Speaker Profiles

James Barrett
Turner Construction Company

Mr. Barrett joined Turner Construction Company after completing his studies in international business and Asian cultures thereby marking the first of many unplanned course corrections over his 20-year career. In that time, Jim has held numerous roles in offices around the country from Boston to Houston to New York City. The common thread in this journey, though, is his interest in exploring new paradigms through the use of innovative practices and technologies.
Over the past five years in particular, Jim has supported and been witness to Turner’s rapid rise as a leader in the adoption of first Building Information Modeling tools, then Lean methods, and now Integrated Project Delivery forms of collaboration. To date, nearly $30 billion of BIM and $8 billion of Lean and IPD projects combined have been completed or are in progress.

Having found himself riding one innovation adoption curve after another, Jim has been, as of late, turning his focus to helping build an innovation system and learning organization at Turner that integrates ongoing R&D, mass collaboration, and knowledge management activities. This new course adjustment in Mr. Barrett’s career comes in large measure as a response to the increasingly dynamic and accelerating pace of change in the industry, which brings with it both uncertainty but also exciting opportunities for delivering new and greater value to Turner’s clients.

Todd Barrett
Choate Construction Company

Todd Barrett is the Director of Virtual Construction at Choate Construction, a licensed architect and has over fifteen years of experience in AEC industry specifically working with BIM related processes since 2003.  He acts as the head of Virtual-Works which is Choate’s in-house virtual design and construction team tasked with developing and coordinating all innovative construction and BIM related technologies.  Todd understands that each project has different challenges and so approaches each uniquely, seeking out opportunities to use new technologies to realize goals. Todd’s responsibilities include managing field technology and the BIM process on projects throughout preconstruction and construction.  Throughout his career, Todd has driven the process for clearly defining BIM project goals for owners, consultants and contractors.

Todd graduated from Southern Polytechnic State University with a professional Bachelor of Architecture.  Working for design firms in Atlanta and New York, he has overseen dozens of multi-$ million projects.

David B. Bartlett
IBM Smarter Buildings

David Bartlett leads the IBM's Smarter Buildings initiative, helping clients create more green, cost-efficient cities, campuses, corporate offices, commercial sites, casinos, hospitals and neighborhoods worldwide. As IBM's "Building Whisperer", he is a vocal advocate at industry events and in media for using data analysis to better control buildings' function and tame wasteful energy practices.

Dave brings a unique set of capabilities to his function, stemming from his professional experience and academic training. In his nearly three decades at the IBM company, he has led teams in autonomic computing, software development and internationals roles.

His academic work melds ecology, biology, computer science and policy studies—integral to the interdisciplinary Smarter Buildings area. Mr. Bartlett attended the Graduate School for Computer Science at the University of Minnesota, the Graduate School for Business at the University of North Carolina, the Graduate School for Project Management at George Washington University, and the Undergraduate School for Life Sciences at the State University of New York.  He currently holds Project Management Industry certification.

You can follow Dave on twitter at @davebart and on IBM's Smarter Planet Blog at http://asmarterplanet.com/.  

Peter Beck
Beck

Peter Beck joined The Beck Group in 1981 after graduating from Princeton with a civil engineering degree followed by an MBA from Stanford. While at Princeton, he pursued a combined program in architecture and engineering from which he began to learn about the challenges and opportunities of integrating construction and design.

After serving in a construction management role on projects, Peter assumed responsibility for the firm as CEO in the early 1990’s enabling him to pursue his passion for integrating the disciplines. He brought together a management team committed to achieving order-of-magnitude improvements in project costs, schedule, and design quality through integrating design and construction. In 1999, Beck merged with a 40 person architecture firm and began to build a design practice in all offices including Dallas, Austin, Denver, Atlanta, Tampa, and Mexico City. The Beck Group has also averaged over $655.4 million in design and construction services over the past five years.

Over the past few decades, The Beck Group has developed a keen focus on exceeding customer expectations, best reflected by an 85 percent customer retention rate. The firm has also invested heavily in strategic technologies to integrate knowledge across the disciplines which it now licenses to many firms in the AEC industry. Among other distinctions, The Beck Group has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the “Best 100 Companies to Work For”.

As of the first of 2013, Peter assumed the role of Executive Chairman to devote more time to international expansion, working with clients, and driving new innovations internally.

Peter currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Medical Foundation; The Dallas Foundation, which he chaired; the Design Futures Council; and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Council at Princeton University which he formerly chaired.  He has served on the Board of the Greater Dallas Chamber, which he chaired in 2001, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission, and the Stanford Business School Trust.

He and his wife, Nancy, live in Dallas. They have two children, Spin and John, who both attend the University of Texas in Austin.  

Paul Bonington
McGraw-Hill Construction

Paul Bonington is vice president of sales for McGraw-Hill Construction's media, a portfolio that includes Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, Constructor, and the Regional Construction Publication brands. In this role he develops and manages the MHC media sales organization; and he drives transformation of the media business to an integrated service model which leverages MHC's research and information services, and optimizes digital, print and events delivery platforms for customers.

Prior to joining McGraw-Hill, Paul was vice president, worldwide marketing & product management for Globix Corporation, a data center and Internet service provider specializing in Web hosting, streaming media, and high-speed Internet access for enterprise customers in the U.S. and Europe.

From 1994 to 1998, Paul was senior vice president, group publisher for Mecklermedia, publisher of Internet World, Web Week, and Internet.com, and producer of the Internet World and ISPCon trade shows. At Mecklermedia Paul launched five media brands online and in print and championed the emerging need for media companies to adopt an integrated approach to the delivery of content and marketing services.

Prior to Mecklermedia Paul was director of national accounts for the International Data Group, publishers of Computerworld, CIO, PC World, MacWorld, and Network World, where he managed corporate accounts for IDG's media network. Paul has also held media sales and sales management positions with Fairchild, Penton, and Ziff-Davis publishing companies.

Throughout his career, Paul has been a leader, spokesperson, and advocate for driving Internet and digital transformation in the media and information markets. Paul earned a New York State Regents Scholarship and attended SUNY College at Oneonta, where he earned a B.S. degree in Business Economics and European History.

Dan Casale
DPR Construction

Dan Casale is a BIM Engineer/Project Engineer with DPR Construction. Dan has worked on the UCSF Mission Bay hospital, the recently completed the Max Planck Florida Institute laboratory project, and the Florida International University Science Classroom Complex.

In addition to his jobsite roles Dan is the West Palm Beach regional Innovation Champion and Trimble RTS expert. His multiple roles have given him a unique insight on how BIM and technology can be implemented at all phases of construction. Dan graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Building Construction and began his career in San Francisco where he is credited with pioneering DPR's Drywall BIM department on the UCSF Mission Bay Hospital. More recently Dan has helped take the DPR/Trimble Automated Layout solution from concept to prototype. 

Frank DiLorenzo
Viewpoint Construction Software

After graduating from Boston College in 1986, Frank went right to work in the construction software industry specializing in cost management systems. After owning a successful software business, Frank decided to join the Viewpoint Construction Software team; drawn by the tremendous team of professionals along with a contemporary ERP management solution built on rock solid technology.  Frank specializes in working with general contractors throughout the western United States, and to date has implemented over 700 management systems.

Frank developed a passion for the construction industry and related technology early on and that passion remains-  “With technology constantly changing, we continue to find ways to help contractors improve and streamline their operations, and I enjoy working with professionals in our industry in implementing cost management solutions.”

Paul Doherty
the digit group, inc.

Paul is the President and CEO of the digit group, inc., a global leader of cloud based solutions for the built environment.  He is one of the global Real Estate Industry’s most sought after thought leaders, strategists and integrators of process, technology and business.  He is a licensed architect and is a prominent and highly rated speaker at numerous industry events around the world each year and has been appointed as a guest lecturer at leading universities throughout the world.  He is currently writing his third book, called “From Smart Buildings to Smart Cities”.

Gordon Feller
Internet Business Solutions Group

Feller works with city leaders worldwide, in both public and private sectors, to develop the fundamental ingredients necessary to create smarter, sustainable and better connected urban communities. In this capacity supports Cisco’s numerous metropolitan and regional sustainability initiatives, from California to Asia and around the globe, while leading several key Cisco engagements. He manages a number of global initiatives, including the company’s City Leader Program for Chinese mayors and city-based Communist Party secretaries.

Feller advises leaders on how information / communications technologies are helping to solve complex urban problems. His initiatives with customers and partners are focused on developing practical and forward-looking solutions where economics, technology, and sustainability intersect. Feller’s work is the basis of a documentary film and other multimedia projects. He’s written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines, including CFO, Urban Land, TIME, and Financial Times. He formerly edited Urban Age and Planet Earth. He now blogs weekly on Cisco’s public website.

Feller has helped to lead various multi-stakeholder initiatives and events, including in his role as Convenor of the annual “Meeting of the Minds” (http://cityminded.org) a special gathering of government / private sector leaders which he chairs.

Prior to joining Cisco, Feller was CEO of Urban Age Inst., a non-profit which fosters leadership and innovation among cities in the areas of strategic urban planning, policy, and management; and sustainable environmental planning and poverty reduction. For 30 years he’s advised on urban issues with leaders of multinationals, cities, NGOs, foundations, national governments. His clients include World Bank, UN, Germany, Canada, Rockefeller Foundation, IBM, Reuters, Metropolis.

His Columbia University degrees are Bachelors: Political Science and Masters: International Affairs.

Over the past three decades Feller has worked in various leadership capacities within the non-profit sector: executive director of a grant=making foundation; Board Member; advisor; consultant, chair of task force, etc. He continues to devote a substantial portion of his time to working with NGOs of various kinds, both in the US and beyond.

 

Forest Flager
Stealth Start-Up

Dr. Flager is the product director for a venture-backed technology start-up in San Francisco. He recently completed his Ph.D. at the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford University where he also lectured for the Architectural Design Program. His research and teaching focus on the development and application of computational methods that augment human abilities to explore large design spaces and help designers to identify innovative solutions.

Forest has practiced as a structural engineer for Arup in San Francisco and London.  He received his B.S. in engineering from Stanford and has completed graduate work at the Harvard GSD and MIT.

Darren Hartman
Thornton Tomasetti

Darren Hartman, Principal and Construction Support Services Practice Leader for Thornton Tomasetti, has 20 years of experience. He specializes in integrating design and construction teams to effectively and efficiently move a project from concept to completion, while supporting construction safety. His in-depth knowledge of design and construction services includes project delivery strategies, advanced project delivery and connection design, construction engineering, and field engineering support. Darren’s portfolio consists of the design-build of Barclays Center, New York; an award-winning 400-ton tiara atop Great American Tower at Queen City Square, Cincinnati; and the award-winning LEED Gold Las Vegas CityCenter.

Darren is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Steel Construction, and the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri.



Chuck Hixon
Bergmann Associates

Mr. Hixon is the founder and administrator of Bergmann Associates Virtual Design & Construction and Civil Integrated Management (VDC-CIM) group; which specializes in the integration of 3D design applications, such as GIS & BIM technologies, with the planning and design processes used by Bergmann’s architects and engineers. He has over 20-years of experience in the planning, development and project management of the business unit.

Stephen Jones
McGraw-Hill Construction

Leading McGraw-Hill Construction's initiatives in Building Information Modeling, Interoperability, and Integrated Project Delivery is a high priority for Stephen A. Jones. As MHC's senior director of business development, Steve also creates alliance relationships in technology and content with major corporations. Steve speaks widely on the implications of these new technologies and processes and in 2007 co-authored MHC's SmartMarket Report on Interoperability, which has been distributed to over 200,000 industry professionals. He also co-authored the SmartMarket Report on BIM, titled Transforming Design and Construction to Achieve Greater Industry Productivity, which was released in December 2008.

Before joining McGraw-Hill, Steve was a vice president with Primavera Systems, a leading project management software provider to the construction industry. Earlier in his career, Steve spent 19 years in a variety of design and management roles with architecture firms. Most recently he was a principal and board of directors member with Burt Hill, one of the largest architectural/engineering firms in the U.S.

Steve is on the Board of Direction of the buildingSMART Alliance, represents MHC on the Process Transformation Committee of CURT (Construction Users Roundtable), and represents MHC on the AGC (Associated General Contractors) BIM Forum.

Erin Joyce
Engineering News-Record

As managing editor of Engineering News-Record, Erin Joyce helps manage and integrate editorial content for the print and digital operations of ENR, including the launch of new digital editorial offerings such as mobile apps. She is also part of ENR's expansion of technology coverage and comes to ENR with 15 years of technology writing and digital media experience with B2B pubs, covering software development, operating systems, Web services and enterprise technologies.

Prior to joining ENR, Erin worked as executive editor of InternetNews for Jupitermedia Corp., where she also covered technology startups and venture financing, and oversaw the launch of new content management systems. She has also covered tech for BusinessWeek and American Banker magazine. A career detour at consulting engineering firm Flack + Kurtz in the early 1990s inspired a deep interest in building design and construction techniques that continues today.  She is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Maine.

 

Dan Kieny
MWH Global, Inc.

Dan Kieny is the Global Director of Consulting and Knowledge at MWH Global, Inc.  Kieny has been with MWH since 2002 and has over 20 years of experience in consulting and software.   Dan specializes in knowledge and asset management where he has consulted and implemented award winning solutions for engineering, banking/financial, manufacturing, education, distribution, insurance, and government industries.  Kieny holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Masters in Business Administration from Creighton University.

 
Melanie Nutter
San Francisco Department of Environment 

In July of 2010, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Melanie Nutter as the Director of the San Francisco Department of Environment. Nutter leads the Department of Environment, which helps all San Francisco residents and businesses take an active role in protecting and enhancing the urban environment, produces and publicizes information on sustainable practices, and develops innovative and practical environmental programs for all residents.

Beginning in 2005, Nutter served as Deputy District Director for the U.S. House of RepresentativesSpeaker Nancy Pelosi, where she managed the Speaker’s district office by supervising staff, addressing constituent concerns, and advising on local policy issues. Nutter functioned as the district policy liaison to Speaker Pelosi’s policy advisors on issues including the environment, energy, transportation, environmental health, women’s issues, and food policy.

Melanie has over eighteen years experience in fundraising, events management, grassroots organizing and media relations. As a Principal for Nutter Consulting, she consulted for many organizations including Music for America and SEIU Local 250. In 2002, she worked as the Canvass Director for the San Francisco Democratic Party’s SF Vote Project and oversaw two assistant directors and 80 paid staff on Election Day.

Nutter founded and chairs the Energy and Environment Circle for the Full Circle Fund with the help of Vice President Al Gore and green jobs advocate Van Jones. Nutter has been a grassroots environmental organizer with Greenbelt Alliance, the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG), and Green Corps. Nutter holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Northwestern University in Communications and Environmental Studies.

Kimon Onuma, FAIA
Onuma, Inc.

Kimon Onuma, FAIA, has been practicing architecture for three decades; building informed environments, ecosystems and cities. He has been using Building Information Modeling (BIM) for nearly two decades. His firm's award winning BIMStorms are cloud-based collaborative tools and processes used for city planning and design to enable real-time collaboration of specialists, architects, planners, programmers and the community. Kimon serves on the Board of Direction for the buildingSMART alliance and is on the American Institute of Architects (AIA)Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) Knowledge Community and serving AIA's 2013 TAP Chair.

 

John Roach
Foundation for California Community Colleges

John Roach is the Executive Director of Technology Services at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. A personable leader and communicator, he is passionate about building teams and strategic partnerships. John has twenty years' experience integrating work processes and data flow to improve business decisions and develop information systems of lasting value.

In 2012, in partnership with the California Community College System and Onuma, Inc., John's team from the Foundation was the co-recipient of a Fiatech Celebration of Engineering & Technology Innovation (CETI) Award, which recognize significant achievements in technology research, development and implementation.

Steve Sanderson
CASE, inc.

Steve Sanderson is a founding partner of CASE and the Director of Technology Strategy where he is primarily responsible for leading consulting engagements for major AECO organizations, such as HDR and Perkins + Will. His approach considers technology holistically, advising clients on the long-term strategies, management, staffing, infrastructure and investments needed to succeed with technology-enabled building processes. Steve received his Master of Engineering from the Product-Architecture Lab at Stevens Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from Virginia Tech. He has led numerous technology workshops and speaks internationally on innovation at venues such as SIGGRAPH, SmartGeometry, Autodesk University, AIANY Tech, and LA Design Technology Forum.