KANSAS CITY, Missouri — After another record-breaking year for Burns & McDonnell, the 100% employee-owned engineering, construction and architecture firm is announcing several key leadership promotions to senior vice president and vice president. These individuals contributed to a year that produced $7 billion (up from $4.8 billion in 2021) in revenue and $8.2 billion (up from $5.7 billion in 2021) in sales. The firm also supports 19,000 projects and hired 2,400 people in 2022.

The development of critical infrastructure has been a primary business of Burns & McDonnell for 125 years. As infrastructure needs continually evolve, the firm is seeing strong growth from integrated engineer-procure-construct projects, the mission critical and oil & gas markets, the push toward decarbonization, logistics and supply chain alterations; and the transformation to the digital world.

“2022 was a year of incredible growth and performance — including safety, revenue and community impact,” says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO, Burns & McDonnell. “For us, success starts with our people and our employee ownership. We care about our employee-owners, our firm, our community and our clients. This is the 125th anniversary of our firm and we will continue to build on that tradition and our entrepreneurial spirit.”

Promoted to senior vice president:

Dave Barr leads the federal business for the firm, which includes programs for the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense (DOD). He also works with project teams to grow the firm's business nationally and internationally for federal and military agencies. Barr, who joined Burns & McDonnell in 2010, has more than 30 years of experience in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Chris Baxter is a licensed attorney and the vice president of risk management for the firm, overseeing the project risk management evaluation process and insurance program. He also serves as general counsel for the firm’s international subsidiaries and operations. He is also a mechanical engineer who has worked on design, construction and management of both small and large industrial, municipal and manufacturing projects.

Oko Buckle leads the Southeast operations at the firm. With more than 25 years of experience in the AEC industry, his project experience lies primarily in the power delivery sector, including substation design and construction projects. Since joining Burns & McDonnell in 2006, Buckle has been instrumental in the growth of the Southeast region with eight office locations and more than 400 employee-owners under his leadership.

Patrick Edwards leads the firm’s Southwest region, developing and implementing strategies that promote long-term sustainable growth. Edwards has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, focusing on energy, manufacturing, commercial, infrastructure and public programs. Edwards’ works to promote exceptional client service and develop best-in-class leaders.

Dan Korinek manages the Denver and Pacific Northwest regions, leading a team of engineering and construction professionals and scientists, providing services to a broad range of communities, industries and companies. These offices offer the full array of business lines provided by Burns & McDonnell with an emphasis on alternative delivery project execution.  Korinek has spent his entire 34-year career at Burns & McDonnell and prior to his current role, he grew and led the regional Water Group in Denver.

Promoted into the Burns & McDonnell officer group as vice presidents:

Matt Brinkman serves as the regional manager for the Energy Group in the Southwest, leading a multidisciplinary team of engineers focused on solar photovoltaic and power generation capital improvement and mining projects. With the firm for more than 25 years, Brinkman established the solar business unit for the firm. He led owner’s engineering for the largest solar thermal plant in the world and the largest solar PV project in the United States.

Shelly Brown manages the firm’s Global IT organization. In her eight years with Burns & McDonnell, Brown has led or supported many of the firm’s business critical platforms to better serve clients. Brown has 26 years of experience, including work in the nonprofit sector, professional services, and the aerospace, telecom, software and manufacturing industries.

Pedro Constanzo leads national collaboration for the Aviation & Federal Group, working to drive team efficiency and client service across offices. With 23 years at Burns & McDonnell, he worked as an electrical engineer before serving as an electrical department manager, and later serving as projects director for our Department of Defense sector. Most recently, he managed the F-35 Beddown Project at Tyndall Air Force Base, the largest single award construction contract for the U.S. Air Force.

Zach Herrington is responsible for project delivery and construction for the Denver and Pacific Northwest offices. In his prior role, he led construction for all of the firm’s water and wastewater projects nationally. Throughout his more than 20-year career, Herrington has experienced working in all phases and aspects of collaborative project delivery on a variety of water, wastewater and industrial construction projects.

Melissa Lavin has built and led the firm’s Global Marketing and External Communications team since 2014, comprised of 75 professionals including strategists, creatives, digital specialists, project managers and communicators. She began at Burns & McDonnell more than 22 years ago as a human resources intern, before moving into college recruiting, senior level recruiting and then marketing for the firm’s national offices. Her next stop was leading the Burns & McDonnell Foundation to establish Burns & McDonnell as one of the strongest corporate citizens in the firm’s hometown of Kansas City and in office locations across the country. She created the Battle of the Brains, a STEM academic competition where students design science center exhibits.

Keegan Odle oversees the substation design group, leading a multidisciplined team of over 1,000 managers, engineers, designers and support staff across 14 domestic locations. He currently sits on the KSU ECE Advisory Council and is a 2023 KSU Professional Progress Award Winner for the College of Engineering. Odle has presented at conferences across the county, published multiple whitepapers and trade articles, and was named to Public Utility Fortnightly’s Under 40 group in 2020. He is passionate about improving the reliability and sustainability of the electric grid.

Rob Rainbolt is the leader of the food and beverage market within the firm’s Global Facilities Group, leading client account development, operations planning and financial systems. He has a proven track record of improving work processes, developing capabilities across all disciplines and delivering a wide range of services.

Nathan Turner leads regional operations and sales and marketing for the Transmission & Distribution Group. He is responsible for driving commercial effectiveness and accountability among office locations, business lines, emerging markets and international offices. Turner built, manages and leads a top team of professionals whose efforts help create and develop new opportunities to support the No. 1-ranked T&D business in the industry year over year. He is active as a mentor to many in our organization and is a civic leader in the community, serving in leadership roles across multiple philanthropic organizations.

Christine Wood leads the Dallas-Fort Worth Global Facilities practice, which includes mission critical, aerospace, industrial, and OnSite energy and power. Her team leads projects in 20 countries around the world for globally recognized tech and aerospace companies. Wood built a highly diverse team that is top-ranking in Great Place To Work®, while managing over $10 Billion in design and construction projects.  She has been instrumental in the mission critical business growth to rank No. 2 in the industry.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of more than 13,500 engineers, construction and craft professionals, architects, planners, technologists, and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities. Founded in 1898 and working from 70 offices globally, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.