Relentless Ally since 2002

Kyle leads a team of dedicated professionals setting the standards for delivering distinctive spaces ranging from commercial office interiors to unique community facilities.

Relentless Ally since 2005

As vice president for the North Texas Education Group, Damon brings more than 20 years of experience constructing K-12 facilities across Texas. This in-depth, first-hand knowledge makes him an invaluable mentor for his team and a relentless ally for our education clients. Damon is a team builder and his goal for the education group is to achieve meaningful work in a team-based, collaborative environment.

Relentless Ally since 1997

With over two decades of experience, Ben Jordan provides leadership for preconstruction and the integrated projects group in Texas. During his time at Balfour Beatty, Ben has been instrumental in developing innovative solutions that have enabled the successful delivery of many large, complex landmark projects across Texas.

Relentless Ally since 2001

Steve oversees operations for our Large Projects Group in North Texas. With over 21 years of construction expertise, he has been a significant influence in the economic growth of the North Texas market, where his long-standing relationships and diverse project portfolio make him a respected member of the local construction community. A true customer advocate, Steve uses his expertise to provide creative business solutions and exceptional value to the customer while collaborating with all stakeholders to deliver on the client's vision.

Relentless Ally since 2011

Jeff Brannen supports the legal and compliance needs of the Texas operations related to construction contracts and negotiations. As a member of the Texas leadership team, Jeff functions as a strategic business partner to the business leadership.

Relentless Ally since 1996

Eric has overall responsibility for business acquisition, marketing and communications and future business planning across Texas. He believes in a strong operational culture based on servant leadership that celebrates our clients, community and each other. He is an alumnus of the Southwest Airlines Culture Committee, The Parkland Foundation and The Real Estate Council (TREC). He is also a former associate board member and mentor for the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Eric currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association - Tarrant County and At Last!

Relentless Ally since 2004

Travis is an industry veteran who leads a team of construction professionals adept at delivering distinctive spaces ranging from commercial office interiors to unique community facilities. Travis is a team builder and his goal for the Special Projects Group is to achieve high-quality work in a team-based, collaborative environment. 

Relentless Ally since 2021

As Vice President, Operations, Dave Dlugosh leads Balfour Beatty's Central Texas office. Before joining Balfour Beatty in 2021, he successfully delivered several notable local projects in our key markets, including the RiverSouth office building, Omni Resort at Barton Creek additions and renovation and Dell Seton Medical Center.

Relentless Ally since 1989

Denise Hubley began her career with GMH in 1989, a company that was acquired by Balfour Beatty in 2008. Currently, Denise serves as executive vice president and the chief financial officer responsible for overseeing the financial operations of Balfour Beatty’s US Buildings operations. Denise’s previous roles include being responsible for various aspects of shared services in addition to project finance, which includes debt and equity structuring.

Denise earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a concentration in computer science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In her free time, she likes to travel and spend time with her family at the beach.

Relentless Ally since 2000

Leslee Mallinson is an industry veteran who joined the company in 2000 and serves as our senior vice president of communications. As an experienced and passionate communications advisor, Leslee sits on our executive leadership team and is responsible for delivering strategic communications counsel and marketing and brand management across our entire U.S. business.

Leslee works closely with our operational, marketing and shared services teams to devise impactful communications that support our overall business strategy and our most valuable asset: our people. Among her team, Leslee is known as a caring and dedicated leader whose infectious laugh can be heard from a mile away.

Leslee is a graduate of Austin College and an active volunteer in the Dallas community that Balfour Beatty has helped build. In her spare time, Leslee enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.

Putting the Quality in Quality Control

As someone who grew up working with his father and uncle on different build and repair jobs, Balfour Beatty Quality Assurance/Quality Control Director Terry Marsh always enjoyed working with his hands. Given his natural abilities, construction may have seemed an obvious career path, but in his earlier years, Terry was more interested in becoming a pilot. 

Fresh out of high school and only a mere 17-years-old, Terry was eager to launch his career. As part of his job search, Terry took a leap and responded to an ad for an electrical superintendent position. The only catch was, at such a young age, he didn’t have any of the necessary background for it. Little did Terry know at the time, taking that small leap would set him up for a successful 30-year career in the construction industry. 

When asked why he applied to a role for which he didn't initially meet the qualifications, Terry explained that he wanted to learn the trade and simply needed the right opportunity to get his foot in the door. From there, the leap didn't seem so far off. "The owner apparently liked my drive and hired me immediately," recalls Terry. 

Terry was a natural fit for the construction industry, easily surpassing most of his peers and quickly obtaining his master's electrician license. After Terry worked alongside Balfour Beatty on several projects, our team quickly recognized his potential and offered Terry a full-time position in 1991. It was a move that established the foundation for Terry’s career as a highly esteemed quality control expert. 

Working with teams in Nashville, Tennessee and later, Dallas, Terry quickly rose through the ranks and honed his craft in quality control. Praised by teammates for his attention to detail, drive for excellence and unrivaled knowledge of building systems, Terry has built a reputation for significantly improving the quality of every project he touches. 

In his role, Terry provides critical recommendations to improve processes and mitigate risks or adverse trends that have the potential to impact the successful delivery of best-in-class projects. Through consistent and accurate execution of quality control procedures including reviewing installations and assisting teams in improving their execution of installations and systems, Terry is a consummate Relentless Ally for our people, partners and projects. 

Providing the foundation of a successful and safe project, effective quality control programs can mitigate the likelihood of costly rework and associated schedule delays, promote greater collaboration between trade partners and resolve design challenges that arise as projects progress. Balfour Beatty’s quality control plans are founded on delivering the owner’s vision and goals and empowering trade partners to execute quality work in rewarding team environments. 

“My goal is to help our project teams succeed through consistent and accurate execution of quality control procedures," says Terry. "Safety, quality and schedule are the foundation of a successful project. When I step on a project where it is evident that everyone cares about safety, it is always well-organized and clean. It is obvious at that point that everyone there is proud of what they do, they enjoy their work and they place a high degree of importance on getting things right."

Preferring to keep his boots on the ground, Terry makes it a priority to visit as many jobsites as he can. And although he might seem like more of a behind-the-scenes operator, over the last 30 years of working with our business, Terry has played an integral role in hundreds of projects across the Southeast and Texas. 

Terry’s influence far transcends the projects on which he has directly worked. When Balfour Beatty launched a new national Quality Control program in the early 2000s, Terry was a key contributor to the initiative. He also had a hand in our most recent development of an Integrated Quality Control plan launched in 2020, an innovative approach to quality control that incorporates project stakeholders’ expectations into our jobsite specific plans. Before construction begins, project teams obtain input from trade partners, owners and designers to build a plan that holistically incorporates every concern and expectation. This process builds on itself in bitesize pieces throughout the project lifecycle instead of creating a partially complete quality control plan at the beginning when pressure is high to complete design and begin construction. 

On a more personal level, Terry is known by his peers for being a natural teacher and mentor. Willing and able to make his technical expertise easily understandable for a wide range of skill levels, Terry’s extensive knowledge and research often helps teams discover and implement innovative solutions before they become problems. 

"What struck me most the very first time I met Terry, that still rings true today, is his ability to share knowledge with others without being overbearing while doing it," says Titus Rodriguez, senior project manager for Balfour Beatty. "In my 20 years with the company, Terry has never failed to provide assistance when called upon, which is an invaluable asset to his teammates."

That trust isn’t just one-sided. 

“Three decades is a long time to spend with one company,” says Terry. “But the people and the relationships I’ve built over the last 30 years have truly been the best part about working at Balfour Beatty. I trust my teammates and our leadership to always make the right decisions based on what is best for the business to thrive.”

After successfully celebrating 30 years with Balfour Beatty, it’s hard to believe that Terry could have ever ended up in any career other than construction and quality control. But much like the pilot he once yearned to be, he has used his knowledge, training and natural skills to help our project teams soar to new heights at every opportunity. 

Make Every Moment Count

Safety, Health and Environment Director Ryan Little recalls a life-changing conversation that forever impacted his approach to Zero Harm

Do you remember where you were around noon on Saturday April 28, 2007? Were you eating lunch, playing golf or maybe enjoying an afternoon in the park with your children? That day may be a distant memory for most, but fourteen years later, I can still recall every detail because it fundamentally changed me as a safety professional. It changed me as a person. And it reinforced my view of our responsibility to ensure safety is within everyone’s reach – on every task, every day, on every jobsite. 

At the time, I was working for another major general contractor on a high-rise project in Miami, Florida. Before I joined the team, the project had already gone wrong in almost every way a project can. Significant and ongoing staffing turnover led to poor management, catastrophic schedule delays and communication breakdowns such as the mass overstocking of drywall. With a booming local economy, second-tier trades were pressed to meet aggressive production targets on advanced scopes. We even dismantled the first tower crane as a hurricane was approaching. This project had nearly every risk factor for a serious safety incident. 

But we never expected that on April 28, someone would lose their life on our jobsite. A 26-year-old young man from Nicaragua fell 90 feet to his death while moving some of the building’s extra drywall onto an outrigger. This tragedy was entirely preventable—the result of a series of unsafe choices, an acceptance of unnecessary risk and a toxic ‘rip and react’ project culture that failed to address either dangerous dynamic. 

But before I explain the technical circumstances that led to this young man’s death, I’d like to set the stage for the challenges our workforce faces and why I immediately recognized that I could have done more to ensure safety was within his reach. 

This young man was being paid $.25 cents for each board of 70-pound drywall he moved. It was physically demanding, repetitive and production-driven work. Every night, he went home to a one-room extended stay motel that he shared with six brothers and sisters. 

When I was notified about the fatality, I remembered riding up an elevator with that young man earlier the same day. As I went through a roller coaster of emotions, I replayed every moment of the interaction in my mind. After a quick PPE check, I asked him to put on his eye protection in my best Spanish. With a smile and a nod, he did just as I’d asked. But I didn’t check for his orientation sticker or verify what task he was working on. I didn’t engage him in a personal conversation. By not maximizing that moment, I felt I had failed him. 

When I spoke to his mother just a few hours later, that missed opportunity flashed before my eyes. She asked me a haunting question no parent should ever have to ask and no safety professional ever wants to answer: “Why did you let my son die on your jobsite?” 

I could have told her that the outrigger subcontractor had gone to lunch, leaving the system unmonitored. I could have told her that his crew grabbed some unattended harnesses they hadn’t been trained to use and loaded boards onto an outrigger they weren’t authorized to work on. Or that they’d removed their retractables, so when the load on the outrigger shifted, they had no adequate fall restraint measures in place. But none of those responses would have brought her any comfort, and none would have brought her son back. They didn’t bring me any comfort either. 

We owe the people who work on our projects more than leaving their lives to luck or chance, but far too often in this industry, we believe we are safe when we just got lucky. Or, we assume that people will make safe choices because we think they seem like common sense. But that’s not always the case. Yes, these young men made misguided and unsafe choices, but their only motive was to get a job done to provide for their families. No one sets out on any given workday with the intent of getting hurt. 

This tragedy reminded me that safety isn’t about a sign or a rule. Rules are important and help save countless lives on jobsites every day, but those measures don’t work in isolation. 

Safety must be an authentic value we live and operate by every single day. To make safety within everyone’s reach, we must engage in personal conversations with our trade partners and take the time to examine our work through the eyes of the people performing it. By forming meaningful, authentic relationships, we can empower people to make safety, quality and production so deeply ingrained into their everyday operations that it’s as routine as putting on a seatbelt. They also need to understand it’s their right and responsibility to speak up if they see something unsafe. 

At its core, safety is rooted in trust—trust our workforce places in us to create safe jobsites, trust they place in one another to make safe choices and trust that everyone operates with one another’s best interests at heart.

In the wake of any safety incident, there are always difficult questions to answer. Some questions, like the one the young man’s mother posed to me, can’t be answered because there are no do-overs. To honor his memory, challenge yourself today to honestly evaluate whether you embody the leadership, courage and commitment to make safety within everyone’s reach on your team, jobsite or office environment. 

Don’t let a single ‘elevator moment’ pass you by.