Gui Ponce de Leon
Chief Executive Officer
Gui Ponce de Leon
PhD, PE, PMP, LEED AP
Chief Executive Officer, Plymouth
Dr. Gui is recognized as one of our nation’s foremost planning and scheduling subject matter experts. His broad professional experience includes executive and senior roles as investor’s developer, program manager, construction manager, and EPC contractor planner/scheduler.
Dr. Gui has continually pioneered innovations in project management throughout his career at PMA. He has written widely on the use of CPM in construction contracts and schedule, delay, and acceleration analysis. His recent work with the Graphical Path Method (GPM®) is revolutionizing planning and scheduling at a level not seen since the advent of critical path methods.
As founder and CEO of PMA, Dr. Gui has led PMA for over 50 years. His diversified project portfolio includes power generation, petrochemical, oil and gas, water, wastewater and CSO, transportation projects, real estate development, resorts and hotels, and corporate headquarters, with a cumulative value of over $85 billion.
Core Traits of a Reliable Schedule
As the primary author of the Core Traits of a Reliable Schedule, Dr. Gui endeavors to codify the essential elements of a reliable schedule into a comprehensive protocol. The Core Traits of a Reliable Schedule contemplates CPM and GPM schedules, and further highlights that a comprehensive, credible, well-constructed, and controlled (seen as the four corners of a reliable schedule) schedule captures the notion of a great schedule. This work is a must-read/must-have for professionals aspiring to great schedules.
Construction Claims
Dr. Gui is a project management inventor (patents pending), most notably of the Graphical Path Method (GPM®), a new millennium alternative to the critical path method (CPM). He has written numerous papers and recently authored and published the Guide to the Forensic Scheduling Body of Knowledge. Dr. Gui has been admitted as an expert in construction management, project management, standard of care, contracting, cost/schedule analysis, and forensic scheduling in federal and state courts, before AAA and ICC panels, and administrative boards.
Education
PhD & MS, Civil Engineering and Construction Management, University of MichiganAffiliations
- AACE International
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Construction Owners Association of America
- Project Management Institute
Gary Jentzen
Chief Operations Officer
Gary Jentzen
PE, JD, LEED AP
Chief Operations Officer, Boston
Gary has extensive experience in construction, project, and program management on projects nationwide in value of up to $14 billion. He is an expert in claims and changes analysis, large complex claims and change resolution, complex negotiations, and dispute resolution. Gary’s experience also includes managing contractors and subcontractors, cost and schedule control, contract and subcontract administration, contract drafting, project procedures, claims avoidance programs, field engineering and inspection, monitoring project progress, project audits, and project closeout. His market knowledge includes the transportation, heavy industrial, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, power, infrastructure, water/wastewater, architectural, and environmental sectors.
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Education
JD, Law, University of Toledo; BS, Civil Engineering, Michigan Technological UniversityAffiliations
- AACE International
- American Bar Association
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Project Management Institute
Don Fredlund
Chief Operations Officer
Don Fredlund
PMP
Chief Operations Officer, Phoenix
Don currently serves as Chief Operations Officer for PMA Consultants. He is also the Executive Director of PMA’s National Claims Practice, mentoring and directing PMA business units on disputed changes/claims avoidance and analysis and expert witness services. Don brings extensive experience in program, project, and construction management, with large contractors and as a PM/CM consultant. Don has worked in diverse markets, including water/wastewater, manufacturing and process, infrastructure, oil and gas and energy, transportation/transit (air and rail), and environmental projects.
Education
BS, Civil Engineering, Michigan Technological University.Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Construction Management Association of America
- Project Management Institute
Dax Ponce de Leon
Executive Director, CEO Elect
Dax Ponce de Leon
PMP, LEED AP
Executive Director, CEO Elect, Chicago
Education
MS, Civil Engineering and Construction Management; BS, Civil Engineering, University of MichiganAffiliations
- Construction Management Association of America
- Project Management Institute
- United States Green Building Council
Tim Mather
COO - PMA Technologies
Tim Mather
PMP, CCMP, LPEC
COO - PMA Technologies, Seattle
Tim is a collaborative and innovative executive with a talent for productizing and monetizing technological innovation. Tim leads PMA’s initiatives in information technology, product development, and intellectual property and leads the company’s internal project management and change management education efforts. Tim has extensive experience in program and project management; P&L analysis; executive leadership, analysis, business processes, and business development; and software development and implementation.
Education
Graduate Certificate, Project Management Strategy, University of Chicago; BA, Michigan State UniversityAffiliations
- Association of Change Management Professionals
- Ethics and Compliance Initiative
- Project Management Institute
Kirsten Sell
Chief Administrative Officer
Kirsten Sell LEED AP
Chief Administrative Officer, Ann Arbor
As Chief Administrative Officer, Kirsten oversees the offices of Human Resources, Marketing, Accounting, Administration, and Talent Acquisition. She also manages all facility aspects of PMA regional offices, including market research, designing and planning office space, coordinating contract negotiations, and managing the construction of office build-outs. A LEED-accredited professional, Kirsten is passionate about green building technology and bringing talented people to solve construction challenges.
Education
Affiliations
- United States Green Building Council
Elie Blumen
Chief Financial Analyst
Elie Blumen
Chief Financial Analyst, Chicago
Elie serves as PMA’s chief financial analyst and is a proactive executive with significant private industry experience. He provides overall strategic financial and systems support as a senior management team member, and he oversees PMA financial planning and analysis, contract administration, budgeting, and business expansion planning.
Education
BS, Business, University of MichiganJohn Sheridan
Division Director
John Sheridan
LEED AP
Division Director, Boston
John leads the PMA New England division office with a passion for project management. He has extensive experience in complex project and contract management for major transportation, airport, water/wastewater, power, healthcare, pharmaceutical, K-12 and higher education, architectural, and infrastructure projects with a cumulative value of more than $25 billion. He is an expert in project controls, change orders, claims management, claims analysis and expert testimony, document control, and project management systems on public and private sector projects, including design-build projects. John has educated owners, designers, and builders in all aspects of project management; lectured at local universities; and published articles on project management, mega projects, and control of power plant outages.
Education
MS, Structural Engineering, Engineering Polytechnic Institute of New York; BE, Civil Engineering, Manhattan College.Affiliations
- AACE International
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Boston Society of Civil Engineers
- Construction Management Association of America New England Chapter
- International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers
Bruce Stephan
Executive Director
Bruce Stephan
PE, JD, PMP
Executive Director, San Francisco
The leader of PMA’s Pacific business unit, Bruce is a nationally recognized licensed civil engineer with extensive experience on complex medium, large, and mega engineering and construction projects. His distinguished career spans public service, general contracting, and consulting nationally and internationally, and he remains actively involved in managing mega construction programs. His award-winning experience includes design-build, integrated project delivery, CM/GC, and CM at-risk delivery methods; dispute resolution; complex change order negotiations; claims analysis; schedule management; technology solutions; and management consulting on public capital improvement programs. He is a frequent lecturer on improving project delivery and has consulted with numerous public agencies to implement industry best practices.
Education
JD, Golden Gate University; BS, Civil Engineering, Manhattan CollegeAffiliations
- AACE International
- CMAA - Program Management Technical Committee
- Construction Management Association of America
- Project Management Institute
Robert Sanders
Executive Director
Robert Sanders
Executive Director, Plymouth
Bob has over two decades of experience in the waste/wastewater, architectural institutional, infrastructure, power, and environmental markets. He is an effective program manager who utilizes a variety of project delivery approaches, including traditional design-bid-build; design-build; and at-risk program management. He has extensive experience in program, project, and contract management for projects with a cumulative value of more than $8 billion. Bob’s public and private sector experience focuses on project controls and cost management, change order analysis and management, and claims administration. He has also facilitated many strategic planning workshops and value engineering sessions for PMA clients.
Education
BS, Civil Engineering, University of Michigan.Affiliations
- AACE International
Eric Lowther
Executive Director
Eric Lowther
PMP, LEED AP
Executive Director, Boston
Eric brings extensive project management and consulting experience in cost controls, schedule management, risk management, and claims analysis to his role as Executive Director. He has led numerous teams during all phases of pharmaceutical, healthcare, commercial, institutional, and transportation projects. He is highly skilled in providing schedule review and oversight, contract administration, cost controls, change order negotiations, monthly reporting, invoice review and verification, and document controls. Eric has performed many schedule delay analyses and evaluations of claims for time entitlement, including detailed analysis of technical merit and strategies for negotiations and presentations at mediation hearings.
Education
BS, Engineering and Management, Clarkson University.Affiliations
- Project Management Institute
- United States Green Building Council
Christopher Carroll
Executive Director
Christopher Carroll
MCPPO
Executive Director, Boston
Chris currently oversees PMA owner’s project management teams on several renovations and new construction educational and government facilities projects. Chris has experience in project management, scheduling, and cost management on large-scale environmental, infrastructure, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical construction projects in excess of $13 billion. He has extensive experience in CPM scheduling, claims and change order analysis, and construction cost/schedule engineering. He has also provided cost and schedule management lectures and classes to numerous clients.
Education
MBA University of Redlands; BS, Massachusetts Maritime AcademyAffiliations
- Construction Management Association of America
- US Naval Reserve, Merchant Marine Reserve, Honorable Discharge
Richard Martone
Executive Director
Richard Martone
Executive Director, New York
Rich leads PMA’s New York and New Jersey offices with extensive experience in the construction industry. He has expertise in all aspects of construction with emphasis on estimating, scheduling, and contract administration. Rich has provided construction management advice to a variety of public and private sector clients, and he has served as the deputy director of claims and changes on what has been called the largest, most complex highway construction effort in the United States. His experience covers power plants, cogeneration plants, transportation, hazardous waste, and architectural projects. Rich has authored papers on construction management and has lectured at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
Education
MBA, University of Houston; BS, Mechanical Engineering, Tulane University.Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- CMAA, Past President
Stephen F. Rusteika Jr.
Executive Director
Stephen F. Rusteika Jr.
CSL, M.ASCE, MCPPO
Executive Director, Boston
Steve’s experience in project and construction management in public and private sectors spans more than 30 years. He has successfully managed dozens of Massachusetts public sector projects ranging from $1 million to $442 million. Steve has significant experience working alongside clients as an owner’s project manager, owner’s representative, and construction manager. He is highly skilled in change order and claims management, analysis and resolution on design and construction contracts, cost and schedule control, value engineering, contract document development, bidding document and procedure review, and training field and professional staff. Prior to PMA, Steve managed 50 percent of the city of Boston’s $500 million capital improvement program as a senior project manager.
Education
MS & BS, Civil Engineering, Northeastern UniversityAffiliations
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts
- Boston Society of Architects
- Boston Society of Civil Engineers
Kam Shadan
Executive Director
Kam Shadan
PE
Executive Director, San Francisco
Kam is a nationally recognized program manager who brings extensive experience in mega transit and rail capital projects to his key role at PMA. He has overseen and directed all aspects of these projects, including the project management plan, scope, cost, schedule, risk, and readiness reviews. He has built and led multiple teams in responding to transit and rail client needs nationwide, as well as to their key funding partner Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Kam has served as an expert forensic witness and created a seminar titled, “Construction Project Management Standards of Care,” accredited by the California Bar Association for continuing legal education. Kam is the lead author of the FTA’s Construction Project Management Handbook, as well as of several presentations and papers published in industry journals for design-build delivery and for mega capital program oversight.
Education
MS, Engineering Management Mega Program Management, University of Santa Clara; BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California Berkeley; Certificates in Project Delivery and Private Equity, Harvard Business School. Registered Professional Engineer in California; General Building and Engineering Contractor license in CaliforniaAffiliations
- California Transit Association
- California Transit Finance Corporation
- American Public Transportation Association
- Forensic Expert Witness Association
Francisco Cruz
Chief Knowledge Officer
Francisco Cruz
PE, PMP, RMP, SP, VDC, VMA
Chief Knowledge Officer, Miami
As the Chief Knowledge Officer for PMA, Francisco has been instrumental in helping PMA strategically leverage the knowledge we create. Francisco has impressive experience in cost control, estimating, scheduling, risk management, 3D-4D BIM, and project inspection. His project experience includes water/wastewater, transportation, pharmaceutical, mixed-use, corporate office buildings, and municipal projects. He has performed cost and schedule risk analyses on over 40 infrastructure and pharmaceutical projects, including tunnels, airports, bridges, roads, and ports totaling more than $1.9 billion. He was part of the internal team that launched and implemented the risk management practice within the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ). He also helped write and implement the project risk management section of PANYNJ’s Project Management Manual of Standards and Procedures.
Education
MS, Civil Engineering, University of Puerto Rico; BS, Civil Engineering, Autonomous University of Santo Domingo.Affiliations
- AACE International
- Florida Engineering Society
- Project Management Institute