4 to working with private management (about 75 percent of the business); a hard push to work in international mar- kets (about 25 percent of our business is in the U.S.); and 10 years ago we went public, which has allowed us to grow significantly. Q&A, from page 3 “It’s important to never make any fast moves. It’s also important to be a good listener and to take time to digest the information. Empowering managers and giving them autonomy is a key part of leadership, too.” TZL: What are your key strengths? What do you feel the key strengths are for an effective leader? DR: Having a steady hand at the wheel. It’s important to never make any fast moves. It’s also important to be a good listener and to take time to digest the information. Empow- ering managers and giving them autonomy is a key part of leadership, too. TZL: As CEO, what has been your greatest challenge to date? How have you handled it? DR: The external challenges of a global economy and the price of oil. While these things fluctuate, our success is not always reflected in our stock price. Maintaining a positive perception is always a challenge, but we do it. Our projects speak for themselves. TZL: What is your vision for the future of Hill? DR: To be the biggest and best construction claims firm in the world and to be the biggest and best project manage- ment firm in the world. TZL: Tell me about a recent project. What is your role? DR: The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. The client is the Ministry of Culture’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. We are providing project management services during the design and construction phases of this museum which will be Egypt’s largest museum and one of the leading scientif- ic, historical, and archaeological study centers in the world. The museum will cover more than 3,500 years of ancient Egyptian history and house more than 100,000 artifacts. The value of the project is $800 million. TZL: How have you helped your firm to outperform some competitors? What do you feel sets you apart? DR: We are focused. We don’t try to be a Jack-of-all- trades like some other firms do. We focus on being world “Maintaining a positive perception is always a challenge, but we do it. Our projects speak for themselves.”
class in two services – construction claims and project man- agement. We also went global a long time ago. We recog- nized the importance this had on growth. TZL: Is there any news you care to share about Hill’s proj- ects or anything else? DR: We were recently hired by the National Institutes of Health to manage a construction program – the National Cancer Institute at Frederick in Maryland. We’ve also done a great deal with the states of New York and New Jersey in the area of environmental cleanup and recovery work af- ter Super Storm Sandy. Finally, we are anticipating a resur- gence of work in the Middle East.
TZL: Are you married? Children? Pets?
DR: I’ve been married for 17 years and have four daughters – 13, 11, 11, and 9. We have a fish. TZL: What has been your best vacation spot? Dream des- tination? DR: Hands down, our family vacations in Avalon, New Jer- sey. It’s in Cape May. We’ve been doing that for many years. One day I’d love to take the whole family to Hawaii.
TZL: What’s the last book you read (digital or print)?
DR: The Churchill Factor . More and more I’m moving to digi- tal, but there is still something about being able to reference a book and to put it on a shelf. “We are focused. We don’t try to be a Jack-of-all-trades like some other firms do. We focus on being world class in two services – construction claims and project management.”
TZL: What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
DR: Jungle Book . It was super.
TZL: What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever gotten? DR: It was from my dad. He said: “In every statement you make about the company, use ‘we,’ not ‘I.’”
TZL: Who is a leader who you admire?
DR: Winston Churchill. He was tenacious.
TZL: When you’re not working, what types of activities do you enjoy? DR: I like physical activities. I enjoy golf, tennis, running, and my wife and I do CrossFit.
TZL: What’s your favorite lunch?
DR: Chicken parmesan.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER June 6, 2016, ISSUE 1155
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