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ON THE MOVE TRA WELCOMES PATTI GIBSON MAY AS DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Transportation Resource Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce that Patti Gibson May has joined the firm as director of business development. In this role, Gibson May is responsible for building and maintaining business relationships with new and existing clients and teaming partners. She will manage Transportation Resource Associates’s business development and marketing efforts, while cultivating a spirit of internal and external collaboration and outreach on behalf of the firm. With more than 25 years of experience, Gibson May’s expertise includes client relations, strategic teaming, proposals, DBE engagement, communications, market research, event planning, graphics, and content management. She understands the complexities of transportation and is an advocate for equality within the industry. Gibson May earned a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in journalism, both from Temple University. She is the Immediate Past President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, and serves on the boards of the March of Dimes’ Greater Philadelphia Transportation, Building & Construction Awards Luncheon and the Philadelphia chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.
Withmore than 30 years of industry experience, Transportation Resource Associates offers unparalleled expertise and a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges faced by its clients. The highly specialized and dynamic consulting team has the technical expertise and logistical capacity to provide practical, customized solutions related to safety, operations and maintenance, security and emergency preparedness, regulatory analyses, management consulting, mobile network strategy, and asset management. TRA is headquartered in Philadelphia and has additional offices in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Tampa, and Miami. JOSEPH PEGNETTER, PE JOINS RVE’S INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP Remington & Vernick Engineers welcomes Joseph Pegnetter, PE as a Project Manager in the firm’s Infrastructure Design Group. Pegnetter has 28 years of engineering and management experience in the transportation sector. “We are pleased to add someone of Joseph’s caliber to our Infrastructure Team,” said Infrastructure Division Leader William Bisirri, PE. “His significant project management and business development experience with Pennsylvania transportation projects will allow us to further develop and expand our footprint in the Pennsylvania market.” Pegnetter is a licensed professional engineer with extensive experience securing, managing
and delivering PennDOT transportation design projects. He has completed more than 20 bridge design packages as a project manager and lead structural engineer. His experience includes supervising project engineers, designers, drafters and support staff. Pegnetter has a bachelor’s degree in structural design and construction engineering Technology from Pennsylvania State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. He is an active member in several American Society of Highway Engineers Chapters throughout Pennsylvania and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1901, RVE has grown to more than 350 employees in offices throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. RVE is a full-service engineering consulting firm that provides design, planning, and construction management/inspection services to our clients. RVE’s staff includes professional engineers (civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, transportation, sanitary, and environmental), professional planners, certified landscape architects, certified inspectors, surveyors, CADD designers, and administrative support personnel. RVE supports a variety of on-call, general engineering consultant, and construction management contracts.
MARK ZWEIG, from page 9
as they are implemented. That results in the firm being a self- liquidating entity, as all of its equity evaporates over time and it becomes paralyzed and unable to make the kinds of investments to do the other things I mentioned above. “Creating a business that will carry on and thrive after the founders are gone is a common goal – whether or not it is officially stated in a formal business plan somewhere.” 8)Real leadership transition. Along with the ownership transition, leadership transition, too, needs to happen. That requires owners who are willing to delegate and step back out of the limelight. Not all will do that and the price they pay is they cannot make it to the next generation intact. So there you have it. A recipe for creating an A/E firm that outlasts its founders is laid out here in basic terms. So, what path are you on with YOUR firm? Are you doing what it takes to survive the long haul? Even if you can only think about yourself and your own wants and needs, creating an enduring firm like this will be worth much more – be that through an internal or external sale – than one where these issues are not addressed. Remember that! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
client tracking databases, databases on projects completed, databases on employee experience and qualifications, databases on construction costs and operational costs, and many more. These are all the ways the company can institutionalize its knowledge base and survive the comings and goings of any and all employees and owners. 4)Investment in outstanding people. That means you have to do what it takes to get really good people and keep them there. “Doing what it takes” means you are willing to pay the price to hire good people. That means they will not be the cheapest people nor will be they be paid an average salary and benefits. They will need extraordinary compensation and opportunities. If you want an enduring firm, don’t underestimate the importance of this. 5)A real sense of purpose. Good people will hang in there for the long haul when the business has a real sense of purpose that makes any of the problems of working there seem minor. That purpose – to be real – has to be reinforced on a daily basis by the owners. Just working for money is not enough. 6)Investments in training. An enduring company provides ongoing training and learning opportunities for its employees to develop their skills and be better in their fields. Again – like all investments – it takes time and money to make them real. 7)Viable ownership transition. If a firm cannot deal with ownership transition effectively it will not outlast its founders. Too many times, transition schemes are cooked up that are not modeled to see what is likely to occur over time
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THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 26, 2021, ISSUE 1389
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