Former Golder President Earns 2018 OPAL Award

Bill Brumund, third from left, recipient of the 2018 ASCE OPAL Award for Management
Bill Brumund, third from left, recipient of the 2018 ASCE OPAL Award for Management

Earlier this spring, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) selected William F. Brumund, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE (Ret.), F.ASCE, former Golder President and Global CEO, as the 2018 Outstanding Projects And Leaders (OPAL) award-winner in management.  Bill was a tenured professor at Georgia Tech before joining Golder.  In 1982 he became President of Golder’s US operations, and in 1985 he became President and Global CEO.  It is no exaggeration to say he is a legend in our industry.

Being a Golder employee myself, I have two things I would like to share about Bill and his leadership.  Shortly after joining Golder, I participated in a one-day course we called Golder 101, meant for new hires (particularly those new to consulting).  The course covered the history of the company and introduced people to the culture as well.  I distinctly remember the course instructor showing a graph of total number of Golder employees over time, and there was a very distinct, steep slope to the data in the early 1980s thanks to the leadership of Bill. According to the article, he grew the company by 2,000 employees during his tenure.

I also had the privilege of meeting Bill at Geo-Institute conference several years ago.  He attended the GI’s Organizational Member career fair along with me and another colleague.  I distinctly remember him taking the time to provide career advice to a rising star in our industry struggling with the decision of staying in academia or going into consulting.  There aren’t may people who can claim having as much experience in this area him.  As much as we would have liked to hire this person, I got the sense he was providing his honest advice and not just trying to steer her our way.

Source: Former Golder Associates President Earns 2018 OPAL Award | ASCE News, Image: David Hathcox via ASCE

[Editor] Randy Post, President of GeoPrac.net, is also a Golder employee.  The opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mr. Post, and do not represent those of Golder. [/Editor]