Skender Adds Four Shareholders, Announces Five Executive and Project Management Promotions

Skender today announced the appointment of four new shareholders along with five executive and project management promotions. Skender is a privately held, leadership-owned building construction firm dedicated to providing employees with ample opportunity for advancement and success in their careers.

The new Skender shareholders are as follows:

Brian Kane, also promoted to Vice President, from Project Executive. Brian Kane joined Skender in 2008 as a Project Engineer and has over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. As Vice President, Brian will continue to lead Skender’s specialized healthcare and life sciences construction teams on various hospital, outpatient and laboratory projects. He has completed numerous projects on behalf of Northwestern Medicine, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Loyola Medicine, NorthShore and others. Brian earned a degree in engineering from the University of Illinois.

Alex Panici, also promoted to Vice President, from Project Executive. Alex joined Skender in 2016 as Project Manager and has over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. As Vice President, Alex will continue to lead new construction office, hotel and high-rise residential project teams. He recently led ground-up construction projects in the Chicago CBD including 345 N. Morgan, an 11-story office building in Fulton Market and 609 W Randolph, a 15-story office project in the West Loop. His team is currently leading construction at 741 N Wells, a 21-story mixed-use residential building in River North. Alex earned a degree in construction management from Illinois State University.

Dan Stefka, Field Operations Manager. Dan Stefka has more than 35 years of construction-related experience. He joined Skender in 2013 as a job site foreman. As Field Operations Manager, Dan is responsible for scheduling workforce, equipment and logistics and ensuring overall safety of the site.

Dan Torres, CHST, STS-C, Safety Director. Dan Torres has 20 years of construction experience, including 14 years as a commercial union carpenter and 15 years as safety professional. Dan is a certified fall protection inspector, first-aid CPR trainer and OSHA outreach trainer and holds multiple certifications from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

The four new shareholders join existing shareholders Justin Brown, Jerry Ball, Dan Marijan, Afshan Barshan, Clay Edwards, Lisa Latronico, Brian Simons, Brian Bukowski, Joe Pecoraro, Tim Rogers, Andy Halik, Todd Andrlik, Dan Ulbricht, Ashlee Pforr, John Estes, Pete Conlin, Patrick Sullivan, Luke DeTolve, Brian Ribordy, Jeff Krause, and Stacy Laughlin. All shareholders were appointed based on their outstanding leadership, client service, work ethic, loyalty, ability to be team players and devotion to Skender’s core values.

Additional Skender promotions are as follows:

Lauren Bauer, promoted to Senior Project Manager, from Project Manager. Lauren joined Skender in 2019 as a Project Manager and has over a decade of experience in the construction industry. Lauren’s role as Senior Project Manager involves preconstruction, job-start planning and management of commercial ground-up projects in the City of Chicago. Her team recently completed construction of 609 W Randolph in the West Loop. She is currently managing construction at 741 N Wells, a 21-story mixed-use residential building in River North. Lauren earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Taylor Betthauser, promoted to Project Manager, from Project Engineer. Taylor joined Skender in 2018 and has five years of experience in the construction industry. In her new position as Project Manager, Taylor is responsible for managing the day-to-day details of construction projects including scheduling, change orders, invoicing and progress reports. She has helped deliver numerous healthcare construction projects for Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Children’s Hospital. She has also worked on tenant interiors projects such as LinkedIn and Brookfield Properties. Taylor earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Ben Miltzow, promoted to Director of Self-Perform, Carpentry, from Manager. Ben joined Skender in 2019 and has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. In his role, Ben oversees Skender’s in-house carpentry capabilities, working with Skender project teams and clients to effectively schedule and estimate carpentry services while managing projects, coordinating trades and ensuring the highest levels of quality.

“I am grateful for the hard work each of these individuals have put in over this past year to meet the complex and evolving needs of our clients and our business, especially given the unprecedented nature of our current industry environment,” said Justin Brown, President and CEO, Skender. “Our team at Skender is truly top tier and it’s been incredibly gratifying to watch these smart and talented people develop into powerful and effective leaders.”