Safety First and Foremost

Karl Fessenden is the president and chief executive officer at BrandSafway. He joined the company in October 2020.

Fessenden has extensive leadership experience in complex service-based businesses, as well as a strong track record of driving commercial and operational excellence in both public and private companies.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, he served as president and chief operating officer of MB Aerospace. Fessenden has also served as CEO of CHC Helicopter and spent 20 years at General Electric (GE) in various roles for GE Aviation and GE Energy, including leading GE’s $8 billion Power Generation Services unit.

He graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and earned his Master of Science in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Hartford Graduate Center.

Christian Garcia is executive vice president and chief financial officer at BrandSafway. He joined the company in October 2020.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, Garcia was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Weatherford International, an oilfield services company, and served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Visteon Corporation, a leading provider of automotive cockpit electronics. Previously, Garcia served as acting chief financial officer of Halliburton, a leading energy company, where he progressed through a variety of leadership positions including chief accounting officer, treasurer and senior vice president of investor relations.

He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of the Philippines and his master’s degree in business from Purdue University Krannert School of Management.

Art Eunson is president of BrandSafway’s Metro and Infrastructure division.

Before joining BrandSafway in 2018, Eunson spent nearly 25 years with General Electric (GE), holding several senior leadership positions spanning multiple business units. Most recently, Eunson was the general manager for GE’s Onshore Wind Services business, where he was responsible for new product development, operational excellence and overall growth for the global services portfolio.

Eunson was previously president of GE’s Bently Nevada product line. Under his leadership, the business expanded its portfolio to include advanced digital capabilities through both organic and inorganic means, with a strong focus on asset performance management (APM).

Eunson has also held numerous other roles in regional, engineering, project management and overall general management responsibilities across the fossil, nuclear, renewable power generation, and oil and gas industries.

He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

Gabriel McCabe is president of BrandSafway’s International division.

McCabe joined BrandSafway in 2015 as vice president of operating functions, overseeing various areas including safety, supply chain, fleet management and project controls. He has also previously served as a regional vice president for the company.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, McCabe spent more than 20 years at General Electric (GE) in positions of increasing responsibility in engineering and operations. His time at GE included serving as the company’s general manager of global fulfillment operations, where he led the GE global supply chain organization’s $1.2 billion aftermarket business in the industrial, energy, and oil and gas industries.

He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Ireland’s University of Limerick and earned his Master of Business Administration from Emory University.

Dave Witsken is president of BrandSafway’s Industrial, Energy and Commercial division.

He joined BrandSafway in May 2005 as vice president of sales, marketing and business development. Before stepping into his current role, Witsken was president of Brand International, responsible for running all Brand operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia as well as industrial operations in Canada.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, Witsken spent more than 17 years at General Electric (GE) in various engineering and management positions, including general manager of its Performance Services division, providing aftermarket upgrades and retrofits for the company’s globally installed turbines and generators. Witsken has global leadership and managerial experience in numerous P&L roles with increasing responsibility.

Witsken earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Business Administration from Westminster College.

Imran Hayat is executive vice president and chief legal officer at BrandSafway. Hayat joined the company in July 2021.

Before joining BrandSafway, Hayat most recently served as executive vice president, general counsel and chief strategy officer for CHC Helicopter Corporation. In this position, Hayat held global responsibility for many company functions. He was also an instrumental leader in attracting, developing, and retaining talent, and reinventing the company’s processes and procedures, while also maintaining the quality of operations, safety, regulatory compliance, and customer relationships. Prior to CHC, Hayat was in private practice with international and boutique law firms.

Hayat has an excellent track record as a global strategic general counsel and possesses extensive experience in building and managing large teams, overseeing various corporate functions, leading M&A and joint venture initiatives, and building strong partnerships internally and externally to implement global risk avoidance programs and drive enterprise and shareholder success.

Hayat earned his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, and he also holds a Bachelor of Arts in both economics and diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Meg Newman is BrandSafway’s executive vice president and chief people officer. 

Before joining BrandSafway in June 2019, Newman held several roles in human resources at various companies. Most recently, she served as chief human resources officer at Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., leading the $11 billion organization through a large and successful combination of two market leaders. Newman also served as chief people officer for 10 years at branch-based industrial distributor HD Supply, where she led change management efforts during its successful IPO event in 2013. Previously, Newman also spent time at Conseco and Sears in human resources leadership roles.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Coe College and a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Steve Wilson is vice president of environmental health and safety for BrandSafway. Since joining the company in April 1993, he has held increasing roles of responsibility in both the U.S. and Canada, including vice president of refining and petrochemical, president of Safway Group Canada, and regional vice president.

With more than 30 years of experience in the scaffold industry, Wilson led BrandSafway's entrance into the Canadian market in 2003, driving growth particularly in the Alberta Oil Sands Region. Previously, he also led all BrandSafway's oil, gas and petrochemical vertical market developments in Houston, Texas, before returning to Canada in 2012 as president of the Canada division of Safway Services.

Brad Cortazzo is vice president of operating functions at BrandSafway. Cortazzo joined BrandSafway in October 2015 as the director of project controls, productivity and quality. He has worked in the scaffold, insulation and paint industry for more than five years.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, Cortazzo spent more than seven years at General Electric (GE) in roles of increasing responsibility across several of the company’s divisions, including Energy, Power Generation Services and Oil & Gas. Cortazzo was also a production supervisor at Corning Glass and served on active duty in the U.S. Army for five years.

Cortazzo earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia Tech. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP).

Jay Fisher is chief information officer for BrandSafway. He joined the company in June 2006 as director of information technology.

Prior to joining BrandSafway, Fisher spent more than five years at General Electric (GE) in several information technology leadership roles, in which he primarily focused on enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployment and application support. He has also provided information technology consulting support to several industrial and manufacturing-based businesses. Previously, Fisher has also worked for MetalMaker, BWAY Corporation, Infor, and WMS Gaming.

Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree in business-operations management from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

Jim Rogers is vice president of corporate development and mergers and acquisitions at BrandSafway.

Prior to joining BrandSafway in July 2017, Rogers spent 16 years at Honeywell, first as a director of finance and later as vice president of business development/director of strategy and business development. At Honeywell, he was responsible for managing and executing on mergers and acquisitions of new companies.

Previously, he has also served in increasing leadership roles in finance, up to chief financial officer, at a variety of companies, including Healthy Pet Corp., Thomson Industries, Personna American Safety Razor Company and LSI Industries Inc.

Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wright State University and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University. He is also a certified public accountant (CPA).

Mark A. Blinn serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Blinn previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Flowserve Corporation from 2009 to 2017. Prior to this, he served as Flowserve’s Chief Financial Officer from 2004 to 2009. He has also served as Chief Financial Officer of FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services Inc. and Vice President and Controller of Centex Corporation. Mr. Blinn currently serves on the board of directors of Texas Instruments, Emerson Electric Co., Kraton Corporation and Leggett & Platt, Inc.

Mr. Blinn holds a B.S. degree, an M.B.A. and a J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University.

W. Paul Bowers serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Bowers has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power since 2011 and also served as President of Georgia Power from 2011 to 2020. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Southern Company and has held executive leadership positions at multiple subsidiaries in the Southern Company system since joining Gulf Power in 1979, including serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of South Western Electricity LLC, which he later transformed into Western Power Distributor, President of Southern Company Generation and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Power.

Mr. Bowers serves on the boards of the Nuclear Energy Institute, AFLAC (lead director), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta Committee for Progress, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Research Alliance, Lieutenant Governor’s Georgia Innovates Task Force and the Georgia Ports Authority. He is curator for the Georgia Historical Society, and previously was a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Energy Policy Counsel, the Nuclear Electric Insurance Ltd. (past Chairman) and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Mr. Bowers holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of West Florida and a Master’s degree from Troy University. He is also a Harvard Business School AMP graduate.

Andrew J. Campelli serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Campelli is a principal of CD&R, which he joined in 2015. He played a key role in CD&R’s investments in Artera Services (f/k/a PowerTeam Services) and BrandSafway. Previously, he held positions at Sageview Capital, Duquesne Capital Management and KKR, and worked in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. He currently serves as a director of Exaro Energy III LLC.

Mr. Campelli holds a B.A. from Harvard College.

James E.C. Carter, O.C., serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Carter retired from Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 2007 after 28 years, including 10 years as President and 18 years as Operations Chief. He currently serves on the boards of Irving Oil Limited (Lead Independent Director), Finning International Inc. and Ellis Don Construction Services Inc. and as board chair of Careers The Next Generation, a not-for-profit organization. He formerly served as the Chair of the Mining Association of Canada.

Among his many honors, Mr. Carter was awarded the Order of Canada and was also inducted as a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Carter is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Alberta and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Mr. Carter holds a B.S. in Mining Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

He is the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Engineering, University of Alberta in Science and the University of Prince Edward Island in Law.

William N. Dudley, Jr. serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Dudley previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Bechtel Corporation from 2014 until 2016 and as a director from 2014 until 2017. Mr. Dudley joined Bechtel in 1981 and served in a variety of engineering, project management and executive management positions around the world. He is a former member of the Business Roundtable and actively participates in numerous charitable organizations.

Mr. Dudley holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston.

John Krenicki, Jr. serves as Chairman of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Krenicki joined CD&R in 2013 after a 29-year career at GE. He currently serves as Chairman or lead director for CD&R portfolio companies Artera Services (f/k/a PowerTeam Services, Cornerstone Building Brands and Wilsonart International Holdings LLC. He previously served as Chairman of ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., CHC Group and as Interim Chief Executive Officer of three CD&R portfolio companies. He is a former Vice Chairman of GE and former President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Energy. At GE Energy, his responsibilities included oversight of GE’s $50 billion revenue oil & gas, power & water and energy management businesses, which employed more than 100,000 people in more than 165 countries. Mr. Krenicki held several leadership roles with GE prior to leading GE Energy, including President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Plastics and GE Transportation. Mr. Krenicki also serves as an independent director of Devon Energy Corporation and is a member of the National Petroleum Council.

Mr. Krenicki holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and a M.S. in Management from Purdue University.

Nathan K. Sleeper serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Sleeper is a partner of CD&R and has been with CD&R since 2000, and as of January 2020, is the Chief Executive Officer of CD&R. Mr. Sleeper serves on CD&R’s Management and Investment Committees. Prior to joining CD&R, he worked in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and at investment firm Tiger Management Corp. Mr. Sleeper also currently serves as a director of Artera Services (f/k/a PowerTeam Services, LLC), Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc., Core & Main LP, Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc. (formerly NCI Building Systems, Inc.), CD&R Hydra Buyer, Inc. (parent entity of SunSource Holdings, Inc.), White Cap and Wilsonart International Holdings LLC. Mr. Sleeper previously served as a director of Atkore International Group, Inc., CHC Group Ltd., Culligan Ltd, HD Supply Holdings, Inc., Hertz Global Holdings, Hussmann International, Inc., Roofing Supply Group, LLC and U.S. Foods, Inc.

Mr. Sleeper holds a B.A. from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Tristan J. Tully serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Tully is a Senior Vice President in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group, responsible for transaction origination and due diligence. Prior to joining Brookfield in 2014, Mr. Tully held positions at CD&R and Deutsche Bank.

Mr. Tully graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Government and Economics.

William P. Utt serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Since June 2017, Mr. Utt has served as Chairman and director of Altera Infrastructure Partners, LP, a Brookfield portfolio company. Mr. Utt brings over 33 years of engineering and energy industry experience to the board of directors of BrandSafway. From 2006 until his retirement in 2014, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KBR Inc., a global engineering, construction and services company. From 1995 to 2006, Mr. Utt served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ Energy North America, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Tractebel’s North American energy businesses. Prior to 1995, he held senior management positions with CRSS, Inc., which was a developer and operator of independent power and industrial energy facilities prior to its merger with Tractebel in 1995. Mr. Utt previously served as a director and Chairman of Teekay Corporation (NYSE:TK) from 2015 to 2017 and as a director of Teekay GP L.L.C., the general partner of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (NYSE: TGP) from 2017 to 2018. Mr. Utt also served on the board of directors for Cobalt International Energy (NYSE: CIE) from 2012 to 2018 and as the Chairman from 2016 to 2018.

Mr. Utt holds a B.S. and an M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia and has an M.B.A. from, and is also currently an adjunct lecturer for, The Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Mark Weinberg serves as a member of the board of directors of BrandSafway.

Mr. Weinberg is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Private Equity Group, responsible for investment origination, analysis and execution across North America. Mr. Weinberg has over 20 years of corporate finance and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Brookfield in 2006, he worked in Lehman Brothers’ Global Restructuring Group and as a high yield research analyst for CIBC World Markets based in London, covering the telecommunications sector. He has also held positions in the research and investment banking departments of Bankers Trust and the private wealth management department of Sanford C. Bernstein.

Mr. Weinberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and is a CFA charterholder.