Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering
The locally headquartered engineering firm promoted three of its employees to owners: Anantha Chittur, Fernando Frontera and Mark Hirschi. Company founder and President Steve Baldridge said that after noticing an uptick in engineering companies merging with larger corporations, he wanted to secure a future for the company within its own ranks.
Frontera, who is Honolulu-based, holds a master’s in civil engineering and has been with the company for almost 20 years. Chittur and Hirschi, both based out of the company’s Chicago location, have similarly progressed through the company’s ranks. Both have spent close to 15 years with the firm, Chittur with a master’s in structural engineering and Hirschi with a master’s in civil engineering.
Although the company has gone global — with employees based out of Florida, Guam, Hawai‘i and India — Baldridge believes keeping the firm in the hands of those that helped build it will keep the company’s integrity and relationships intact.
PBR Hawaii & Associates Inc.
With 32 years at PBR Hawaii, Vincent Shigekuni is now executive vice president. In his 38 years of professional experience, he has been involved in a multitude of projects from site selection and planning, to landholdings analysis and even community outreach. Shigekuni contributes extensively to PBR Hawaii’s environmental assessments and environmental impact statements.
Catie Cullison has also been promoted to senior vice president. Working primarily with the public sector, she has a decades-long history of meaningful work within environmental planning in both Hawai‘i and the Pacific Northwest. Cullison has substantial experience in facilitating community engagement and also assisting in documenting and adhering to environmental requirements.
Promoted less than a year ago to principal, Marc Shimatsu has again been promoted, this time to vice president. Working primarily in landscape architecture, Shimatsu has 27 years of experience in design and planning. Heavily involved in state-wide restoration and improvement, he incorporates sustainability practices and technology throughout his projects.
Peter Vincent Architects
The architectural firm hired Ken Vermillion as a project designer. Graduating from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor of Architecture, Vermillion has spent over 30 years in the industry gaining expertise, and ran his own practice, VS. Design, for seven years. He has experience in all stages of design as an architect and project manager, working primarily out of California with both small and large companies.
Young Brothers LLC
Jeremiah “Jay” Ana has stepped down as president of Young Brothers. Ana took over as president in 2020 after holding the director of accounting and finance position from 2014 to 2018. He will remain on as an advisor through the end of the year.
Stepping in as interim president is Frank Almaraz, an energy executive with over twenty years of experience under his belt. He has served as chief power officer at COS Energy, CEO of Braya Renewable Fuels and more recently as an advisor for energy companies.
Almaraz brings with him a broad range of experience including sustainable energy transitions, plan development, data analysis and commodities trading.
