COWI North America Announces Staff Changes

COWI North America has announced two leadership changes to help propel the company’s tunnel business forward.

Steven Hunt, currently President & CEO of COWI North America will additionally occupy the role of Senior Vice President – Tunnels on an interim basis. As Senior Vice President, Hunt will oversee the entire tunnel business in North America. This appointment is effective immediately.

Additionally, COWI North America introduced a new Vice President to the tunnel leadership team. Blake D. Rothfuss, P.E., D.WRE, a heavy civil engineer and project manager with over 32 years of professional experience, will begin his role as COWI Tunnel North America’s VP and Project Director effective March 31, 2016.

RELATED: Jenny Engineering Corp. Moves Forward Under the COWI North America Banner

Rothfuss comes to COWI North America from his former role as Principal, Vice President and Regional Water Resources Manager at McMillen Jacobs Associates in San Francisco, California. In addition to his managerial and operational experience, Rothfuss brings a wealth of technical knowledge in the areas of heavy civil projects; hydroelectric engineering; asset management of tunnels, penstocks, and pipelines; underground construction safety; and business information systems. Most recently, he served as the Owner’s Engineer and Project Manager on both the Iowa Hill Pumped Storage Project in Camino, California, and the Mountain Tunnel Improvement Project in Moccasin, California.

Located in COWI North America’s Oakland, California office, Rothfuss will join existing bridge and marine staff.

RELATED: COWI/JEC Celebrates 50 Years of Tunneling Excellence

Additionally, with Rothfuss’ and Hunt’s deep knowledge of the U.S. and Canadian tunnel industry and the global tunnel service offerings of COWI, this puts COWI’s tunnel business at a considerable advantage; opening the door to many multi-disciplinary project opportunities.

Both these appointments coincide with exciting opportunities on the horizon. The upcoming annual World Tunnel Congress takes place in the United States for the first time in 19 years and as such, a strong COWI presence will foster further industry relationships.