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BUSINESS NEWS BECHTEL RECOGNIZED FOR INNOVATION LEADERSHIP Bechtel , a global leader in engineering, procurement, and construction, announced it has been named a winner in the 2018 BIG Innovation Awards presented by the Business Intelligence Group. The company was recognized for its enterprise- wide approach to innovation. “2018 BIG Innovation Award recognizes Bechtel’s focus on innovation as a key business driver. It is a testament to the dedication of our teams across the globe who explore, develop and implement solutions addressing industry challenges,” said David Wilson, Bechtel’s chief innovation officer. “This year’s winners show the diversity of innovation and its impact on the economy, our cultures and the world,” said Maria Jimenez, chief operating officer of the Business Intelligence Group. “We are thrilled to be honoring Bechtel as they are leading

by example and making real progress on improving the daily lives of so many.” Bechtel is embracing innovation to increase productivity and reduce costs through a focused and fully resourced process. The company established the Future Fund to stimulate development of new, disruptive ideas from employees, suppliers, and customers. The Fund provides the resources to explore ideas, emerging technologies and new approaches with the potential to dramatically improve project design, execution, quality, and safety. To-date, Bechtel employees around the world have submitted more than 2,500 ideas. More than 500 of those ideas have been approved for further development and exploration, and approximately 40 ideas have matured and are now deployed on projects across the globe. The list of implemented ideas includes varied efforts: from use of drones, to

robotics, augmented and virtual reality, new mobile applications, and new physical piping components. The BIG Innovation Awards recognize companies and people who bring new ideas to life, and change the way we experience the world. Organizations from across the globe submitted their recent innovations for consideration in the 2018 BIG Innovation Awards. Nominations were judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions and provide feedback. Bechtel is one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies. Together with our customers, we deliver landmark projects that foster long-term progress and economic growth. Since 1898, we’ve completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all seven continents.

SPERO VALAVANIS, from page 11

If you are familiar with workplace design, you know it’s all about change management. M&A is, too. We developed a communication plan for our staff that was integrated with messaging from the experienced Shive-Hattery team. No matter how well choreographed, and it was, the process is disruptive. Shive-Hattery human resources, finance, and IT departments were fully engaged and supportive, without being obtrusive. Some things needed to change immediately, but others transitioned over time with the intent not to overwhelm staff. We had seen disaster acquisitions before and were very concerned about our clients’ perception of this change. With support from Shive-Hattery, we assured our clients and communities that our staff and values had not changed. Our brand was maintained for the first three years. When we did change our name two years ago, it was a non-event. Has it been a success? The Chicago-Valparaiso team has doubled in size, more than doubled revenue, and significantly increased brand recognition in the Chicagoland marketplace. The “One Firm” philosophy is elevating design and leveraging multi-disciplinary expertise and resources from within our company’s offices, ultimately delivering the best value to our clients, both regionally and nationally. Finally, it always comes down to people. For the last five years I continue to look forward to meetings with our Operations Team, which consists of corporate officers and office directors, who are people I like and respect. Each office has the autonomy to run their businesses with support from Corporate Shared Services. This is an ideal corporate structure which sets us up for continued growth and future acquisitions. SPERO VALAVANIS is the director of the Chicago and Valparaiso offices for Shive-Hattery. He can be reached at svalavanis@shive-hattery.com or 312-882-0013.

but really only talked with a few. We met with one firm well-known for their excellent design, but leaving the meeting we felt it would have been culturally incompatible. Discussing this aspect at length internally, we agreed that culture would be, far and away, the number one criteria for us and for our staff. Our consultant came to us with another option: Shive- Hattery. Honestly, I looked at their web page and said we’re an “A/I” and they are an “E/A,” but we decided to meet with their president at the time, Tom Hayden. We talked by phone and then spent an afternoon together. It was clear our cultures and values were in alignment regarding some very important aspects: staff engagement and development, unparalleled client service, and financial performance. In addition to growth, a strong focus on elevating their design profile was another reason they were interested in us. To validate discussions and expand our team’s buy-in if we moved forward, several of us did a road trip to Shive- Hattery offices and met with leadership and key staff. Everyone we met was open and engaging. We all got a sense of really good people with a great culture. “When we met Spero Valavanis and his firm’s key leaders, we quickly realized they were ‘just like us,’ which was imperative for a successful integration,” says Jim Lee, president of Shive-Hattery. “With our Corporate Shared Services groups relieving Design Organization’s team from accounting, IT, and human resources, they now had the ability to focus on the ‘fun stuff’ in our business and grow their practice.” Valuation, cash-out, and purchase of Shive-Hattery stock, employment agreement and non-competes were discussed. You might think this was the hard part, but not so. Shive- Hattery had made previous acquisitions and we had done our homework. The financial part of the process went smoothly.

THE ZWEIG LETTER April 9, 2018, ISSUE 1243

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