Alumni Leadership Alumni and friends supporting CEE

Advice for Leadership and Life

In three decades of leadership, John Huff, CE 68, has helped Oceaneering International Inc. become the premier organization in underwater technologies. He grew the business from a small diving company to a highly successful corporation with pioneering technologies that have been used to explore deep ocean basins and outer space.

He has achieved a lot in the business world, and he says that understanding people is a key to leadership and success.

Huff returned to the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering for the Kenneth Hyatt Distinguished Speaker Series on Oct. 3, 2019. Huff’s demeanor was warm and casual as he shared stories and anecdotes from his life and career to illustrate what it means to be a leader with around 100 CEE students and distinguished guests.

“Leaders and followers need to have a common vision of what they are doing,” Huff said. “A leader is someone who sets expectations of followers and helps followers achieve expectations.”

What’s important about that, Huff said, is that not everyone you lead will need the same kind of help to succeed. Some people may require motivation, while others will need more knowledge to achieve their goals.

In the same vein, Huff said it’s important to remember what it’s like to be both a leader and a follower.

“In your lifetime, you’re not always going to be the leader. Many times, you’re going to be the follower. You need to learn both sides of the equation,” Huff said.

After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1968, Huff began his career working for two pioneering offshore drilling companies: The Offshore Company and Zapata Offshore. He later joined Western Oceanic and worked his way up to chairman and CEO of the company, where he developed a detailed knowledge of offshore operations through his work around the globe.

John Huff

KENNETH HYATT DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP SPEAKER

“In your lifetime, you’re not always going to be the leader. Many times, you’re going to be the follower. You need to learn both sides of the equation.”

From left: Former Georgia Tech first lady Val Peterson, Karen and John Huff School Chair Donald Webster, Karen Huff, Professor Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy, Hyatt speaker John Huff and President Emeritus G.P. "Bud" Peterson

Building a Career at the Intersection of Engineering and Entrepreneurship

“Engineering and entrepreneurship are like children—you don’t love one over the other, you love them both.”

When it comes to leadership, Bill Higginbotham, CE 76, has learned many valuable lessons from the 13 businesses he’s founded over the course of his long and successful career.

Actually, that number only includes his “real” businesses— in geotechnical consulting, energy and environmental management, construction, venture capital and more. But Higginbotham is a natural entrepreneur who has started businesses over the course of his life doing everything from cleaning pools to landscaping to buying and selling vintage sports cars.

“I have a low boredom threshold,” Higginbotham said. “I never wanted to be the guy who just did one thing.”

He believes strongly that all business opportunities are learning opportunities, and great things happen at the intersection of engineering and entrepreneurship.

On Feb. 6, 2020, Higginbotham shared the wisdom he’s acquired over the course of his varied career as the featured speaker for the Kenneth Hyatt Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series.

Over the past decade, Higginbotham has become an active alumnus who’s contributed significantly to the School through both service and philanthropy.

In January 2020, Higginbotham began his latest involvement at the School: co-teaching a course called Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Civil Engineering Systems. He believes all CEE students should graduate with basic business knowledge to make them more well-rounded candidates when they enter the job market. He hopes to inspire more entrepreneurial opportunities within the School to complement the excellent engineering curriculum that’s already in place.

“Engineering and entrepreneurship are like children— you don’t love one over the other, you love them both,” Higginbotham said.

Bill Higginbotham

KENNETH HYATT DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP SPEAKER

From left: Elizabeth and Bill Higginbotham Professor David Frost, Professor Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy, Hyatt speaker Bill Higginbotham, Elizabeth Higginbotham, and Karen and John Huff School Chair Donald Webster. Spring 2020 Hyatt Lecture

Kenneth Hyatt Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series

OUR 2020-2021 SPEAKERS

Stacie Sire, CE 96 Director of Structures Engineering, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Reginald DesRoches Rice University Provost and Former Karen and John Huff School Chair

The Hyatt Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series taps the School’s broad alumni base to bring a distinguished leader to campus each fall and spring who can share wisdom and insight with the School’s students and the wider Georgia Tech community.

It is made possible by the generous support of

Kenneth Hyatt, CE 62, MS IM 66.

This year the Hyatt Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series will be held virtually. CE.GATECH.EDU/HYATT

New board members from left to right: Alejandro Char, Knox Tull, Barbara Sloan, Jacquline Quinn, Cayman James and Evan Haren.

New Members Bring Range of Experiences and Perspectives to Executive Advisory Board

The new members of the School’s Executive Advisory Board reflect the diversity of its graduates and the breadth of options that are possible with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The six board members selected for this year’s cohort represent alumni from different generations, geographic locations in the United States and abroad, genders, races and career paths.

“We are excited to have such an accomplished group of alumni join our advisory board,” said Karen and John Huff School Chair Don Webster. “We are committed to ensuring that our board consists of members who bring a diversity of experience and perspectives to benefit the School.”

The Executive Advisory Board is a group of 30 alumni and industry leaders who counsel the School’s leadership on everything from curriculum to alumni outreach. The six new members were welcomed to the CEE Executive Advisory Board by 35 of their peers—a record number of current and emeritus members who attended the fall 2019 meeting.

We welcome the 2019-2020 cohort to the Executive Advisory Board and thank them for their first year of service to the CEE community.

Alejandro Char, MS CE 93, is the former mayor of Baranquilla, Colombia. In addition to his years in public service as a councilman and mayor, he has also been general manager of a construction and urban development company.

Evan Haren Jr., P.E., CE 77, is the president and CEO of Haren Construction Co. Inc., an environmental engineering and construction company based in Etowah, Tenn., that builds wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations, pipelines and water treatment plants.

Cayman James, CE 99, MS EnvE 01, is a project manager for Jacobs Engineering Group in Atlanta. James is a Registered Professional Engineer and specializes in environmental compliance and remediation.

Jacqueline Quinn, CE 89, is the NASA-KSC Liaison for the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Her work experience spans from environmental technology to lunar instrument development. She is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Barbara Sloan, MS CE 77, is a retired principal at Cambridge Systematics Inc. Sloan has more than 40 years of technical and managerial experience in transportation planning and engineering, including both highway and transit modes. She lives in Baden, Penn.

Knox W. Tull Jr., MS CE 72, is the president and co-founder of Jackson and Tull, a technology company that provides services in the areas of aerospace, manufacturing, national security, robotics, civil engineering and information systems. Tull lives in Washington, D.C.

External Advisory Board

Jim V. Anderson

Chief Executive Officer, SocialFlow CE 88, MS CE 89

Fred Carlson

Project Development Manager Alliance Exchange FL CE 01, MBA 04

Alejandro Char

Former Mayor, Baranquilla, Colombia CE 73

Raul J. Delgado

Founder and CEO CESEL Engineers MS CE 68

Murray K. Griffin, P.E.

Chairman Atlantic Coast Consulting, Inc. CE 79

F. Evan Haren Jr.

President and CEO Haren Construction Co. Inc. CE 77

Bill Higginbotham, P.E.

President and CEO ET Environmental Corporation CE 76

Michael F. Houlihan, P.E.

Principal Engineer and Vice President Geosyntec Consultants CE 85, MS CE 87

Richard H. Hummel II

Founder, Commodore Investments LLC Co-Founder, Federal Holdings, Inc. CE 89

Cayman James

Project Manager Jacobs Engineering Group CE 99, MS EnvE 01

John M. Kelley

Partner and Senior Vice President of Commercial Development North American Properties CE 92

Silvio J. Lopez

Senior Vice President Banco Popular CE 79, MS CE 81

Orlando R. Mendez, P.E.

Chief Executive Officer Dorado Beach Resort CE 91, MS CE 92

Edward Metzger

National Accounts Manager Trane Inc. CE 80

Emmy Montanye, P.E.

Advisory Board Vice Chair Senior Vice President Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CE 82

Rebecca Nease

Retired Branch Chief U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission CE 79

Christopher D. Pappas

Special Adviser to the CEO Trinseo CE 78

Donald W. Paul

Retired, Georgia Pacific CE 80

Meg Pirkle, P.E.

Chief Engineer Georgia Department of Transportation MS CE 97

Jacqueline Quinn

NASA-KSC Liaison NASA Kennedy Space Center CE 89

Franklin Rucker, P.E.

Chief of Capital Programs, Expansion and Innovation, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority CE 79

CEEatGT External Advisory Board

Members provide an important outside perspective on our programs that is essential to maintaining their relevance to industry.They play a significant role in vetting programs designed for students, alumni and corporate constituencies to ensure we maintain the highest quality standards in our curriculum, practice and outreach.

Ike J. Scott III

President and CEO Scott Bridge Company CE 74

Wassim A. Selman, Ph.D., P.E.

President, Infrastructure – North America, Arcadis CE 81, MS CE 82, Ph.D. CE 86

S. Paul Shailendra

President, SG Property Services CE 01

Barbara Sloan

Retired Principal, Cambridge Systematics, Inc. MS CE 77

Deborah K. Staudinger

Partner, Hogan Lovells CE 78

Damian K. Taylor

Senior Vice President Arch Street Capital Advisors CE 01

Knox W. Tull Jr.

President, Jackson and Tull MS CE 72

Michael R. Van Epp

Principal, EnvironCaptial CE 03

H. Arthur Williams

President Williams Steel Erection Company, Inc. CE 83

CORPORATE AFFILIATES PROGRAM

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering would like to extend a special thank you to the members of our Corporate Affiliates Program. Over the 2019-2020 academic year, the program grew from 17 to 26 companies—a reflection of the success we’ve found through engaging our friends in the engineering industry. The goal of the Corporate Affiliates Program is simple but powerful: to provide a link between our CEE students and industry partners through opportunities for mentorship, employment and education. The program has proven to be mutually beneficial: Companies get direct access and quality interactions with the nation’s brightest young civil and environmental engineers. Students, likewise, get facetime with recruiters and a window into the working world. Our CAP partners also provide the School with funding that allows us to keep our civil and environmental engineering programs among the nation’s best.

For more information about joining the Corporate Affiliates Program, please contact Emily Foster at Emily.foster@ce.gatech.edu.

2019-2020 Partners

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