Kansas City, Mo., January 20, 2003 -- Black & Veatch Corp. Monday announced the creation of its new Enterprise Consulting Division and the appointment of Rodger E. Smith, a former director in management consulting from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to lead it.
Prior to his assignment with PwC, Smith also held senior management positions with Southern Company, a large U.S. electric utility. The Enterprise Consulting Division will provide business consulting services to electric and water utilities.
The Enterprise Consulting Division is being formed to meet growing demand by utilities for strategic consulting services in light of market and regulatory changes, regionalization issues, new technologies and the ongoing need to manage assets.
Black & Veatch's extensive domain expertise in infrastructure development in the areas of energy and water, combined with the company's experience in management consulting, provide clients with a unique consulting partner for enterprise-wide business issues.
The Enterprise Consulting Division offers a full range of consulting services that include portfolio management, business transformation, global restructuring, asset optimization and renovation program management.
"The formation of the Enterprise Consulting Division positions Black & Veatch to provide consulting services that are in critical demand today by electric and water clients," said Len C. Rodman, chairman, president and CEO of Black & Veatch.
"In today's fluctuating economy and dynamic markets, these clients are being forced to get back to the basics. They have to make tough decisions on issues such as how to manage assets and where to invest money and resources. With Black & Veatch's domain expertise and consulting experience, and new leadership, we are the logical choice for providing solutions to these complex problems."
For the past 12 months, Black & Veatch has been incubating its Enterprise Consulting Division and centralizing the company's collective consulting talent from several existing U.S. operations. The initial market thrust for the new division will be in the United States; however, the division will work collaboratively with other parts of the Company that currently serve the consulting needs of the global energy and water markets. "This move brings together some of the broadest and deepest domain and consulting knowledge in the industry," said Rodman.
Rodger E. Smith, new president of the Enterprise Consulting Division, brings more than 20 years of industry-related experience. Most recently, Smith was a director at PwC where he was one of the builders and leaders of the PwC consulting practice for utilities, with responsibility for the creation, marketing and delivery of existing and new management consulting products and services. Prior to PwC, Smith held senior management positions at Southern Company where he was responsible for the development, implementation and management of programs designed to enhance Southern's competitive abilities.
"Rodger brings leadership and wide-ranging experience from his successful career in management consulting for utilities and large corporations in related markets," said Rodman. "We are fortunate to have him lead our new division and look forward to the value he will provide to our company and clients."
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch Corp. is a global engineering, construction and consulting company specializing in infrastructure development in the fields of energy, water and information. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch serves its clients with conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, information technology, environmental, security design and consulting and management consulting services.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the employee-owned company has more than 90 offices worldwide. Black & Veatch is ranked 78th on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in the U.S." listing for 2002. The company's Web site address is www.bv.com
