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Buro Happold announced the appointment of Craig Schwitter as Senior Partner and Chair of the Global Board.
Schwitter was elected by the firm’s more than 70 partners, and previously held the Chair of Buro Happold’s USA region.
The announcement came as Buro Happold also elevated 17 senior firm members to the rank of partner and named James Bruce as Buro Happold’s new Chief Executive Officer and Global Managing Partner.
Schwitter — who is also founder of the first North American Buro Happold office, which opened in New York City more than 20 years ago — has led the firm’s expansion throughout the United States.
He is known as a champion of integrated engineering, and he has worked with such varied clients as the City of New York’s High Line, Singapore’s Changi Airport, Harvard University and Bedrock Development in Detroit.
Schwitter was educated at Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently serves on the board of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and has held teaching roles at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Cornell University, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

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Lendlease announced the hiring of Venetta Amory as Vice President and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for its Americas’ Region.
Amory will be based at Lendlease’s Americas headquarters in NYC and will report directly to Bruce Ambler, Director of Operations, Americas, effective today.
With three decades of leadership experience advancing DEI goals across a variety of different industries, Amory was most recently Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the international law firm Kelley Drye & Warren where she provided leadership to the firm’s DEI committee and was responsible for developing, managing and implementing the firm’s DEI strategies, programs and initiatives.

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EP Engineering announced the promotions of John Rocchio and Joe Vieitez from Senior Engineers to Associates.
John Rocchio has worked with EP Engineering since 2018 and has served as Sr. Plumbing & Fire Protection Engineer on a variety of residential, commercial, hospitality and food service projects.
His projects include Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, and the Torch & Crown Brewing Company in SoHo, and the Soka Gakkai Buddhist Center in Long Island City.
Rocchio is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University (SUNY).

Joe Vieitez joined the firm in 2013 as a Junior Electrical Engineer. During his time at EP Engineering, he has served as Electrical Engineer and Senior Electrical Engineer.
He works with a wide variety of clients, including continuous services for the School of Visual Arts, Hive & Colony men’s retail, Gorillas grocery delivery, Morris Heights medical suites, Atlantic/Fulton Affordable Housing development, and the Battery Maritime Building renovation for Cipriani.
Vieitez is a licensed Professional Engineer in the States of New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering, and Master of Engineering degree in Engineering Management from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.

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Colin Montoute, AIA, LEED AP, NOMA, has been named as the Director of Architecture at WXY architecture + urban design.
Montoute brings extensive experience and leadership in high-profile architectural projects to the firm.
With more than 25 years of practice in architecture, Montoute’s award-winning portfolio ranges from public to private works of varied scales, including significant master-planning projects in the Middle East, mixed-use developments in Africa, transportation hubs in China, and various works within the Penn Station district in New York City, where he was the architectural lead for rehabilitations of various key public areas within the complex.
His clients have included the MTA Long Island Rail Road, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the city’s Department of Design and Construction, and Amtrak.
Montoute earned his bachelor’s in architectural design from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Masters in Urban Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy in Los Angeles.
Prior to joining WXY architecture + urban design, Montoute worked for various internationally renowned firms.

WXY also announced promotions two team members:
Christopher Rice has been named Director of Planning. Rice joined the firm in 2016 and previously worked as senior planner.
He managed the D15 Diversity Plan, the first New York City Department of Education-initiated community planning process to create racially and socioeconomically integrated middle schools.
In addition to his work with schools in New York City, Rice has led similar projects in Pennsylvania and Maryland. He was a founding member of BlackSpace and previously worked in the New York City Council’s Land Use Division.

David Vega-Barachowitz joined the firm in 2019 and has been elevated from an associate to the firm’s Director of Urban Design.
His work sits at the crossroads of urban design, mobility, and large-scale environmental systems, ​with a particular focus on reimagining cities through creative interventions in the public realm. With WXY, Vega-Barachowitz has worked with a number of key clients including Uber; the city of Davenport, Iowa; New York City’s Department of Transportation; and Transportation Alternatives.
He was previously Director ​of the Designing Cities initiative at the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), and he currently teaches at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. Prior to joining WXY, Vega-Barachowitz was a senior urban designer at New York City’s Department of City Planning.

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Thornton Tomasetti announced that Managing Principal John Abruzzo, P.E., S.E., and Senior Principals Elisabeth Malsch, Ph.D., P.E., and Peggy Van Eepoel, P.E., F.SEI have been elected to the firm’s board of directors for two-year terms.
With the addition of Abruzzo, Malsch and Van Eepoel, Thornton Tomasetti’s board now includes 13 members.
As a co-leader of the firm’s Forensics practice, John Abruzzo has an extensive background in the investigation of structural failures.
Abruzzo played a critical role in Thornton Tomasetti’s investigation, forensic analysis and repair recommendations for the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The observatory shut down in September 2020 when a steel cable snapped and damaged the facility’s famed 1,000 ft. wide radio telescope, which collapsed three months later.
John was also part of the team involved in the assessment of the 2019 partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana and the development of a plan to bring down two tower cranes left dangling over the site.
Abruzzo is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Villanova University.

Based in the New York City office, Elisabeth Malsch is a co-leader of the firm’s Forensics practice and a member of the leadership team that oversees the firm’s research and development program.
She was one of the lead developers of Hummingbird Kinetics, a fluid harmonic damper for tall and supertall buildings based on NASA technology.
Dr. Malsch has more than 20 years of experience in structural analysis and design, with specializations in investigative projects and is proficient in static, dynamic and nonlinear analysis and the evaluation of buildings, temporary structures, and mechanical systems under the effects of typical to extreme loads.
She holds a Ph.D., master of philosophy and master of science in engineering mechanics and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, all from Columbia University.

Peggy Van Eepoel is director of Thornton Tomasetti’s Washington, D.C. office and a leader in the firm’s Protective Design practice.
During her career, she has been involved in the design and structural hardening of more than 200 buildings. She currently leads teams for several projects for at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Federal Courthouses in Nashville, Tenn. and Anniston, AL, U.S. Consulates in Durban, South Africa and Casablanca, Morocco; and three new headquarters buildings for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. 
Van Eepoel is an executive advocate to the firm’s Employee Network Groups (ENG), which form the firm’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
She holds a master’s degree in structural engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering.

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Holt Construction has hired Jason McKay as their new Director of Estimating.
McKay brings over 20 years of experience in estimating and purchasing to the company.
He has a proven track record working on core and shell projects; interior fit-outs and service calls in both the private and public sectors.
His experience is backed by strong credentials and a proven work history of handling delivering multiple bids on time with proficiency in On Screen Take-off programs.

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Wayne Repich has joined Deborah Bradley Construction & Management Services Inc. (DBC) as President.
He will be responsible for the continued growth and visibility of the 27-year-old firm’s three divisions: General Contracting, Construction Management and Electrical.
Repich previously served as Vice President at an international engineering consulting firm, overseeing their global transportation and federal groups.
He has served in leadership positions on several robust government procurements, spearheaded teaming arrangements on large-capital transit and aviation projects and executed long-term pursuits on transit and corrections programs.
Prior to these roles, Repich owned several finance and real estate-related firms for over 20 years.
As an active Professional Member within the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), Repich brings a valued and fresh perspective for construction and design-build opportunities.
He serves on DBIA’s Transportation & Aviation Committee, and has held licenses as a Real Estate Broker and General Contractor.

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Ware Malcomb announced Bill Sotomayor has been promoted to Principal in the New York office.
In this position, Sotomayor is responsible for the overall leadership and growth of the New York office, as well as regional leadership of the interiors practice in the Northeast.
Before joining Ware Malcomb in 2014, Sotomayor ran his own company, providing architectural and interior design services to corporate, retail, publishing, media and law firm clients.
He expanded his New York City-based firm to a second location in New Jersey, and later sold and merged with a large architectural design firm.
He opened the Ware Malcomb New York office as Regional Director and has led the office’s growth.
Sotomayor holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the New York Institute of Technology.

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TRITEC Real Estate Company announced that Kevin Law has joined their leadership team as Executive Vice President and Partner.
Law recently announced his departure from the Long Island Association after serving as its CEO for over a decade.
As Executive Vice President and Partner, Law’s primary responsibilities will include developing multi-family housing development projects and revitalizing downtowns in Nassau and Suffolk counties
Prior to his tenure with the LIA, Law served as CEO and President of the Long Island Power Authority, Chief Deputy County Executive, Director of Real Estate for Suffolk County and as an environmental and real estate attorney.
He continues to serve the Long Island community in a range of board and trustee positions, including with the MTA board, chair the Stony Brook University Council and the Long Island Housing Partnership .
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M&S Mechanical has expanded its Corporate Interiors Construction Division with the appointment of two new professionals: Salvatore Cammalleri, Vice President, Estimating, and Kristin Haufmann, Assistant Estimator.
Salvatore Cammalleri recently served as Director of Estimating for Donnelly Mechanical. Prior to that, he worked as Estimator/Project Manager and Purchaser for BP Mechanical Corp.

Kristin Haufmann most recently worked with Donnelly Mechanical and BP Mechanical, supporting their estimating departments.
She has a proven ability to pre-analyze projects and ITBs, organize trades, schedule operations and close out jobs. She will be a key team member in coordinating timely responses to general contractors and working with project managers to stay proactive with project scope and data.

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