VIKA Companies Joint Announcement, Promotions of Senior Staff

VIKA Companies, December 15, 2011 –VIKA Companies listed by Washington Business Journal as one of the area’s top 25 engineering firms, recently announced the promotion of senior staff from both the Virginia and Maryland offices. The announcement was made by VIKA Virginia LLC’s President, John F. Amatetti, PE and VIKA Maryland LLC’s President, Charles A. Irish, Jr., PE, LS, LEED AP at the Firm's November Executive Committee Meeting in November. The VIKA Companies are charting a new strategic course and will be realigned to better serve its clients, harness the talent of its leadership and developing technology. To achieve these strategic priorities, several senior leadership promotions were announced. The promotions highlighted the excellent work efforts, client service and leadership of these key individuals within the firm.

“We recognize and promote these deserving professionals for their expertise, leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, loyalty, and contributions to the success of VIKA,” stated President John F. Amatetti, PE. “They have all demonstrated dedication to VIKA and its philosophy of client service and a commitment to sustaining the future and integrity of our natural and built environments. Most importantly, they are committed to advancing the priorities that have served our company so well and will ensure our continued success in the future — innovative designs, best-in-class client service, strong collaborative client and approval authority relationships — these remain the cornerstone of what we do."

“We’re clear on the vision of where we need to be, and have the right executive team in place to get us there,” Mr. Irish added. “They’re a tried and tested team with the experience, knowledge, and expertise to drive the change necessary to realize our corporate and client goals.”

Promotions within VIKA Virginia, LLC:

P. Christopher Champagne, PE, LEED AP+ was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President, for VIKA Virginia, LLC. In his announcement, John F. Amatetti said, "Chris’ significant contribution to our growth makes him the perfect person to lead VIKA Virginia’s efforts. His greatest strength is his critical decision-making skills. Chris is rock solid with an extraordinary talent to anticipate issues. It’s his vision coupled with his ability that is the glue that binds our efforts in both the design and production functions and makes him an impressive engineering leader. He possesses a unique combination of industry knowledge and technology expertise with a deep commitment to client service. Chris inspires this attitude in his team and elevates the level of client service throughout the firm."

Robert R. Cochran, LS was promoted to Vice President of VIKA Virginia, LLC. “As a planning leader, Bob has extraordinary skills in thinking outside the box to develop creative solutions for project challenges. Bob’s impressive management skills include being flexible and innovative in a pragmatic way, while always acting as a strong advocate for our clients’ interests. His adaptability is the driving force behind VIKA’s successful planning efforts in Virginia. Bob has the ability to identify the fatal flaws in any project and to quickly hone in on what are the most important elements of each planning effort. Having worked closely with Bob over the last two decades, I’m looking forward to implementing our corporate growth agenda together,” said John F. Amatetti.

Michael D. Benton, PE, LEED AP+ was promoted to Vice President of VIKA Virginia, LLC. “Throughout his 17-year career at VIKA, Mike has mastered significant production-related skills. He is knowledgeable, technologically proficient and one of the most organized individuals I have ever worked with in this industry,” said John Amatetti. “He is the go-to guy for implementation of new technology and management programs across the company. Chris and I believe Mike’s organizational skills, design talent and commitment to follow through are key to managing VIKA Virginia’s production.”

Edmund J. Ignacio, PE was also promoted to Vice President of VIKA Virginia, LLC. “Ed has tremendous technical proficiency and is a great mentor. Like all great teachers, he is energetic, enthusiastic and enjoys working with staff. His encouragement of professional development coupled with company spirit motivates all that work with him to excel. Ed invests in teaching our engineering staff the important aspects of a project and leverages their unique talents to build a strong team for each project. His ability to foster engineering skills and to build bench strength in VIKA Virginia’s engineering department is a powerful force to contend with and is critical to managing our design efforts,” said John F. Amatetti.

Promotions within VIKA Maryland, LLC:

Mark G. Morelock, PE was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President, for VIKA Maryland, LLC. In his announcement, Chuck Irish noted that "Mark is the foundation of our operation. His vision for the future, commitment to client satisfaction, and dedicated commitment to our growth is the reason I chose him to lead VIKA Maryland’s efforts. His ability to lead our staff and his versatility in keeping an overall perspective of a client’s needs while working in the trenches is one of his greatest strengths. Mark’s many talents include a unique combination of land planning and technology expertise coupled with an impressive technical ability. His vision melds our efforts in both the planning and engineering functions and makes him a formidable leader for our Maryland office.”

Harry Jenkins, LS was promoted to Vice President of VIKA Maryland, LLC. “Harry has more than 28 years of surveying experience. As one of only 16 Registered District of Columbia Surveyors, as well as being licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, Harry has extraordinary project experience. Harry excels in client satisfaction, producing a superior work product that exceeds ours, and our clients’ expectations. A company man and leader for over 25 years, Harry consistently looks for ways to streamline, and improve the survey process and product using new technology and exceptional management skills,” said Chuck Irish.

Jeff Amateau, PE was promoted to Vice President of VIKA Maryland, LLC. “Jeff is our Director of Engineering and during his 23-year career at VIKA, Jeff has become an expert and leader in our office for the various technical aspects of site engineering. In addition, his intimate knowledge of the local jurisdictional processes, vast knowledge on the technical aspects of projects, and his professional relationships with reviewers has made him a leader within our industry. He is VIKA Maryland’s go-to guy to solve problems for our clients. He is knowledgeable, very skilled technologically and extremely committed,” noted Chuck Irish. "Mark and I respect Jeff’s extraordinary technical design skills, as well as his strong commitment to clients and the firm. We believe these key attributes separate Jeff from his contemporaries and empowers him to effectively manage VIKA Maryland’s engineering group.”