KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell, a 100% employee-owned engineering and construction firm, promoted Shalis Winder to chief safety officer. Winder succeeds Joe Podrebarac, who was promoted to lead the firm’s Energy market.

In his new role, Winder will continuously strengthen the safety culture at Burns & McDonnell, guiding programs to empower teams to make safer decisions and achieve even stronger project outcomes.

“Safety is at the core of every decision we make,” says Leslie M. Duke, chair and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. “It’s woven into every phase of a project. Whether it’s on or off the clock, we emphasize a culture where safety is taught, practiced and lived. Shalis embodies our culture of caring, coaching and mentoring. He empowers everyone — employees, clients, subcontractors and families — to build a safer future together.”

Winder brings nearly three decades of construction experience and joined Burns & McDonnell in 2013. He has held senior leadership roles across operations and project management, including serving as an engineer-procure-construct project manager and project director on major capital projects for the firm’s Oil, Gas & Chemical Group.

His experience spans design, field construction management, commissioning, startup and operations of industrial facilities. He has led complex projects across refining, midstream, polymer, petrochemical, industrial biofuel, pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries, coordinating all phases from project definition through engineering, procurement, construction and budget administration.

Throughout his career, Winder has focused on building environments where safety is owned at every level — encouraging teams to speak up, holding leaders accountable and reinforcing a proactive safety mindset.

“I’ve led teams in complex, high-risk work where trust and clarity matter,” Winder says. “By staying engaged, setting clear expectations and backing my people, I’ve helped teams, subcontractors and clients take ownership and foster a strong culture of safety.”

About Burns & McDonnell

Working from more than 75 offices around the world, Burns & McDonnell designs and builds critical infrastructure. Our family of companies — driven by engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists — delivers projects grounded in safety and a desire to make a difference as we make our clients successful. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn more.