The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT), a national business trade association comprised exclusively of approximately 125 chief executives from the leading design and construction companies doing business in the United States and globally, has elected Paul A. Franzen, President of Barnard Construction, as Chairman of the organization for a term of one year. Franzen was elected during CIRT’s Annual Spring Conference last week in Washington, D.C., which also welcomed new directors.
“I am honored and humbled to have been selected to help lead CIRT, whose members include impressive leaders from well-respected companies in such an important and critical industry.”
In welcoming Franzen as the new Chairman, CIRT President Mark A. Casso, Esq., NAC noted, “Paul puts his full attention and heart into anything he commits to; he will bring a great deal of energy to promoting the interests of the design and construction industry’s interests.”
At CIRT's Membership Meeting, the following members were also elected as officers:
● Wassim A. Selman, Ph.D., P.E., ARCADIS, U.S., Inc., Atlanta, GA as Vice Chairman;
● Greg Cosko, President & CEO, Hathaway Dinwiddie, San Francisco, CA as Treasurer; and
● Charlie Bacon, CEO & President, Limbach Holdings, Inc., Warrington, PA will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as Immediate Past Chairman.
In addition to the executive committee elections, CIRT welcomed the following four industry leaders as new directors who will serve on the board through 2022:
● Mark S. Cain, President, Smoot Construction
● Dilip Choudhuri, P.E., President & CEO, Walter P. Moore & Associates, Inc.
● Blair M. Lavoie, P.E., President & CEO, MWH Constructors
● David J. Mahoney, P.E., Executive Vice President, Dewberry
“CIRT is fortunate to have a dedicated board of such highly regarded industry professionals. We offer congratulations to our new officers and directors; and thank all of our current and outgoing directors for their service to CIRT and its members as well as the design / construction industry,”
said Casso.
About Paul Franzen
As President of Barnard Construction, Paul Franzen is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations. Mr. Franzen has 32 years of experience in the heavy civil construction industry. He joined Barnard in 1990 and was promoted to President of Barnard Construction in 2000. He oversees the management and development of Barnard Construction, from negotiating new contracts and developing and implementing long-range plans, to routinely visiting project sites, participating in Partnering meetings and constructability reviews, and interviewing potential new employees. He is closely involved in the Partnering process and Barnard’s relationships with project owners. During his tenure, the company has broadened its scope from recognition as a strong regional contractor to respect for their work across the nation and collaboration with firms and owners from throughout the world. Barnard’s areas of focus during its first 25 years were in heavy civil and municipal construction. Over the past decade, Barnard has also built a strong presence in underground and tunneling construction, as well as in challenging marine work and electric transmission.
In addition to serving as Barnard’s representative to CIRT, Mr. Franzen is a founding member of the Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI), and has led Barnard’s participation in Safety Week, the Construction Industry Safety Summit, and the Incident & Injury-Free (IIF) Executive Forum. Under his leadership, Barnard has been recognized for safety achievement by owners and industry organizations. In just the past three years, Barnard has received 12 safety awards, including three consecutive Construction Safety Excellence Awards from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America.
Founded in 1975 by Timothy Barnard, Barnard has operated for 44 years as a privately held, debt-free company. Barnard is a heavy civil contractor that has built a reputation on skill, innovation, reliability, safety, and the ability to complete projects on budget and ahead of schedule. Barnard has extensive experience in all aspects of construction, including environmental efforts, dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric power, tunnels and shafts, utilities, pipelines, power transmission, and oil and gas.
For more information about CIRT contact, Mark Casso, 202-466-6777; or visit our website at www.cirt.org.
