Giving Back
1. Willmeng Construction raised more than $300K for Treasure House, an organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities, at its Builders Cup. Builders Cup was a golf tournament that had more than 150 participants from Willmeng’s closest clients and trade partners. This event was put on for the first time last year, where it raised more than $260K.
2. Max Xander of Land Advisors Organization is supporting the Arizona Humane Society by participating in the Arizona Triple Crown, a multi-sport event including mountain biking, skiing, golfing, shooting and wake surfing. The fundraising goal for the event is $10K, which will go directly to the animal care and rescue organization.
Company News
3. Cerris, a general and mechanical contracting company formerly known as MMC Corp., has leased a 10KSF office space in Gilbert for its mechanical contracting branch, Cerris Systems. This office is the company’s debut in the Phoenix area, where it intends to plant roots permanently. Cerris is currently working on a data center project in Mesa and is ramping up to begin another in Scottsdale. The company office is already in operation and houses 85 employees.
4. Central Arizona Project recently hosted its 16th annual Safety Week. The event is to ensure employees receive safety training. In total, employees attended 153 classes, totaling 5,228 hours of instruction.
Promotions
5. Chad Buck and Stew Grauer have both been promoted at Sundt Construction. Buck is the new President of Sundt Construction’s Building Group. He is replacing Teri Jones, who will stay with the company in an advisory role until later this year. His most recent role with the company was Senior VP and District Manager for the Building Group, Southwest District. Stew Grauer will fill the vacant position. Both Buck and Grauer joined the company in 2009.
6. Ryan Bradshaw was recently promoted to VP at JE Dunn Construction. Bradshaw has more than two decades of experience. JE Dunn relocated him to Arizona in 2023 to lead a data center campus project in Mesa.
7. Darren Tappen has been promoted to Regional President of Brokerage for Kidder Mathews’ Greater Los Angeles, Southern California and Arizona markets. He will oversee 215 brokers across eight offices and be responsible for recruitment, business development, client relationships and integration across service lines. Tappen joined the company in 2015 when the firm opened its Phoenix office with just eight brokers and one staff member. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in its growth—now home to 46 brokers, six appraisers, two senior property managers and 15 support staff.
8. Gensler promoted Kevin Heinly to Co-Regional Managing Principal of the firm’s Southwest region. He previously served as the company’s Co-Managing Director in San Diego.
9. Burns & McDonnell promoted Matt Brinkman to Director of Operations for the Southwest Region. Before his promotion, Brinkman served as VP and, most recently, as Power Group Manager for the Southwest team. Brinkman will lead a nearly 300‑person team delivering integrated engineering and construction solutions. He has 28 years’ experience in the industry.
New Hires
10. Mack Real Estate Group and McCourt Partners appointed Chris Janson to lead Halo Vista, the $7B, 2,300-acre mixed-use corridor in north Phoenix. As President of Mack Halo Vista LLC, he will oversee the project’s horizontal infrastructure. He brings experience with nearly $2B of land transactions and development experience in the western United States.
11. Achen-Gardner Construction recently hired Matthew Schoonmaker as an Assistant Project Manager.
Retirements
12. Tech Parks Arizona announced the retirement of Ken Marcus, Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer. Marcus joined the organization in 1999 and has been pivotal in managing and ensuring the appreciation of Tech Parks Arizona assets of the UA Tech Park at Rita Road, the UA Tech Park at The Bridges and the University of Arizona Center for Innovation.