“It can be tough to balance procurement, execution and people development, but with this leadership in place, we know we can achieve our goals in all three areas” said Skanska USA Civil President & CEO Mike Cobelli. “These moves signal that we not only want to be the contractor of choice in the region, but also the employer of choice for professionals who want to work with the best people on the best projects.”
Headlining the moves is the appointment of Don Fusco to the position of Chief Operating Officer, West. A 25-year industry veteran – 12 with Skanska – Fusco will relocate to Skanska’s Riverside, Calif. office and oversee all Skanska USA Civil Operations in the western region, including offices in Riverside, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Oakland, Seattle and Cortez, Colo.
Fusco has consistently demonstrated operational and financial acumen while serving as a role model for Skanska’s culture and values. As Senior Vice President & General Manager of Skanska’s Northeast Region, Fusco oversaw the construction of some of Skanska’s most complex projects, including the 2nd Ave. Subway and No. 7 Line expansions. He set the path for Skanska’s growth into Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. and has been a champion for Skanska’s outreach to certified disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) and compliance efforts.
Additionally, Skanska announced several other promotions:
• Mike Aparicio will serve as Executive Vice President for the Los Angeles Region. Aparicio will focus his efforts on overseeing Skanska’s significant portfolio of work in the city and county of Los Angeles: the Westside Subway Extension, the Regional Connector, the completion of Exposition Line Phase 2 Extension and more. Aparicio was instrumental in growing Skanska’s heavy civil presence in the west and will collaborate with Fusco to plan Skanska’s overall western strategy.
• Brian Stieritz is joining as Executive Vice President, West Region. In this role, Stieritz will provide executive oversight of Skanska’s Northern California, Northwest and Rocky Mountain Districts and its offices in Oakland, Seattle and Cortez, Colo. Stieritz has more than 30 years of experience nationwide in heavy civil engineering, construction, design-build transportation and heavy civil infrastructure projects. In previous roles, he had executive positions for other national contractors and was responsible for all facets of transportation design-build construction, including safety, quality and more.
• Michael Smithson is being promoted to Senior Vice President in Los Angeles. Smithson is a nationally-recognized expert in underground heavy civil projects and will be an instrumental leader on the Westside Subway and Regional Connector projects. Smithson will work closely with Aparicio.
• Tim Wilson has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the newly-formed Southern California District, covering San Diego, the high and low desert areas of California and all paving operations.
• James Bailey has been promoted to Senior Vice President and will relocate from Phoenix to Riverside to lead Skanska’s Riverside Hub. The Riverside Hub will house all project support units for the western region, such as estimating, project controls, accounting and more. Previously, Bailey was Phoenix District Manager.
• Chris Halpin has been promoted to Division Manager for Phoenix. Skanska’s Phoenix business has grown significantly in the past few years and is poised to become a full-service contractor throughout Arizona. Halpin was Senior Project Manager, previously.
• Chief Estimator James Melvin is expanding his role to cover the entire western region, previously concentrating on Rocky Mountain District.