Benton Harbor, Michigan-based Wightman appointed five new associates to its employee ownership program.
“We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional individuals to our ownership program,” said Brian Lieberg, chairman of Wightman’s board of directors, in a press release. “Their dedication, skillset, passion for serving clients and respect of their co-workers will be instrumental in driving our company's growth and innovation in the years to come.”
The new associates are:
- Noah Boyd, a licensed professional engineer, has been with the firm for five years.
- Jason Edwards, a licensed professional engineer and the company's transportation services manager, has almost 20 years of experience.
- Rich Hutchinson, a land surveyor with the firm, joined Wightman in 2019.
- Emmanuel Kollias, a licensed architect and an architecture department manager who has 30 years of experience. He joined Wightman in 2022.
- Zach Marsh, a licensed professional surveyor, has been with the firm for nine years.
Several shareholders also were promoted, including George Kacan, of the Royal Oak, Michigan, office, and Tony Kraiger, of the Fort Wayne office, were elevated to senior associate from associate; and Mary Deneau Nykamp was promoted from senior associate to principal associate for her work in southwest Michigan.
“It’s exciting to have such strong candidates nominated and promoted by their peers into their new respective associate groups,” said Philip Doorlag, board of directors secretary. “Their contributions to the continued growth and success of Wightman is recognized both internally and externally, and their subsequent promotions make our ownership stronger than ever.”
Employee-owned Wightman specializes in civil engineering and surveying. It employs more than 200 people in offices in Allegan, Benton Harbor, Hastings, Kalamazoo, Royal Oak, and Southgate, Michigan, as well as Fort Wayne, Plymouth, Portage and South Bend.
Caption: Wightman board members and some of the promoted individuals include (from left to right) Rich Hutchinson, Steve Carlisle, Mary Nykamp, Brian Lieberg, Zack Marsh, Philip Doorlag, Lee Petcu Jr., Greg Monberg, and Emmanuel Kollias. (Provided by Wightman)