People Moves: September 2023

Ralph Burton, a project manager, has retired after spending 17 years working for Kinetic. Burton joined Kinetic in October of 2006 as the first office member of the North Island Branch. Since then, Ralph has been an integral part of the successful completion of numerous Kinetic projects.

Raly Chakarova has been named executive director of the Toronto and Area Road Builders Association (TARBA). In this role, Chakarova will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of TARBA’s operations, including industry advocacy, member services and collective bargaining.

 “Raly’s results-oriented leadership, passion for critical infrastructure development, and understanding of the unique challenges facing our industry, make her an exceptional fit to represent the interests of our members and drive positive change within our sector. She is the ideal choice to lead TARBA into an exciting new era of growth and advocacy,”

Rick Logozzo, TARBA’s President and Chair of the Board

Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s minister of labour, has announced his retirement from politics. McNaughton’s four years as minister had a heavy focus on construction and the trades and he oversaw a 24% increase in trade apprenticeship registrations. McNaughton says he has accepted a role in the private sector.

Chris Smith and Harrison Glotman have been appointed principals at consulting engineering firm Glotman Simpson. The firm stated that with the pair’s leadership, enthusiasm, and expertise, they are confident in upholding the strong reputation and design excellence they have cultivated since 1964.

Christopher Walsh has joined Delnor Construction as a team leader and senior project manager.  According to Delnor, Walsh’s experience as a manager of a special projects division will allow him to move seamlessly into a team leader role.

Pomerleau has announced three major hires for leadership roles: Jaime Freyre De Andrade as chief operating officer for major projects, Éric Gaudet as executive vice-president of operational excellence and strategy, and Vincent Martel, executive vice-president and chief financial officer. Pomerleau officials stated that the hires come as the company is entering a new chapter, which involves more complex projects and innovations.

Marsha Gentile, director of sustainability for Ledcor Construction, is one of two Canadians to be selected as members of the new US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED v5 Design & Construction Consensus Committee after undergoing an extremely competitive application process. Gentile will be providing her expertise from a Canadian contractor’s perspective in the technical development of the next iteration of the LEED rating system. Ledcor official’s stated that since the company’s first LEED project in 2002, Gentile has been a leader in the sustainable building community, sharing her passion both in-house and industry-wide.

Christine Bergeron has been appointed president and CEO of Concert Properties. The developer stated that Bergeron brings more than 25 years’ experience building and leading financial firms where she guided their strategic development while fostering prudent risk management and thoughtful stakeholder relations. Bergeron was most recently the president and CEO of Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union with over $33 billion in assets under administration.

Rod Bianchini will be retiring from his role as chief strategy and compliance officer for SkilledTradesBC this December. Rod began his career as a roofing apprentice, transitioned through various roles over the years before joining SkilledTradesBC in 2013 as the Manager of Apprenticeships Advisors. 

His kind manner, deep passion for apprenticeship and strong moral compass quickly shone through and those three qualities have never wavered during my time working alongside of Rod for over a decade.  

Shelley Gray, CEO of SkilledTradesBC

Katie Prueter has joined Falkbuilt to oversee business development on Vancouver Island. Prueter has 10 years of interior design and project management experience. Falkbuilt stated that Prueter’s loves collaborating with clients and consultant teams to develop projects.

Reece McNaughton is Nomodic’s newest project manager. He brings nearly two decades of progressive construction experience to Nomodic’s team, having advanced through the industry as a foreman, site superintendent, project coordinator, and project manager.

Paul Garnier has been promoted to PCL’s operations manager in Calgary. Paul started his career at PCL in 2006 in Calgary as a project coordinator. His career took him to Halifax and Ottawa as a project manager, senior project manager and construction manager. One major project Garnier has been involved in is Ottawa’s historic Centre Block Rehabilitation Project