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ON THE MOVE SANTONI JOINS PARSONS AS LAND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AFRICA Parsons announced the appointment of Pierre Santoni as land development director for Middle East Africa. In this role, Santoni will manage land development throughout the region, with a special focus on growth strategies, new geographies, and developing new business. “Pierre has acquired a unique set of commercial managerial and technical skills throughout his career and has a proven ability to deliver successful solutions in high-stakes, tight-timeframe situations,” said Gary Adams, Parsons president. “We are glad to welcome Pierre to Parsons; his knowledge will greatly enhance our business.” “Pierre brings to Parsons a wealth of experience in our markets,” added Gregg Welch, MEA land development and buildings division manager. “His position will be integral to our success as we continue to grow. We’re pleased he has joined the team.” Santoni has more than 20 years of experience in managing portfolios of major global programs, developing new business, and realizing growth in new markets. He holds two master’s degrees in civil engineering, from École Spéciale des Travaux Publics in Paris, France, and from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, respectively.

municipal and cooperative utility space,” said Peter Londa, president and CEO of Tantalus. “With our expanding portfolio of value-driven applications, we’re proud to add a proven leader like Hugo to accelerate our expansion in the Caribbean. His wealth of knowledge makes him ideally suited to lead our strategic international growth.” “I am honored to join the dynamic team at Tantalus, a company that has proven its commitment to helping municipal and cooperative utilities address critical operational challenges,” said Hodge. “I have experienced firsthand the impact that applying the right smart grid technology can have on day-to- day utility operations. I am excited about the prospect of helping more Caribbean communities adopt technology that will lead to a more sustainable energy future.” In addition to extensive distribution utility leadership experience, Hodge brings significant regulatory knowledge through his previous roles as an industry advocate representing the American Public Power Association, Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation and the Electric Cities of Georgia. He will also leverage his technical experience in system sustainability and efficiency projects, coupled with his deep understanding of regional utility drivers to contribute to Tantalus product roadmap planning.

Parsons has been working in the MEA region for more than 60 years and has offices in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. Parsons’ portfolio of ongoing work in the region includes major oil and gas projects as well as highways, bridges, rail and transit, airports, ports, water infrastructure, plus hospitals, public schools, universities, mosques, and other public buildings. Parsons – celebrating more than 70 years of growth in the engineering, construction, technical, and professional services industries – is a leader in many diversified markets with a focus on infrastructure, industrial, federal, and construction. HUGO HODGE NAMED TANTALUS’ EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, CARIBBEAN BASIN Tantalus Systems announced that its board of directors has approved the addition of Hugo Hodge to the company’s senior leadership team as the company’s executive vice persident and general manager, Caribbean Basin. Hodge is an accomplished utility veteran with more than 25 years’ experience in power distribution, engineering, and utility marketing leadership roles. He most recently served as executive director and CEO of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority. “Tantalus is uniquely positioned as one of the fastest growing smart grid companies in the

The situation can be improved, and the problem even solved, through education and accountability. There are a number of resources available that offer basic training on grammar and graphics. Online sources such as Lynda.com can provide employees simple courses to work through. Access to the site can be purchased for your entire organization. Also consider “lunch and learns” to engage staff and foster ideas for best practices. Additionally, a quality control process for outgoing transmissions and materials should be developed and implemented. Recognize that everything your firm produces defines the level of professionalism of your staff and the firm overall. Don’t look like an amateur with bad pictures and written communications, silly fonts, and stale messaging. Set the standard high for everything your firm does and have it permeate every area of the organization. Say something different and say it correctly and you have already set your firm apart from the others! CHAD CLINEHENS is Zweig Group’s executive vice president. Contact him at cclinehens@zweiggroup.com. “Set the standard high for everything your firm does and have it permeate every area of the organization. Say something different and say it correctly and you have already set your firm apart from the others!”

CHAD CLINEHENS, from page 9

❚ ❚ Bad message. Another way we look like amateurs is saying things like: “Our projects are on time and within budget.” Congratulations! That means you provide the minimum standard of performance to be a practicing professional. The further translation of such statements is that you are an ama- teur among your peers. This industry seems obsessed with overused statements like: “We pride ourselves in offering cost effective and innovative solutions.” If you are saying the same thing everyone else is saying, then you are calling yourself a commodity. We are not putting enough thought into what we are saying and instead our messaging is being lost in a sea of similar messages from competing firms. “Bad uses of graphics and pictures, grammar, and spelling incrementally erode the image of quality that nearly every firm is trying to project.” The overarching point here is that your brand is defined daily by a number of influencers. It is everything written, visual, and experiential that involves your company. Bad uses of graphics and pictures, grammar, and spelling incrementally erode the image of quality that nearly every firm is trying to project. I would challenge you to do an audit on the pictures and communications that are being used by your firm right now. I’m certain you will find at least a few examples that will make you cringe.

THE ZWEIG LETTER May 9, 2016, ISSUE 1151

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