Great Lakes Dredge & Dock - Profile: Management

MANAGEMENT


Executive Management
Jonathan W. Berger Chief Executive Officer Mr. Berger became Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes in September 2010. Mr. Berger has served as a member of our Board since our merger with a subsidiary of Aldabra Acquisition Corporation on December 26, 2006. Mr. Berger also serves as the chair of our Audit Committee. He was a member of Aldabra's Board of Directors from its inception in 2004 until the completion of the Aldabra Merger. Mr. Berger has been associated with Tellurian Partners, LLC since August 2009 and is presently the managing partner. Mr. Berger is a director on the Board of Directors and is Chairman of the Audit and Compensation Committees of Boise Inc., a paper and packaging company. From January 2002 until July 2009, Mr. Berger was a managing director and co-head of Corporate Finance for Navigant Consulting, Inc. (“NCI”), a New York Stock Exchange-listed consulting firm. Mr. Berger was also President of Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC, the wholly owned broker-dealer of NCI during a portion of that time. From January 2000 to March 2001, Mr. Berger was president of DotPlanet.com, an Internet services provider. From August 1983 to December 1999, Mr. Berger was employed by KPMG, LLP, an independent public accounting firm, where he served as a partner from August 1991 to December 1999; he was in charge of the corporate finance practice for three of those years. Mr. Berger received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University. Mr. Berger is a certified public accountant.
David E. Simonelli President of Dredging Operations As President of Dredging Operations, Mr. Simonelli is responsible for the Dredging Operations Group, which includes Estimating, Engineering, Operations, Plant, and Equipment and Foreign Operations. Mr. Simonelli has been a Vice President of the Great Lakes since 2002. He was named Special Projects Manager in 1996, Senior Vice President of Operations Support Group in 2009, and President of Dredging Operations in 2010. Mr. Simonelli joined the company in 1978 as a Field Engineer, and he has since managed many of the company's large domestic and international projects. Mr. Simonelli earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Rhode Island. He is a member of the Hydrographic Society and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Martin J. Battistoni President of Demolition Operations Mr. Battistoni became President of Demolition Operations for NASDI, LLC, the demolition division of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation, in August 2011. Prior to joining NASDI, Mr. Battistoni was President of the Environmental Services Division at WRS Compass and was President and Chief Operating OFfice of Compass Environmental, Inc. Previously, Mr. Battistoni served as the Vice President of Parsons Corporation as well as held management positions with IT Corporation, Waste Management, Rust Remedial Services and OHM Remediation Services. Mr. Battistoni earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Thermal and Environmental Engineering from Southern Illinois University.
William S. Steckel Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mr. Steckel became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Great Lakes in 2012. From 2010 until joining Great Lakes, Mr. Steckel worked with startup and private equity owned companies in high tech and manufacturing. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Steckel was with Daystar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTI) where he joined as CFO and Treasurer and progressed to become CEO, President and a member of the Board of Directors. From 2006 to 2008, he was with privately held Norwood where he served as Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer. Prior to 2006, Mr. Steckel served in senior financial and general management roles with Invensys (FTSE: ISIS) St. Jude Medical (STJ) and CTS Corporation (CTS). Mr. Steckel earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting (Industrial Administration) at Iowa State University and his Master of Business Administration from Western Illinois University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Maryann Waryjas Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Ms. Waryjas was named Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary in July 2012. From 2000 until joining Great Lakes, Ms. Waryjas was a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP ("Katten"), where she was co-chair of the firm's Corporate Governance and Mergers and Acquisitions Practices. Ms. Waryjas served two consecutive terms on Katten's Board of Directors. Prior to Katten, Ms. Waryjas was a partner at the Chicago offices of Jenner & Block and Kirkland & Ellis. She received her Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from Loyola University and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law.
Senior Management
Kyle D. Johnson Senior Vice President, Operations Mr. Johnson has been a Senior Vice President of the Company since 2009 and was charged with responsibility of Operations in 2010. He had served the Company as Vice President and Chief Contract Manager since 2006. He joined the Company in 1983, as a Mechanical Engineer, and has since held positions of increasing responsibility in domestic and international engineering and operations. Mr. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management from Stanford University.
John F. Karas Senior Vice President, Estimating and Business Development Mr. Karas has been Senior Vice President of the Company since 2009. Previously, he served as a Vice President since 2002, and was named Chief Estimator in 1992. He joined the Company in 1983 as Project Engineer in the Hopper Division. Mr. Karas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of the Western Dredging Association and the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering.
Stephen E. Pegg Senior Vice President, Business Development Mr. Pegg was appointed Senior Vice President of Business Development in March 2011 after rejoining the Company as a consultant in October of 2010. In addition to his responsibilities as Sr. VP, Mr. Pegg served as President of the demolition subsidiary, NASDI, from March 2011 to September 2011. Mr. Pegg had previously served the company as Assistant Controller, and Director of Planning and Development from 1988–1992. Since leaving the Company in 1992, he has served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for MAC Equipment, Camfil FARR, UltraViolet Devices and the LGL Group. In addition to his responsibilities as VP & CFO, Mr. Pegg assumed senior operating roles at subsidiaries of MAC Equipment and UltraViolet Devices. Mr. Pegg is a CPA in the State of Illinois; he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University and a master's degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Management
Steven W. Becker Vice President, Plant & Equipment and Chief Mechanical Engineer Mr. Becker has managed the Equipment Maintenance and Mechanical Engineering Departments since 1995. He joined the Company in 1984 as a Field Engineer and holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois.
Christopher Gillespie Vice President, Hydraulic and Mechanical Dredging Mr. Gillespie was named Vice President and Special Projects Manager in 1997. He joined the Company in 1987 as a Project Engineer and previously served as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Gillespie earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a graduate degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Tulane. He is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers.
Bradley T.J. Hansen Vice President, Logistics Mr. Hansen has been a Vice President and Division Manager of the Company since 1994. He joined the Company in 1976 as a Field Engineer. He was named Vice President & General Superintendent of the Company in 1991. Mr. Hansen earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In addition, Mr. Hansen is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society and Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society.
William H. Hanson Vice President, Government Relations & U.S. Business Development Mr. Hanson is the Manager of U.S. Business Development, and became a Vice President in 2004. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering, he was hired as a resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He came to Great Lakes in 1983 as a project manager and estimator. After being promoted to area engineer of the North Atlantic and then Southern Division, he reached his current Manager position in 1995.
Kathleen Mackie LaVoy Vice President and General Counsel, Dredging Operations Mrs. LaVoy was appointed Vice President and General Counsel, Dredging Operations in July 2012. She joined the Company in 2007 as Assistant General Counsel. Mrs. LaVoy received her J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law and was an associate in the litigation department of the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn LLP following graduation. Mrs. LaVoy earned a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She is a fourth generation dredger.
Steven F. O'Hara Vice President, Corporate IIF and Northern Area Manager Mr. O'Hara has been a Vice President and Division Manager of the Company since 1988. He joined the Company in 1978 as Cost Accountant. He is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers. Mr. O'Hara received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois.
John T. O'Brien Vice President, Middle East, India and Africa Division Mr. O'Brien was named a Vice President of the Company several years after he assumed leadership of the Middle East Division. There, he has inaugurated and completed several large joint venture projects in Bahrain and Qatar, one of which is the largest in the Company's history. He joined the Company in 1979 as a rangeman on a field survey team, and soon rose to be a project and area engineer. In 1990 he was named manager of the Midwest Division in Cleveland. Since 1996 he has had management responsibilities in the Middle East. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island in 1978.
William F. Pagendarm Vice President, Hopper Dredging Mr. Pagendarm has been a Vice President and Division Manager of the Company since 1985. He joined the Company in 1979 as Project Superintendent. Mr. Pagendarm is a former President and Chairman of the Western Dredging Association. He is also a former President of the World Dredging Association. Mr. Pagendarm holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from University of Notre Dame and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Thomas C. Roberts Vice President, Site Engineering Development Mr. Roberts was named Vice President in 2011 having managed the Field Engineering Department since 1996. He joined the Company in 1989 as a Field Engineer Intern and within Field Engineering roles worked on Company projects throughout the US and Middle East. He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Murray State University and an Master of Business Administration from Lewis University. He is a member of American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.
Russell F. Zimmerman Vice President, Chief Estimator Mr. Zimmerman was named Vice President and Special Projects Manager in 2009. He joined the Company in 1982 as a Field Engineer. Mr. Zimmerman earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management Technology from Purdue University. He is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and the Western Dredging Association.
Katherine M. Hayes Treasurer, Director of Investor Relations & Financial Reporting, Assistant Secretary Ms. Hayes was named Treasurer of the Company in March 2011. She has served as Director of Investor Relations and Financial Reporting since she joined the Company in 2006 and has over 18 years of accounting and finance experience. Prior to Great Lakes, Ms. Hayes was Director of Corporate Accounting at TransUnion, LLC. Ms. Hayes is a CPA and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from St. Xavier University in Chicago.