We talked with Ken Gerling, vice president of transmission projects at Burns & McDonnell.
During his twenty-five-years at Burns & McDonnell, Ken Gerling has managed transmission projects with capital costs of nearly two billion dollars, and led teams with as many as three hundred and fifty members.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: What's a typical work day like for you?
Ken Gerling: I answer e-mails all day. Life is run by e-mail, right? Seems like it sometimes.
Actually, I don't know if there is a typical day. I travel a lot around the country. Most of our customers are somewhere else, other than Kansas City, so I spend plenty of time on the road.
I also travel up to Canada occasionally, and overseas to Europe. We're always looking for the next opportunity to help clients.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: What do you actually do? Why do people have you on-site? When you enter the room, they say, now we're set, because this guy really knows how to do what?
Ken Gerling: I hope our clients are saying that but, of course, I can't speak for them. I have a couple of specialty areas. My title is vice president, and I'm responsible for the transmission business, including overhead and underground transmission. I also head up our efforts to expand our electric distribution market.
I have a specialty in large program management. And a lot of experience running billion-dollar programs across the country.