GEI Names New COO and New Central Region Manager

BOSTON, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GEI Consultants, Inc., one of the nation's leading civil, geotechnical, environmental, water resources, and ecological science and engineering firms, announced today that Ron Palmieri, P.E. has been appointed as the company's chief operating officer and that Michael Gatzow, P.E. has been promoted to senior vice president to replace Palmieri as GEI's central region manager. GEI provides its technical services to hundreds of clients from 27 offices located across the United States. In 2012, GEI was ranked No. 126 on Engineering News Record's (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms list, rising 144 positions since 2007.

"GEI is at an exciting turning point in our history and it is with great pleasure that we recognize the accomplishments of two extraordinary individuals through their appointments to top leadership roles," said Francis D. Leathers, P.E., F.ASCE, D.GEI, president of GEI. "Ron Palmieri is an exceptional choice as our next COO and the company will thrive under his keen understanding of strong client service and effective business operations. Likewise, Mike Gatzow is a strong advocate of client service and technical excellence. These are the skillsets we look to as we continue to expand our client and technical service offerings and geographic footprint."

Ron Palmieri, P.E., located in GEI's office in Libertyville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, has nearly 30 years of consulting experience in geotechnical engineering and construction management, as well as operations leadership and management, strategic planning, risk management, and technical and support staff development. Ron joined GEI in 2010, and was elected to its board of directors in 2012. Prior to joining GEI, Ron was a vice president with AECOM for several years. Prior to that he had spent his entire career at the renowned Chicago-based consulting engineering firm STS Consultants, Ltd., where he had been a vice president and served 2 terms as a member of the STS Board of Directors. He was awarded his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and his MBA from DePaul University.

Mike Gatzow, P.E. formerly led GEI's Michigan operations located in Lansing, Iron River, Iron Mountain, and Marquette. Prior to joining GEI as Iron River branch manager in 2010, he was a vice president at AECOM. Prior to that, he worked for the renowned Chicago-based consulting engineering firm STS Consultants, Ltd. In addition to strong operational management background, he has more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of infrastructure planning, design and construction management for  water distribution, supply and storage, wastewater conveyance, storm water, roads, municipal facilities, grant procurement and project financing. His technical responsibilities have included all facets of project engineering and management, principal project review and overall project and firm financial management.  He has provided oversight to a variety of disciplines such as: civil, surveying, structural, geotechnical and architectural related services.  He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technical University.

About GEI Consultants, Inc.
GEI's multi-disciplined team of engineers and scientists deliver integrated geotechnical, environmental, water resources and ecological solutions to diverse clientele nationwide. The firm has provided a broad range of consulting and engineering services on over 35,000 projects in 50 states and 22 countries. For more information, please visit the firm's web site at www.geiconsultants.com.

SOURCE GEI Consultants, Inc.