ACEC Illinois Taps Illinois Tollway Chief & Legislative Veteran To Lead Organization

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Aug. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC-IL), Illinois' leading engineering trade association, announced Kevin Artl will serve as its new President and CEO. Artl brings more than 20-years of experience in transportation and government, including serving in key leadership roles in the United States Senate and Illinois House of Representatives. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Illinois Toll Highway Authority and will assume his new role in mid-September.

"When you look at Kevin's extensive bi-partisan experience in government and his relationships at the state, local and federal level, coupled with his experience in transportation policy, the unanimous decision to hire Kevin was a no brainer," says ACEC-IL Chairman Bruce Schopp. "The Illinois General Assembly and Governor have made an unprecedented investment in Illinois' infrastructure program, and Kevin has the right skills and leadership to be a strong advocate for our more than 200-member firms."

ACEC-IL was instrumental in the passage of the Illinois nearly $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan, the largest in state history.  Artl's strong relationships built working with agencies and policymakers will ensure top-level execution of the program while promoting the interests of ACEC-IL members.

"It's a privilege to have been selected to lead an organization has a long history of successful collaboration with national and local policy makers to improve infrastructure and the future of our state," says Kevin Artl, incoming President and CEO of ACEC-IL. "We will continue to deliver high quality services to our members in the public and private sectors and will double down on our advocacy efforts to ensure that the engineering industry is poised to take advantage of economic opportunities while delivering critical infrastructure improvements to the people of Illinois for generations to come."  

"I would like to congratulate Kevin on his new role and thank him for his service to the Illinois Tollway and our customers," says José Alvarez, Illinois Toll Highway Authority Executive Director. "Under his leadership the Tollway continued to deliver projects on-time and on-budget, and I'm confident he will be equally successful in his new role."

Artl's selection came following an extensive three-month search that began when former ACEC-IL President and CEO Dave Bender took on a new role as Vice President of Political Affairs with ACEC National.  The effort to fill the vacant position drew more than 50-contenders, making the process one of the most competitive in ACEC-IL history.

Kevin Artl joins ACEC-IL with extensive leadership experience in the transportation industry and government policy. Artl has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Tollway since 2016 where he helped manage and execute the Tollway's $14 billion Move Illinois Capital Program.  As the Tollway's COO, Artl Coordinated with industry leaders on Tollway policy and capital plans, emerging technologies and best business practices.

In addition to his work at the Illinois Tollway, Artl served in senior roles for over 15 years in both the United States Senate and Illinois General Assembly.  Artl served as Illinois State Director for former United States Senator Mark Kirk and as Director of Communications and later as the Director of Policy for former Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross.  In addition to these official roles, Kevin also served as Campaign Manager for Senator Mark Kirk and Political Director for the Illinois House Republicans.  Prior to his work in government, Artl served as Director of Government Affairs for Amtrak.

ACEC-IL is the leading statewide association representing more than 200 consulting engineering firms and their over 11,000 employees. ACEC promotes the interests of consulting engineering firms through business, government and public affairs programs.

ACEC-IL is the host of this year's American Council of Engineering Companies Annual Fall Conference being held from October 13-16 in Chicago.  Over 1600 attendees from across the nation attend seminars to learn about the future of innovation, project delivery and infrastructure investment opportunities. For more information about ACEC-IL visit acecil.org.

SOURCE American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois