Firm hires senior professionals to support clients and lead expansion efforts

BOSTON — GEI Consultants, Inc., a geotechnical, water resources, environmental, and ecological science and engineering firm, has hired four senior professionals to help lead its Midwestern expansion efforts. The new-hires include Ronald P. Palmieri, P.E.; William H. (Bill) Walton, P.E., S.E.; Michael J. Gatzow, P.E.; and Michael Wheeler, P.E. Each leader has been elected a vice president of the firm by GEI’s board of directors, and Ron Palmieri was named GEI Midwest regional manager.

“GEI has completed [more than] 25,000 projects in all 50 states and 20 foreign countries,” said Francis D. Leathers, P.E., president, GEI Consultants. “We are actively expanding our presence in the Midwest, supporting a broad array of public and private clients who value GEI’s technical expertise, innovative solutions, and collaborative spirit in achieving outstanding project outcomes.”

GEI has established offices in Chicago, Green Bay, Wis., and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Additional offices will open in the months ahead to support local, regional, and national clients in a host of markets, including municipal infrastructure, dams, levees, and other water resources areas; plus energy and mining, utilities, transportation, private development, education and health care, and more. Brief biographies of GEI’s senior Midwest region leaders follow:

Ron Palmieri, P.E., GEI Midwest regional manager, has more than 25 years of management experience in the environmental, engineering, and construction services industries, and concentrates in firm operations management, strategic planning, risk management, and technical and support staff development. Palmieri’s construction engineering and construction materials experience adds to GEI’s construction support which is provided as an extension to its engineering and design services. He provides owner representation during site development, including management of quality assurance and construction materials testing programs on large acreage corporate campus developments for Kraft Foods, W. W. Grainger, and Hewitt Associates. He has also provided these services on numerous high-rise structures, health care facilities, and higher education campus expansions. Palmieri provides pavement management, evaluation, and design services to numerous clients who own and manage large property portfolios, assisting clients in lowering the maintenance costs over the life of their asset.

Mike Gatzow, P.E., has more than 24 years of experience in all aspects of infrastructure planning, design, and construction management for water distribution, supply and storage, wastewater conveyance, stormwater, roads, municipal facilities, grant procurement, and project financing. His responsibilities have included all facets of project engineering and management, principal project review, and overall project and firm financial management. He has provided oversight to a variety of disciplines such as civil, surveying, structural, geotechnical, and architectural-related services.

Bill Walton, P.E., S.E., returns to GEI. He was an early contributor to the firm’s growth from 1991 to 1996 under the tutelage of GEI founders, including Gonzalo Castro, Ph.D., and Steve Poulos, Ph.D. A licensed civil and structural engineer in 16 states, Walton has 30 years of experience in the geotechnical and geo-structural design and construction of dams, hydroelectric facilities, embankments, landfills, steel mills, power plants, wind turbines, building foundations, marine docks, and more. He is a FERC-approved independent consultant and facilitator for dam safety inspections and probable failure mode analyst, an elected fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a former chairman of the Geotechnical Group in Illinois, and he was elected to the Chicago High Rise Building Committee for his work on updating the 2000 Chicago Building Code. He was the foundation engineer of record for the new Chicago Soldier Field Stadium, the 1,362-foot-high Trump Tower, and the 2,000-foot-high Spire Tower in Chicago, completion of which is currently on hold. He recently completed design and construction oversight as engineer of record for a high dam, harbor, and quarry development for $1 billion Holcim Cement Kiln and Quarry in Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., now under construction.

Mike Wheeler, P.E., has more than 22 years experience in geotechnical engineering; mine infrastructure design projects including mine tailings basin design, planning, and management; as well as program, project, and personnel management. His extensive experience with mine tailings basin planning and design includes providing long-range planning assistance services to mine owners, leading tailings embankment performance monitoring and risk management programs, and providing oversight of tailings dam construction projects. His geotechnical experience includes dams, embankments, landfills, large industrial and manufacturing facilities, power plants, wind turbines, large diameter pipelines, bridges, pavements, and electrical transmission structures along corridors extending 200 miles in length. He has successfully managed large key accounts and led numerous major projects that required integration of various engineering and environmental disciplines.