In Memoriam
Robert “Bob” Affholder, pioneer in trenchless rehabilitation (CIPP) and boring/tunneling, died July 26.
Well-known and -respected, his career spanned more than 50 years in the underground construction field.
His early life lessons, learned growing up on a farm in Kansas as one of 11 brothers and sisters, taught him the importance of hard work and the joy that comes from working alongside people you care about and respect. These lessons were the foundation of his successful career, and his list of former coworkers includes some of his closest friends.
Affholder’s career began in 1958 as a laborer for Armco Industries Metal Products Division. However, an entrepreneurial spirit led him to start Affholder Inc., his own tunneling and boring business, in 1968, He dedicated himself to building an organization of highly skilled, honest and hardworking people who were committed to solving customers' problems.
In 1987, his company went public as Insituform Mid-America, and later merged to form Insituform Technologies (Aegion and now Azuria Water Solutions). He served as vice chairman and member of the board of directors for 10 years. He was instrumental in the development of the Insituform process, which revolutionized the trenchless industry.
In 2007, Affholder reunited with former Insituform protégés Jerry Shaw and Tom Kalishman at SAK Construction. The company's goal was to return to the original roots of Affholder’s success: hiring the best talent, creating an environment where people are valued, delivering world-class services, and putting customers first.
In 2023, SAK, a leading a leading pipeline rehabilitation and tunneling solutions provider, renamed its Underground Division as Affholder LLC.
His contributions to the trenchless industry have been immense, and his leadership and industry expertise continue to be a valuable asset to Affholder and SAK Construction. As a founding member of both companies, he was proud of their success and the opportunity to help make others successful.
PPI
The Plastics Pipe Institute Inc.’s (PPI) Power and Communications Division (PCD) has elected new leaders. The volunteer positions took effect on June 1, 2024, with terms running through 2026.
Christian Herrild is the new chair. Also representing PCD on the PPI Board of Directors for the next two years, he is the director of growth strategies for Teel Plastics, Baraboo, Wisc., a manufacturer of numerous products including conduit and industrial piping.
He has been in many PPI committees and task groups for more than 10 years, and now leads the PCD R&D project to establish requirements for using recycled HDPE in conduit and is active in many other of the division’s projects. For his contributions, Herrild was voted PPI PCD Member of the Year for 2022.
Jennifer Reeves is vice chair. She is the logistics manager for Petroflex North America (Gainesville, Texas), extruder of HDPE conduit and preinstalled cable-in-conduit. In addition to now serving as vice-chair for PCD, she is also active in the PPI Education and Communications Committees, plus other PCD project groups. She was voted Member of the Year for 2023 by the Power & Communications Division.
Carboline/Prine Resins
Carboline named Jeremy Sukola as vice president of Prime Resins.
Also continuing in his role as water and wastewater market manager for Carboline, he brings to this new leadership role extensive experience spanning over 20 years in the underground construction and corrosion control industry.
Based in Conyers, Ga., Prime Resins has manufactured high-performance grouts, foams, and adhesives for repair and protection of vital infrastructure since 1982. RMP International, Inc., acquired Prime Resins in 2017 and then aligned the brand under Carboline in 2023.
Sukola's new role further strengthens that alignment, positioning Carboline and Prime Resins as the water and wastewater industry's only comprehensive provider of leak sealing, concrete repair and resurfacing, and water and wastewater corrosion control coatings and linings.
Former Prime Resins President Michael Vargo has assumed a business development role. A company veteran of over 33 years, his deep experience and vast professional networks will be instrumental to Prime's continued growth.
Core & Main
Core & Main Inc., a leader in advancing reliable infrastructure, made changes to its executive leadership team.
Jack Schaller, president, is transitioning to a role as executive vice president. As part of this, he continues supporting the integration of the company’s newly acquired businesses, leading supplier relations and assisting with this organizational transition.
Brad Cowles, president, is expanding his role to lead the waterworks product line, previously led by Schaller. Cowles has more than 18 years of leadership experience in the organization, most recently leading the fire protection product line. In addition to his core waterworks responsibilities, Cowles will have responsibility for several growth and margin initiatives.
Mike Huebert joined the company as president, overseeing its fire protection and certain other high-growth product lines. He is executive vice president of sales with Advanced Drainage Systems, one of Core & Main’s top suppliers. He brings a wealth of experience, having managed business development, commercial operations, and driving sales and operational performance for ADS. Currently, he oversees field sales and engineering, national accounts and retail sales teams.
GTI
GTI Energy announced new leadership and members of its Board of Directors.
Nickolas Stavropoulos, an internationally recognized utility safety culture leader, and John Somerhalder II, a seasoned energy industry executive experienced in governance and strategy execution, now serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of GTI Energy’s Board of Directors.
The board also elected two new directors.
Kelcey Brown, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy, brings a rich operational perspective spanning power generation, transmission and distribution of gas and electricity.
“To meet net zero goals, it is critical that we investigate emerging technologies that support the transition to cleaner energy while maintaining the focus on reliability and flexibility for consumers,” said Brown. “I am excited to contribute to GTI Energy’s focus on designing and demonstrating solutions that make decarbonizing viable.”
William (Bill) Yardley brings executive experience working with regulators and large energy consumers while operating gas transmission and midstream businesses across North America.
“Keeping safety, reliability and customer focus at the forefront in how we continue to evolve energy systems is a passion I share with the GTI Energy team.” said Yardley. “I welcome the opportunity to support GTI Energy’s work to secure innovative solutions that benefit the people and communities our energy systems serve.”
Rebecca Ranich retired as Chair of the Board after 16 years of dedicated service to GTI Energy. Since joining the board in 2008, she has been a tremendous champion and valued counsel in expanding GTI Energy’s impact.
Bowen
Bowman’s Board of Directors approved the promotion of two senior executives and ratified a new four-year contract with its chief financial officer.
Michael Bruen, who served as the company’s COO, was promoted to president, a role previously held by Gary Bowman, who retains the titles of CEO and chairman.
Bruen has been with Bowman for over 25 years holding various leadership positions, including COO over the past 15 years. He serves as a member of the company’s Board of Directors. In this new role, he will oversee strategic planning, resource allocations, acquisition integration and business development.
Dan Swayze, who served as executive vice president and division manager, was promoted to the role of COO, He is responsible for oversight of all professional services operations, and becomes an executive officer of the company.
Dan Swayze joined Bowman in 2022 as executive vice president of energy services. Since that time, he has grown within Bowman’s leadership team to the role of division manager with primary oversight of the transportation, MEP, and renewables practices. Prior to joining Bowman, he was COO at Onyx Renewable Partners L.P., a national renewable energy developer and financier established by Blackstone in 2014.
Bruce Labovitz, executive vice president and chief financial officer, entered into a new four-year contract with the company which runs through June 30, 2028.
He joined Bowman in 2013 and throughout his tenure, has played a vital role in shaping the company’s financial strategies, successfully transitioned Bowman to a public reporting company, contributed to the leadership team across all disciplines. He also played an instrumental role in the execution and integration of multiple successful acquisitions which, since the IPO, have added over $150 million in revenue; led investor relations and corporate communications; and driven shareholder value through the addition of over $425 million in market capitalization since the IPO.
Labovitz was recently recognized as the Public Company CFO of the Year by the Northern Virginia Technology Council for outstanding financial leadership and oversight. UI