Leadership | The Boldt Company

Oscar Boldt - Chairman

With dedication, entrepreneurship and consummate business ethics, Oscar C. Boldt has spent more than half a century transforming the family business his grandfather founded in 1889 into one of the nation's largest and most highly respected construction firms. His strong leadership has fostered a culture of excellence throughout The Boldt Company.

Oscar remains active in the operations of the company today as it serves clients across the United States through numerous offices and more than 2,000 employees. The corporate values of honesty, fairness, hard work, performance and a love for the profession can be traced directly back to Oscar's commitment to the company, its employees and the industry as a whole.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• Walter L. Rugland Community Service Award
• St. Olaf College Regent's Award
• Sales and Marketing Executives of Northeast Wisconsin - Executive of the Year Award
• Arts Alliance Renaissance Award
• Inductee - Paper Industry International Hall of Fame
• American Society of Civil Engineers - Distinguished Constructor Award
• Ripon College - Honorary Degree
• Lawrence University - Honorary Degree
• Wisconsin Horizon Award
• University of Wisconsin:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering
  • Distinguished Service Citation
  • Chi Epsilon National Civil Engineering Honor Society
  • Construction Club - Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Distinguished Alumni Award
  • One of Three Founding Fathers of Construction Engineering and Management Program
• Appleton Medical Center (Board Member)
• Appleton Rotary Club (Member)
• Community Foundation for Fox Valley Region, Inc. (Executive Committee Member)
• Lawrence University (Board of Trustees, Executive Committee)
• Memorial Presbyterian Church (Elder)

Tom Boldt - Chief Executive Officer

Representing Boldt's fourth generation of family leadership, Tom Boldt stands as the bridge between a groundbreaking past and a rich, exciting future.

Long a visionary and committed thought leader, Tom embraced evocative philosophies such as sustainable building and Lean philosophies years before they entered the public consciousness and industry conversations.

His passion for learning and discovery served him well at Minnesota's St. Olaf College, where he earned his BA, as well as L'Universite de Paris 3 and L'Institut Catholique de Paris, both in Paris, France.

Tom remains deeply dedicated to providing Boldt customers with unparalleled creativity and exceptional value as they build to achieve their business goals. And that dedication is evident throughout Boldt's construction landscape.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• The Aldo Leopold Foundation
• Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
• Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
• CAP Services - Gaylord Nelson Award
• Future Leaders of Wisconsin Star Stream Award
• Trustee and Vice Chair, State of Wisconsin Investment Board
• YMCA Key Leader Award
• Wisconsin Environmental Initiative Board Member

Bob DeKoch - President/Chief Operating Officer

When it comes to steady, thoughtful leadership, Bob is definitely one of our guiding forces.

President and COO, Bob combines an ability to optimize our customers' experiences on a daily basis with a broad vision for where our company is headed. He's been instrumental in making Boldt the industry game-changer we've become on behalf of our clients.

Bob holds a BA in chemistry from Lawrence University and an MBA in finance from the University of Wisconsin, and has been involved in nearly three decades of leadership and innovation experience in pulp and paper, beverage, and chemical industries before Boldt.

This diverse background has given him a deep and unique perspective into the qualities of inspired leadership, independent of environment, and helps motivate staff to continually seek ways to generate more value for customers.

An accomplished author with numerous trade, management and technical writings to his credit, Bob has also co-authored Embracing Uncertainty: The Essence of Leadership and most recently Progress Makers - Beyond the Desire to Lead.

Associations:

• Paper Industry Management Association (PIMA)
• Technical Association for the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI)
• Fox Cities Children's Museum - Building For Kids
• New North, Inc regional economic development chair
• Paper Industry Management Association

Jim Rossmeissl - Senior Executive Vice President

In an industry as complex as Boldt's, there's simply no substitute for experience, which is why we're thankful Jim's on our team.

In a nutshell, Jim is the marketing expert responsible for Boldt's growth. He sets the course for all of our corporate-wide expansion strategies, including oversight of the development and implementation of sales and marketing initiatives, as well as directing business development efforts for each operating unit.

Jim has an important quality that we urge all our employees to emulate, he listens extremely well. Listening well to our customers and potential customers and understanding what they need and want enables Jim to create lasting relationships.

Under Jim's leadership, growth has exploded, taking Boldt from $50 million in annual sales when he joined us in 1977, to today's $700 million in yearly sales.

Jim attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving degrees in both economics and psychology, and has held marketing positions for Fortune 500 companies, including design and construction firms.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Dean's Advisory Council, University of Wisconsin School of Architecture and Urban Planning
• American Hospital Association
• American Society for Hospital Engineering
• Wisconsin Hospital Association
• Board of Directors, Welton Enterprises
• Past Director, Integrity Mutual Insurance Company
• Past Director, Junior Achievement
• Past Director, Fox Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Past Director, Fox Valley Arts Alliance

John Lawson - Senior Executive Vice President

A good portion of The Boldt Company's reputation as one of the most experienced construction firms in the country can be attributed directly to John Lawson.

With more than 30 years of varied experience to his name, John had bid/negotiated, organized, staffed, coordinated and guided to successful completion literally thousands of projects, many for some of the world's largest corporations. Prior to joining Boldt, he amassed more than 10 years of engineering experience in industrial project management.

But he'd be the first to attest that he hasn't done it alone. His commitment to staff is equally unshakable. John has been instrumental in the professional development of younger architectural and engineering staff, carefully selecting projects that match their skill levels and allowing them to mature within well-defined areas of responsibility. The net result is a high-functioning and efficient team of professionals who continue to raise the bar on themselves, the company and the industry as a whole.

John is a graduate of Michigan Technological University, with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He also holds a degree in engineering technology from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Linda Nila - Chief Financial Officer

Linda provides Boldt with the financial knowledge and managerial leadership that comes with three decades in the construction industry.

Most recently senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer for a national construction firm, Linda is responsible for all aspects of financial matters pertaining to our operational strength, including budgeting, reporting, tax planning, risk management, insurance issues, bonding and banking relationships. She is responsible for our entire corporate finance department and oversees our information technology arm.

Linda earned her BS in accounting from Northern Illinois University.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Construction Financial Management Association
• Certified Construction Financial Professional

Jeff Johnson - Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Risk Management

As a company leader, client advocate and recognized construction services expert, Jeff is one of Boldt's greatest assets.

Earning his BS in construction management from Montana State University, Jeff joined Boldt in 1992. Since then, he's held a number of key management and operations positions, gaining hands-on project experience in virtually every Boldt market segment.

Jeff's ongoing responsibilities include leadership in corporate risk management, safety, labor relations, recruiting and employee development, claims management/legal and general HR functions.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• AGC of Wisconsin Board Member
• HR Executive Roundtable Member
• Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM)

Jim Lee - Group President, Northern Operations

For more than a quarter century, Jim has been providing expert solutions to Boldt customers. He currently leads efforts in our northern business unit, which includes the greater Midwest, northern Wisconsin and the eastern US.

Jim is one of Boldt's great communicators, keeping in constant touch with business section leaders and project managers to ensure customer satisfaction. He strives to make continuous improvement an integral part of his staff's routine, training them to look for new ways to save time and money while actually boosting the value of the projects they work on.

With a BS in Civil Engineering from Valparaiso University and a depth of experience, Jim's market focus includes energy, health care, food, education, industrial and commercial construction projects.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Project Management Program, Michigan State University
• Total Quality Management Program, Fox Valley Technical College
• Registered in Wisconsin as a Professional Engineer

Dave Kievet - Group President, California Operations

Over the past several years, Boldt's entry into California and its surrounding markets owes much to Dave.

Dave brings more than 25 years of varied construction management and field experience to Boldt customers, with market knowledge encompassing everything from health care to heavy industrial. Perhaps even more importantly, he delivers a passion for innovation.

For the last dozen years or so, Dave has worked to develop a range of Lean concepts for construction, implementing and integrating them into every project he oversees. His goal is to increase the total efficiency of the project delivery process, ideally saving the project owner time and money while improving quality outcomes and safety.

He's led some of the largest Boldt projects to date, and is actively involved with several of the US's most far-reaching health care projects, utilizing the Integrated Lean Project Delivery^® (ILPD^®) method.

Dave is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, with a BS in construction administration.

Associations, Awards and Achievements

• American Concrete Institute (ACI)
• Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Technical Association for the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI)

Ron Hanson - Executive Vice President, Minnesota Operations

Under Ron's supervision, Boldt's northern Minnesota presence has grown into one of the region's leading general contractors ... and a resource customers can count on for excellence.

With Boldt since 1985 and in construction for nearly 35 years, Ron and his Minnesota team have successfully undertaken everything from industrial, commercial and institutional projects to those for paper and mining, higher education, manufacturing and health care.

On a day-to-day basis, his background and knowledge is used to oversee estimating and project management, contracting, procurement, and cost engineering, while providing general guidance for the division at large.

Ron's creative, empathetic approach to meeting customer needs has become a benchmark in their service territory, representing the best in innovation, efficiency and cost-savings.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Minnesota Safety Council, Board Chair
• Local Economic Development Authority (EDA) commissioner
• Park Commissioner
• Rotary Member, Officer and Paul Harris Fellow
• Member of University of Minnesota - Duluth Mechanical Engineering Advisory Committee
• Annual Recognition Award for individual that most contributed to the benefit and improvement of the College of Science and Engineering at University of Minnesota - Duluth

Jim Kleinfeldt - Executive Vice President, Development Group

Specializing in health care and higher education, Jim is Boldt's in-house expert on real estate development, ownership structuring and financing for these growing markets.

Jim earned a BS in finance, an MS in real estate and urban land economics, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin. He practiced law in the areas of business and real estate, serving as a senior manager for a national health care developer.

In his current role, Jim manages the real estate group from the Milwaukee office, providing oversight for the approximately $1 billion in projects the group currently has under management. Providing corporate leadership, deal structuring, and managing the Boldt real estate portfolio highlight some of his responsibilities.

Jim is responsible for all Boldt at-risk developments, most recently serving as principal-in-charge for Boldt's $83 million Park Street project for the University of Wisconsin and for the $26 million Sherman Hospital Medical Office Building in Elgin, Illinois.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Licensed Attorney, State of Wisconsin
• Licensed Real Estate Broker, State of Wisconsin

John Hale - Group President, Central Operations

From a small start-up to today's $200 million business unit, Boldt Central Operations has become a source of limitless potential in the Boldt market portfolio - and much of the thanks goes to John Hale.

John has been a long-time member of Boldt's senior management team, playing a number of key roles in Boldt's success since joining in 1982, including vice president, regional manager, chief estimator and project manager.

Responsible today for all operations in the Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago markets, John is an expert in project organization, including preconstruction management, value engineering, scheduling, estimating and contract administration.

His team has a proven record in commercial, institutional and industrial construction, having completed countless projects in health care, manufacturing, alternative energies and higher education, to name a few. Most recently, John has helped Boldt establish itself in Chicago-area health care, higher education and wind energy.

John is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Building Construction Management program.

Steve Olson - Group President, Southern Operations

With a deep commitment to open dialogue and collaborative solutions, Steve runs Boldt's southern business unit, leading from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the regional office in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the nearly 30 years Steve has been in the construction business, his priorities for customers have always been to understand their needs fully, and then commit to providing them with service that surpasses their expectations, to execute work safely and with consistent discipline, and to develop an outstanding team of employees and relationships with partners.

Customers and partners who work with Steve can depend on his proven expertise in a wide range of commercial and industrial markets, including health care, higher education and energy. In addition, he has extensive experience in project engineering, project management, preconstruction services and business development.

A magna cum laude graduate of Bradley University, Steve holds a B.S. in civil engineering.

Associations, Awards and Achievements:

• Registered as a Professional Engineer
• Member, Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Board of Advisors, Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce
• CEO Roundtable, Edmond Chamber of Commerce
• Children's Miracle Network Fundraising Committee
• Leadership Oklahoma City, Class of 2011/2012
• Board of Directors, American Heart Association