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ON THE MOVE BEN PIERCE TO LEAD AV/CV TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AT HDR Ben Pierce , industry expert in the emerging field of autonomous and connected vehicles, has joined HDR as AV/CV program manager. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Pierce joins HDR as a national thought leader drawing on more than 25 years of transportation technology experience. Prior to joining HDR, he led Battelle’s transportation business line, focusing on developing these technologies and leading multiple research and development, task-order contracts with the United States Department of Transportation. Pierce’s vision and understanding of transportation technology made him a key contributor to Columbus, Ohio’s successful Smart City Challenge application. Columbus bested six other cities and secured a $40 million grant from USDOT, as well as $10 million from Vulcan and $90 million in other public and private funds. “Technologies in the transportation industry are advancing at remarkable speeds and will accelerate during the next five years,” Pierce said. “HDR is well positioned to advance these technologies because they will be implemented at the state and local level, where HDR has the commitment and history of supporting client agencies as a trusted partner.”

An Ohio native, Pierce earned his bachelor’s in mathematics and master’s in statistics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Research, development, and deployment of AV/CV technologies comprised much of his work for the past decade. His experience includes research, development, and prototypes of connected vehicle and dynamic-mobility applications on behalf of USDOT. His notable USDOT research projects include: Transit Safety Retrofit Package; Transit Bus Stop Pedestrian Warning; and Response Emergency Staging and Communications Uniform Management and Evacuation. Pierce’s arrival at HDR coincides with the firm’s efforts to develop tools that will help transportation agencies understand scenarios associated with the inevitable changes technology will bring. These tools will allow agencies to assess smart technologies before integrating them into their strategic planning, according to Bernie Arseneau, HDR director of traffic management systems. “Ben’s hands-on experience with the nuts and bolts of automated-vehicle technology complements our understanding of technology’s role in shaping the future of smart infrastructure,” Arseneau said. “Ben will help HDR bring even greater value to our clients as they plan for technology’s impacts on their communities.”

1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Managing Editor rmassey@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor and Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com Tel: 800-466-6275 Fax: 800-842-1560 Email: info@zweiggroup.com Online: www.thezweigletter.com Twitter: twitter.com/zweigletter Blog: blog.zweiggroup.com

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

Facebook has proved to be a great recruiting tool. We brought on a fellow I met through common interests in old cars and motorcycles. He was a multi-talented guy with a wide range of knowledge about design and construction (in addition to oddball cars and two-stroke motorcycles). We had lunch and I learned that he had a structural concrete company with a partner who wasn’t as interested in growing the business as he was and he was ready for a career shift. He’s thrived in our environment. We have another fellow working for us who I met when he was working as a waiter in a high-end restaurant. I could see he was a smart guy and over a period of time we struck up a friendship. I gave him and his girlfriend some advice on a house they bought. We talked and I learned he was actually an attorney who graduated near the top of his class. A few years of working in a local law firm gave him a bad taste for the legal profession so he was biding his time trying to figure out what he ultimately wanted to do. We hired him in our recruiting area. Our new head of IT/electronic marketing is a guy who himself was a founder of a multi-year Inc. 5000 company. I met him through his wife who is a successful mortgage banker in our area who I dealt with in my other business, Mark Zweig, Inc. But we probably wouldn’t have hired him had it not been for a re-introduction from another person here – our newsletter editor – a fellow I first met when he interviewed me for the local business paper. The point of all this is very simple. Keep your eyes and ears open for the good people who are all around you! They’re there – but maybe you haven’t been seeing them! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s founder and CEO. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

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THE ZWEIG LETTER October 24, 2016, ISSUE 1173

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