, civil & infrastructure, at Pomerleau.
Stephanie Bellotto has been named manager of government relations and communications for the Ontario Sewer & Watermain Construction Association as well as the Greater Toronto Sewer & Watermain Contractors Association.
We are thrilled to welcome Stephanie to our team. Her extensive knowledge of the provincial political landscape and communications expertise will be instrumental in advancing the interests of our members, particularly during this pivotal moment within the construction industry as we grapple with issues around investments, growth, and workforce development.
Patrick McManus, executive director of OSWCA and GTSWCA
Carly Guilcher has joined Trico Homes as its new director of construction management. She previously spent seven years serving in various roles at Clark Builders, including director of preconstruction solutions and director of project development.
Michael Lines, area manager for Emil Anderson Construction, has received the company’s Frank Jacobs Operational Excellence Award. The award is in honour of Frank Jacobs, who served as vice president and director of operations. The company says Jabobs was an exceptional leader whose contributions were immeasurable.
Dave Cassidy, the former president of Unifor Local 444, has been appointed as skilled trades special advisor to Ontario’s minister of labour. He will assess the workforce needs in Ontario’s skilled trades, focusing on the manufacturing and automotive industries, including electric vehicles (EV).
Dave Filipchuk, PCL president and CEO, has been elected a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. The honour celebrates Filipchuk’s distinguished achievements and career-long service in engineering.
Jesse Percy is starting a new role as vice president, special projects, at Flatiron Construction.
Brian Shelton, a current independent board member of Graham Income Trust (GIT), has been appointed GIT chair of the board. In addition to 21 years of construction and engineering experience, he brings extensive knowledge in capital transactions in mergers and acquisitions in the global marketplace.
Dave Lindsay been re-appointed as chair of Infrastructure Ontario’s board of directors. With an extensive career in the Ontario Public Service and serving as a member of the board of directors for numerous other government agencies, Lindsay brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role.
Mr. Lindsay’s experience and leadership have been fundamental to our success during a period of significant growth for our agency. Since his appointment in 2021, he has fulfilled an important advisory role for the government and ensured that the agency’s corporate governance continues to meet the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.
Michael Lindsay, president and CEO, Infrastructure Ontario
Sean Ennis will join Allnorth Consultants as the new operations leader in Vancouver and vice president of metals & minerals. Ennis has more than 30 years of mining experience spanning North and South America, Eastern Europe and Austral-Asia.
Nathan Carter has joined Hillcore Group as senior VP portfolio operations.
Lisa Grago has joined Cooper Equipment Rentals as its chief people officer. brings over 25 years of experience in human resources and Cooper says she is dedicated to fostering a culture of growth and inclusivity.
Curtis Scott is starting a new position as director development planning at City of Surrey. Before this role, Scott spent six years working for the City of Coquitlam as manager of land development and director of city lands & real estate.
Ben Temple, has joined the Wales McLelland team as its new business development manager. Temple is a former commercial real estate broker and acquisition manager with over 14 years of experience in a variety of real estate sectors. He will help Wales identify opportunities for new partnerships and continued growth, manage the development and execution of market plans, and work to successfully advance projects for clients.
Onne Van der Weijde is CarbonCure‘s newest board member. He is a veteran cement executive with 30 years of experience solving complex problems for construction materials companies. He currently serves as senior adviser to the CEO of CRH, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated materials and construction companies.
Onne’s extensive experience in the global construction materials industry — particularly cement manufacturing — combined with his proven ability to drive growth and operational excellence, will greatly enhance our mission to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions that empower concrete producers worldwide.
Robert Niven, CEO, CarbonCure
Geoff Ruytenbeek has been promoted to manager of infrastructure engineering (acting) at Ontario Power Generation.
Argon Robinson has joined the Fort Modular team as its new construction manager. It is a new role at the company intended to expand Fort’s capabilities and services. Working in tandem with Fort’s current team, Robinson will focus on site execution.
Mike McFarlane has started a new role at Avison Young as principal and director of its Toronto valuation and advisory team. Avison Young stated that McFarlane’s extensive experience in commercial property valuation and his leadership skills will be instrumental in expanding its capabilities and mentoring the next generation of appraisers.
Sean Lal is starting a new position as vice president – project commercial implementation – CPG Rapid Transit at Metrolinx. He will oversee all commercial elements of the LRT and Subway Extension projects under construction.
