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ON THE MOVE AFTER 50 YEARS, PLESS OF BENNETT & PLESS RETIRING Following a long career as co-founder and business leader, Bennett & Pless ’ Rex Pless, B.Sc., PE, announced his retirement from the company set for the end of the year. Pless, who joined Moe Bennett’s firm E.M. Bennett in 1967, quickly rose to co-owner and president. The two renamed the firm Bennett & Pless, a name which became synonymous in Atlanta with high-quality engineering. “Rex not only has years of outstanding service to the Atlanta community but has provided strategic leadership through the early days of Bennett & Pless and has continued to provide valuable counsel to our clients and our staff,” said Ed Gazzola, M.Eng., P.Eng., PE, CEO of Bennett & Pless. “I want to publicly thank Rex for his service and dedication to serving our clients and growing the firm to one of the most respected structural engineering firms in the Southeast.” In addition to Pless’ service to Bennett & Pless, he was instrumental to the local construction community, having served as president of ACEC and chairman of the Structural Committee of the Georgia Building Code. Additional affiliations include Consulting Engineers Council of Georgia (director and officer: eight-plus years); American Concrete Institute; American Institute of Steel Construction; and Callanwolde Foundation in DeKalb County (past board of directors and treasurer). Pless has successfully transitioned the ownership and management of the firm, which has expanded to four offices and doubled in size over the past three years. This has allowed the firm to carry on its strong legacy and continue adding to Atlanta’s skyline, having designed marquee buildings such as Colony Square, Monarch Office Towers in Buckhead, Atlanta Financial Center, Wildwood Office Complex, the Westin & Marriott Hotels
in Buckhead, Embassy Suites at Centennial Park and Cobb Galleria, as well as numerous national and international projects. The lifelong resident of Atlanta was educated at the University of Tennessee and Georgia Institute of Technology. “Those of us that know Rex personally admire him not only for his technical know-how and business acumen but also for his personal lifetime values as a devoted husband and father,” Gazzola said. “We wish Rex many more years of good health and happiness and look forward to him still being involved as a consultant to the firm on specialty projects on occasion, while also enjoying golf and traveling.” MICHAEL BONOMO JOINS CANNONDESIGN AS PRINCIPAL, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL WORKPLACE AND CO-LEADER OF CORPORATE/COMMERCIAL MARKET CannonDesign is excited to announce Michael Bonomo has joined the firm as Principal, Director of Global Workplace and Co-Leader of its Corporate/Commercial market. An innovative leader who has directly influenced over 10 million sf of interior environments across tech, corporate, retail and experiential spaces, Michael will focus on growing CannonDesign’s workplace brand, capabilities and teams with initial focus in New York City and San Francisco. “It takes dynamic people to deliver dynamic work and Michael is one of the best in the world when it comes to creating successful workplaces,” said Meg Osman, executive director of CannonDesign’s global Corporate/ Commercial market. “We could not be more thrilled to have him join our team and look forward to how he will inspire our clients, team members and design process in creating memorable solutions that advance culture, talent and business.” During his career, Michael has collaborated with leading global companies including Bloomberg, Honeywell, Kate Spade, Time
Warner, Huffington Post, Spotify and HSBC to name a few. He’s also an important industry voice as a member of Contract magazine’s advisory board, a regular panelist at key events including the Contemporary Furniture Fair, and a professional member of IIDA’s New York Chapter. Prior to joining CannonDesign, Michael served as M Moser Associates’ Creative Director of North America. Remarkably creative, skilled and versatile, Michael has led award-winning work for companies of all type, complexity and scale. His work is also regularly published by Interior Design, Contract, Commercial Property Executive, DEMO Magazine, Visual Merchandising and Store Design and Perspective New York. “Becoming part of the CannonDesign team is a tremendous opportunity to leverage my talents in exciting new ways with remarkable clients,” said Bonomo. “CannonDesign has such strong market presence, design talent and geographic reach, the potential to help clients create beautiful workplaces that promote wellness and employee satisfaction, increase recruitment and retention, accelerate innovation and strengthen their bottom line is almost limitless.” To help Michael achieve this potential, CannonDesign is actively hiring new workplace designers, project managers and business development leaders and teams in New York City and San Francisco. “There are exciting shifts currently occurring in how and where we work. We’re seeing dynamic changes in how people engage and are supported by agile spaces which ultimately drive key business objectives for global companies today,” added Bonomo. “Our profession has a real opportunity to shape this future and we’re looking for people interested in seizing that opportunity. I can’t wait to start.”
WILL SCHNIER, from page 11
sentiment that suggests one can either succeed or learn, but need not fail. Our firm had many successes in 2017, both internal achievements and the notice of external recognition. But we also learned many lessons in 2017 that will prove to be very valuable in 2018 and beyond. In some sense, this is the same as any year we’ve had. To continue the biblical undertone, “There is nothing new under the sun”. We all know that this is a people business. I am filled with gratitude for our team members and my partners in the firm. Whatever 2018 holds for us, I’m thankful to be running our farm – I mean our firm – together. After all, the farmer’s work is also ours. WILL SCHNIER is CEO of BIG RED DOG Engineering & Consulting. He can be reached at will.schnier@bigreddog.com.
all have parts of our operations that need attention, and perhaps some clearing of the land. We have other things that are ready to be planted or started, and others still that are really ready to produce a bumper crop. “When we turn the page to a new year, it’s easy for us to think that it’s time for a season of harvest. But we must look more closely and understand that it’s really a different picture.” As the leader of our company, it’s been a tremendous experience learning these lessons and many more firsthand since we started our firm nine years ago. There is a famous
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THE ZWEIG LETTER February 12, 2018, ISSUE 1235
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