SPEAKERS

Andrew (Andy) Agoos

Agoos Consulting

President/Principal

Andrew (Andy) Agoos has spent over 45 years in the equipment, service, and maintenance side of heavy construction. Mr. Agoos is currently president and principal of Agoos Consulting headquartered in Orlando, Florida and spent five years as an adjunct professor in the University of Central Florida civil engineering department. He is a former contributing editor for Construction Equipment magazine. He has authored over 25 publications and white papers. Mr. Agoos has extensive expert witness experience including depositions and trial testimony.
Most recently, Mr. Agoos spent three years as the Vice President of Fleet for Neff Rental, Inc., a national heavy equipment rental house with over 13,000 major pieces of rental equipment and over $500M in first cost value.

Previously, Mr. Agoos spent 17 years as the Senior Vice President of Equipment for Florida based Hubbard Construction Company while managing their 2,000 piece fleet. Reporting to the company CEO, he oversaw all centralized equipment operations including planning, budgeting, fleet standardization, acquisition, replacement, disposition, maintenance, fueling operations, repair, parts operations, transport, and storage. This included a 125 man operation in five locations and four full service, multi-shift shops. Hubbard’s equipment operations were recognized and received awards as one of the best managed equipment operations in the country. Prior to that, Mr. Agoos spent 13 years as President of Austin Construction Equipment, the corporate equipment arm for Dallas, Texas based Austin Industries that worked throughout the southern states.

Mr. Agoos began his career in the construction industry with Caterpillar, Inc. He worked one year in the company’s headquarters in Peoria, Illinois, two years in their European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, four years as a service representative throughout Africa, and four years as Service Director for Caterpillar dealerships in Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mr. Agoos is a 1966 graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a co-operative bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. While at Georgia Tech, he lettered in football and track. Mr. Agoos also completed graduate MBA work at Bradley University and Georgia State University. He is a former president and charter member of the Association of Construction Equipment Managers (ACEM), is active and a life member with the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) and has served as United Way industry chairman, Olympic Development Program director, chairman of the Orlando venue of the 1994 World Cup Soccer Committee, and Flame Soccer Club president. He is an active Rotarian. He is an avid cyclist and sports enthusiast. Mr. Agoos is married and has two adult sons, both of whom are in professional sports.

Andrew (Andy) Agoos will be speaking at the following sessions:

Asma Bayunus

Jordan Foster Construction

EHS Operations Manager

Asma Bayunus is the Operations Manager for the Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) at Jordan Foster Construction. With over 5 years of experience in the construction industry, Asma has been a part of the launch and development of predominantly Learning Management Systems, Safety Data Tracking, and an integral part implementing video based continuing education.

Since joining Jordan Foster Construction in 2017, Asma navigated her path through the EHS and Risk Department, where she has been a part of the continuous culture of safety and implementing an ever-evolving standard of awareness, managing, and continuously improving a recognized safety process. Which includes administering the roll out and process of learning of current safety apps, orientation processes and implementation of a continuous standard of developing safety practices

As Operations Manager, Asma has broadened the opportunities of training by use of technology. By creating “Safety Bytes,” one-minute microbursts of safety information and assisted with equipment operator training videos, easily accessible via safety apps. Her passion for efficient and evolving safety practices has led her to become an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Asma’s participation in the Women in Construction Committee has encouraged more diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within Jordan Foster Construction.

Her overall dedication to the EHS & Risk Departments continuous efforts to promote safety best practices has contributed to Jordan Foster Constructions 2nd Place at the Construction Safety Excellence Awards 2021 and 2022 and the Associated Builders and Contractors – Platinum Step Award 2022.

Asma Bayunus will be speaking at the following sessions:

Damian Alvarez

Jordan Foster Construction

Director of EHS

With over 24 years of experience in the construction industry, Damian has been a part of the introduction and expansion of projects on the civil and building side which were predominantly based in Georgia and Texas. As a safety manager, Damian has had a dynamic role in revamping and implementing safety process and project best practices.

Since joining Jordan Foster Construction in 2015, Damian has navigated his way from a Safety Manager to Director of Environmental Health and Safety. He has been a conduit for ever evolving safety process and implementation of safety culture, which included field operation safety culture and activities. His safety responsibilities include on-site field administration of corporate safety programs and policies, mentoring and monitoring safety training for the safety team and our team members.

Damian has expanded his passion of construction to take on a direct role in risk management and creating a bridge between safety in the field and executive level involvement. using his extensive experience in hazard recognition, mitigation and risk management; he is responsible for all aspects of project safety and administration. It is due to this commitment to continuous culture of safety and education that Jordan Foster Construction has been afforded 2nd place at the Construction Safety Excellence Award in 2021 and 2022. When away from the field and Damian enjoys fishing, sports and family.

Damian Alvarez will be speaking at the following sessions:

Darlene Buell

Granite Construction

Estimating Systems Coordinator

Darlene received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Washington University/University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is an Estimating Systems Coordinator for Granite Construction. Certified in HeavyBid, she supports Granite’s estimating teams across the country with customized training and data management. She has over 25 years of experience as an estimator, cost engineer, and project engineer in heavy civil construction. Living in Tampa, Florida, she can often be found out-of-doors camping, kayaking, hiking, or in her garden.

Darlene Buell will be speaking at the following sessions:

Darren Paulson

Clyde Companies, Inc.

Enterprise Program Director, Construction Services

Darren Paulson has more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry, with a degree in Construction Management. The first half of his career was spent as an estimator, scheduler, quality control engineer, project manager, and operations manager in commercial and heavy civil construction, before moving into construction technology. While not an IT person by trade, his interest and aptitude with technology led to implementing, managing, and integrating various software systems and business processes for Clyde Companies Inc., one of the oldest and strongest construction and building material organizations in the Intermountain West and Great Plains regions. As the 8 Clyde Companies subsidiaries have grown over the last 20 years, Darren has been involved with systems and operations integration for over a dozen company acquisitions. He is currently the Construction Services Enterprise Program Director and manages a team with responsibility for 60 construction and equipment technologies and processes.

Darren Paulson will be speaking at the following sessions:

Gary Kercher

ConECT, Inc.

President

Gary studied mining and civil engineering technology at Indiana State University, while working for an engineering consulting firm in the Midwest. Originally, his job was as a draftsman but spent the majority of the time as a surveyor, construction inspector and material testing technician for DOT projects. From there, he went to work for the local government as the traffic engineering superintendent and then the County Engineer’s Office as a bridge engineer and eventually became the Assistant County Engineer. In 1994, Gary went to work for a local heavy highway construction company as an estimator for DOT and commercial construction projects throughout the Midwest. Other duties included construction layout, job control and contract administration. Gary started training for HCSS in 1995 while still employed with the construction company and in 1996 incorporated his own company (Con-ECT, Inc.) to perform on-site training

Gary Kercher will be speaking at the following sessions:

Hope Matheny

HLM Safety & Environmental Services, LLC

Owner / Consultant

Hope Matheny is an experienced risk manager with a history of working in the construction industry for over 25 years. Hope leads initiatives resulting in high employee engagement through leadership coaching and fostering a culture of accountability and ownership. Hope is skilled in Occupational Safety, Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, Accident Investigation, and is a Subject Matter Expert in construction workplace safety. She has an associate of science degree focused in environmental health from Kent State University and holds the designation of Certified Safety Professional and is a Certified Workers Compensation Counselor. Hope is passionate about helping people and organizations to see their goals become reality which led her to be the founder and owner of HLM Safety & Environmental Services where she offers consulting services to clients in the construction industry.

Hope Matheny will be speaking at the following sessions:

Hugh McCulloch

RednyB Consulting, LLC,

Principal Consultant

Hugh McCulloch is the Principal Consultant at RednyB Consulting, providing knowledge, experience, and expertise with HCSS HeavyBid. Hugh has over 30 years of experience in the infrastructure construction industry and is the second ever user of HeavyBid in Canada. Hugh has trained and consulted with hundreds of companies throughout North America, including many of the ENR Top 100 Contractors. Employed for 9 years by HCSS as a design consultant and trainer, Hugh is the longest tenured HCSS trainer. He also has experience estimating for an excavating, grading, and utility contractor using HeavyBid and was an Operations Manager for a wastewater treatment specialist company using HeavyBid and HeavyJob.

Hugh McCulloch will be speaking at the following sessions:

Ian O'Byrne

Safety Implementation Specialist

Ian O'Byrne will be speaking at the following sessions:

Jake Anderson

Austin Bridge & Road

General Controls Manager

Jake Anderson is the General Controls Manager for Austin Bridge & Road in Dallas, TX. He has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry and 16 years with Austin Bridge & Road. As General Controls Managers, Anderson curates operating policy and procedure manuals to ensure operational compliance. He also develops and maintains a productivity platform and delivers training programs for foreman, superintendents, Project Manages, and Engineers.

Jake Anderson will be speaking at the following sessions:

Jim Goss

OSHA Training Institute Instructor

Jim is a Senior Safety Consultant for HCSS. He has over 30 years of diverse safety expertise and has specialized in Construction Safety for 25 years.

As an instructor for the OSHA Training Institute (Region 1 Outreach Center), Jim is certified in all construction subjects offered, and he teaches various construction subjects to groups throughout North America. He is also a certified NAVFAC (Pacific) trainer for the EM 385.1-1 Construction Safety Hazard Awareness Training for Contractors Course.

Jim is a member of the National Underground Contractors Association National Safety Committee, and he currently serves as the Chairman for Government Affairs on the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) National Safety Committee. He is the Co-Chairman of the AGC Crane Task Force and is a national stakeholder in this subject area. In addition to participating on several AGC safety-related task forces, Jim is also currently part of the national safety instructor’s team for the AGC for various construction topics.

Jim Goss will be speaking at the following sessions:

Julia Salgueiro

Preston Companies

Director of Operations Technology

Julia Salgueiro is the Director of Operations Technology for Preston Companies with 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Graduating with a B.S. in Mathematics with a Minor in Education, Julia wasn’t too keen on becoming a teacher. With some self-reflection and fond memories of Lego, Brio, and blanket fort construction with her brothers, Julia started her research. It wasn’t until her next door neighbor suggested to her father that if she’s interested in Civil Engineering, she should reach out to Granite Construction for an internship. Julia pursued the internship with Granite that summer and soon after graduation, she started working for Granite as a project engineer intern, working with another full-time project engineer. Since then, Julia knew that managing construction was what she loved to do. Julia is a member of the DEI Counsel and Co-Chair of POWER (Preston Opportunities for Women to Excel and Rise), the first ERG at Preston Companies; I am on the HCSS President’s Advisory Board; member of WiOPS (Women in Construction Operations).

Julia Salgueiro will be speaking at the following sessions:

Mark Jones

E&B Paving LLC

Construction Technology Manager

Mark Jones is employed with E & B Paving, LLC, headquartered in Anderson, Indiana. Mark has worked in the heavy highway construction industry for the past 37 years. A graduate of Purdue University, Mark has served as E & B’s construction technology manager since 2017. Previous roles with E & B include area manager (2004-2017) and estimator/project manager (2000-2004). E & B is a heavy highway construction company that specializes in grade and drain work, asphalt and concrete paving, as well as bridge construction. Mark is married to
his wife Kathy, and has one daughter and 4 grandchildren.

Mark Jones will be speaking at the following sessions:

Melissa Mott

W. E. McDonald & Son, LLC

Accountant and Lead Estimator

Melissa Mott is a lifetime resident of Louisiana, married to her high school sweetheart (Jeremy). Together they have two children (Caroline & Jace), a God-daughter & son-in-law (Paige & Chaz), who recently blessed them with a handsome grandson (Jamie), and two spoiled dogs (Rusty & Blackjack). Melissa has a soft spot for children and teens, blessing her with a group of “extra kids” who call her Mom or Mama2. When Melissa isn’t working, she can be found traveling with her daughter and bestie to the latest dance competition, at the field or court with her son watching him play the sport of the season; football, basketball, or (the family favorite) baseball. She loves being involved in all things with her children, the extras, and their friends. She and her husband enjoy the rare escape to their family camp, usually with the crew in tow, and just watching their children grow. She is active in her church, her community, and is the marching band flagline coach at her daughter’s high school. When she does get a moment of time for herself, she enjoys being pampered at the nail salon, a cocktail at a local restaurant, coffee at any coffee shop, traveling with her girlfriends, watching LSU Football in Tiger Stadium, or cheering on the Tiger Baseball boys in Alex Box.

If all of that crazy isn’t enough, Melissa is the Accountant and Lead Estimator for W. E. McDonald & Son, LLC in Glenmora, LA. She wears many hats in this role; accounting, estimating, scheduling, operations assistance, and anything else needed to make their projects and company successful. Melissa has over 18 years experience in the heavy-highway construction industry and held many positions along the way. Her career initially started in accounting, then moved into on-site project management assistance and later into an Estimating Assistant role working with multiple estimators and multiple Design-Build projects, which at the time were new to Louisiana DOTD. The firm was successful on two of these projects and she continued with estimating while being the resident financial expert for the duration of the design-build projects. Melissa has a passion for the heavy-highway construction industry and every “job” it entails to make companies successful at providing her state with quality roadways. Also along her career path, she established accounting processes for a newly formed transmission and distribution power company plus implemented new accounting software at her current firm. She loves problem solving, teaching new concepts, ideas, and processes to anyone who will listen. The HCSS company has always been a part of her roles in construction. The products and the staff she’s met along the way, through on campus training to multiple UGM conferences, have fueled this passion for construction and the importance of seamless information between departments. Melissa is an active member of Louisiana AGC and CFMA, South Central Louisiana Chapter. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in General Business Administration from Louisiana State University plus took additional accounting courses during her early years in construction. Currently, she is working toward obtaining her CCIFP Certification (Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional) to prove to herself that she does actually know construction administration and management.

Melissa Mott will be speaking at the following sessions:

Mike Williams

HCSS

HCSS Contract Trainer

Mike has worked in the construction industry since he was a teenager in high school. Over the years, this has provided experience in a variety of roles: equipment operator, cement mason, carpenter, Foreman, General Foreman, Project Engineer, and Project Superintendent. In 2006, the company Mike worked for purchased HeavyJob, and he joined a team tasked with the implementation of HeavyJob across all locations. This involved every office and large project from Florida to Alaska. The original implementation took almost 26 months to complete. Once that was finalized, Mike continued in a role as the HCSS subject matter expert supporting all of the HCSS products, training new users, setting up new locations or projects, and generally promoting the value that HCSS provided.

In the early part of 2020, Mike ‘retired’ from that company and accepted a position at HCSS as a Product Manager for the HeavyJob Desktop system. He ‘retired’ again from that role mid-2022. That opened an opportunity to move into his current role as a Contract Trainer for HCSS. This current role allows Mike to continue his involvement with HCSS and their products, and help companies implement and use the software.

Mike Williams will be speaking at the following sessions:

Phillippe Falkner

Ed Bell Construction

Safety Director, Project Management, and Business Services Specialist

Phillippe has been in the construction industry for 27 years, the majority of which has been heavy highway and structural work. He has spent the last 20 years at Ed Bell Construction. Almost all his work has been in the North Texas market. Phillippe is an active member of AGC of Texas and America, sitting on numerous committees and task forces. He is a previous chair of the statewide Highway Specification committee and DFW Workforce Development Committee and is currently serving as the statewide chair for Concrete Paving. Phillippe led the implementation of mobile technologies at Ed Bell Construction, and was the champion and lead implementer for HeavyJob, Plans, and numerous other initiatives. Phillippe also leads the focus on safety at Ed Bell Construction. During his tenure Ed Bell has placed in the coveted AGC national Construction Safety Excellence awards 6 of the last 8 years, bringing in first place 3 times. Phillippe specializes in Project Management, Estimating, Surveying, Project Engineering, Safety, Special Projects, Operations, Fleet Procurement / Capital Expenditures, Business Development, and Mobile Technologies.

Phillippe Falkner will be speaking at the following sessions:

Randy Blount

BuildWitt

Chief Financial and Strategy Officer

Randy Blount entered the construction industry at age 17 working for his family contracting business. He was thrust into a leadership role at age 21 when a cancer diagnosis sidelined his father from the company. Taking lessons from a number of early mistakes, Randy maintained the business until his father’s passing, at which time he purchased the company and took over management of daily operations. Over the next ten years, Randy worked with his team to implement key operational systems which helped successfully grow Blount Contracting from $3.5 million to $40 million in annual revenue. In 2020, he sold the business and remained closely involved as a shareholder, helping to grow annual revenue to $100 million while maintaining profitability well above industry averages over the next two years.

Randy now serves as Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of BuildWitt, where he applies his finance education and career-long construction experience to help drive the organization towards its mission of making the dirt world a better place.

Randy Blount will be speaking at the following sessions:

Sarah Urbick

Granite Construction

Estimating Systems Coordinator

Sarah’s career path started in high school where she did well in math and realized that engineers make a lot more money than school teachers. After earning a degree in Civil Engineering, a career in construction estimating, and a crash in the economy, she took a short-term position at a company where HCSS HeavyBid was the tool of choice. Finding a fit with a company closer to home, she returned to Granite Construction in 2011, where she had served one of her internships in college. In January 2012, Granite went live across the company with HCSS HeavyBid. Using her prior experience, Sarah soon began supporting and sharing knowledge of the program with the estimating team. Eventually an opportunity arose to help support the entire company as an Estimating Systems Coordinator, along with Darlene Buell, by providing training and technical assistance to all Granite users.

Sarah Urbick will be speaking at the following sessions:

Steven Wood

Castle Contracting, LLC

Estimating Manager

For more than 10 years, Steven Wood has led estimating teams in the pursuit, contracting, performance, and completion of significant infrastructure projects across California, Arizona and Nevada, including underground and overhead high-voltage power facilities; underground telecommunications infrastructure; natural gas pipelines of various types; utility substations and minor buildings; potable and non-potable water facilities; sanitary and storm sewers; and, general earthwork. In his roles as Estimator-Project Manager and Estimating Manager (Chief Estimator), Wood has increased revenue in my organizations by 30%+ year over year by increasing market capture with existing clients while successfully expanding to new clients and training professional staff in estimating and project management disciplines. Wood also led significant organizational change efforts for process improvement in the estimating function, bringing experienced and established professionals and entry level staff into alignment with modern best practices, which contributed to greater work volumes with lower staff expenditure over time. Prior to entering the construction industry, Wood worked and led teams in several other industries, developing a broad base of experience that informs my estimating and training efforts.

Steven Wood will be speaking at the following sessions:

Tony Rolin

G2 Enterprise Solutions LLC

Owner

Tony has been in the Heavy Civil/ Industrial Construction world for 30 years. After acquiring his civil engineering degree, he worked in the field as an Operating Engineer, Cement Mason, Foreman, Superintendent, Surveyor and Project Manager. After ten years in the field, he took on the role as a Heavy Civil Estimator. Within a short time, he was promoted to Director of Estimating. He is a self-taught HeavyBid Super User that began developing HeavyBid Codebooks to easily bid work in diverse markets. He has developed codebooks and worked in vertical construction (buildings), site development, heavy/ industrial, oil & gas, marine, wind and solar. In 2018, He started his own consulting company, G2 Enterprise Solutions LLC in Venetia, PA, and began training and developing codebooks for HCSS HeavyBid customers all over North America.

Tony Rolin will be speaking at the following sessions:

Tricia Kagerer

Jordan Foster Construction

Executive VP of Risk Management

Tricia is the Executive Vice President of Risk Management for Jordan Foster Construction, a large construction organization that performs civil, multifamily and general contracting across Texas. Tricia leads the risk management, safety and leadership efforts.

Previously Tricia served as a Risk Management Executive for American Contractors Insurance Group where she provided risk management and safety consulting services for contractors across the United States. She is an expert on contractual risk transfer, risk financing, wrap-ups, subcontractor default insurance, claims management, conflict resolution, and safety.
Ms. Kagerer is a construction industry expert and speaker on various leadership, risk management and safety topics, including crisis management, emergency response best practices, education across cultures, and servant leadership and diversity.

Her professional credentials include Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU); Certified Safety Professional (CSP); Construction Risk Insurance Specialist (CRIS); Associate in Risk Management (ARM); Associate in Claims Management (AIC); licensed Texas claims representative and commercial agent; and served as a construction panel arbitrator with the AAA.

Tricia is the author of the upcoming book “The B Words; 13 Words Every Woman Must Navigate on the Journey to Self-Defined Success” where she highlights challenges and breakthrough strategies for women entering non-traditional roles in the workplace.

Tricia Kagerer will be speaking at the following sessions: