PEOPLE & COMPANIES GEI Consultants, Inc., announced that Dr. Jesús E. Gómez, P.E., D.GE, joined the firm as a vice president to help lead the g e o s t r u c t u r a l a n d geotechnical practice and expand services in the Philadelphia region. Gómez has 30 years of design and construction experience in geotechnical projects in the U.S., South America and the Caribbean. In April 2011, he was named to the CE News Powerlist, and in 2014, he received the ADSC President ’s Award for his contributions to the geo‐industry. GEI Consultants also announced that William H. Lynch, P.E., joined the firm as a water resources practice leader to increase the firm’s presence and expertise in Florida. Lynch has 30 years of experience in water resources management consulting on potable water, wastewater, watershed and storm water related issues for local and regional agencies and industries, and has technical and management experience with compliance assessments and planning, due diligence and soil and groundwater contamination projects. Schnabel Engineering, Inc., announced that Allen Cadden, PE, D.GE, F.ASCE, director of strategic development, was induc- ted as the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute (G-I) on Friday, October 17, in Reston, Va., at the conclusion of the fall board meeting. Cadden is also past-chair of the International Society for Micropiles (ISM), a member of the board of directors for the International Conference Organization for Grouting (ICOG), and recently completed two terms on the board of directors for ADSC. Dennis Millgard, Industry Legend, 1937-2014 Dennis Millgard, founder of The Millgard Corporation, and legend in the deep foundations industry, lost his short battle with cancer on August 30, 2014. Millgard was born March 3, 1937, in Chicago, Ill., and began his career with Case Foundation as a layout assistant at 19 years old. He moved to the Detroit area to open a Case Foundation office in 1960, then left the company in 1963 to start Millgard-Ritzema Corporation. This later became The Millgard Corporation headquartered in Livonia, Mich. Over the years, The Millgard Corporation grew to become a premier deep foundations contractor in the U.S., with offices in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, as well as Saudi Arabia, and achieved numerous records in the construction of complicated and high-profile foundation projects. Millgard was a partner in Millgard Drilling Corporation, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in the 1970s, he traveled to the desert to drill deep water wells. In the 1990s, he was part of the Millgard Environmental Corporation treating contaminated soils in the U.S. and U.K. The Millgard Corporation’s primary market was drilled shaft foundations (caissons), but the company also built piling, secant and slurry wall foundations. The bigger, deeper and more difficult the project, the more interested Millgard was. A true entrepreneur who understood that the people make a company successful, he tasked his employees to be problem solvers and to think out of the box. Consequently, Millgard was involved in numerous firsts and many large projects around the U.S.: Sohio Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, the deepest drilled foundations at the time at 10 ft (3 m) diameter and 236 ft (72 m) deep; Rowe’s Wharf in Boston, one of the first top-down drilling projects in the U.S.; Sears Tower in Chicago with 10 ft (3 m) diameter shafts more than 200 ft (61 m) deep; Ventura Highway in California, the largest diameter shafts at the time; and driven piles for the Epcot Center in Florida to depths of 325 ft (99 m). Millgard Environmental saw numerous patents in Millgard’s name for the in- situ treatment of contaminants. Millgard also believed in giving back to industry and developing the next generation of leaders. He encouraged his employees to be involved in the various organizations and led by example. Millgard was very active with the Detroit AGC and was president of the Detroit chapter — a particularly significant achievement as a subcontractor. Several of his employees became presidents of the ADSC and DFI and two received Distinguished Service Awards (DSA) from the DFI. Others in the company held various positions as committee members and trustees. Millgard will be missed, but as evidenced by many of his former employees working for various prominent foundation companies, his ideas will live on. David Coleman, Underpinning & Foundation Skanska, Inc. and chair, DFI Educational Trust DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2015 • 95 Brayman Construction Corporation promoted Frank A. Piedimonte, P.E., to president and chief oper- ating officer. Piedimonte has been with Brayman since 2004 when he joined the organiza- tion as a senior project manager. In 2009, he was promoted to vice president, and to executive vice president of the heavy civil division in 2011. Piedimonte is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. ILF Consultants an- nounced that Jim Brady has joined ILF USA. Brady brings a variety of under- ground experience to the team, particularly in the areas of constructability, estimating and quantitative risk management. He will be based in Atlanta and will work closely with Conrad Felice, president of ILF USA, on the Delaware Aqueduct risk analysis project.
