Throughout the U.S. and around the world, Hill International and its sister companies across the GISI Consulting Group are providing program, project, and construction management and advisory services for public and private clients in the energy and utilities sectors. With comprehensive management consultancy support, Hill professionals help owners in these sectors plan and implement projects in accordance with their organizational priorities, stakeholder expectations, and changing regulatory environments, contributing to expanded and secure networks, enhanced reliability, and improved customer satisfaction. To capture additional opportunities in the U.S. and strengthen our reputation for delivering successful energy and utility projects throughout the country, Hill has hired three key staff: Richard Box, John Black, and David Quezada.

Managing Risk Across a Dynamic Energy Space

Richard will serve as Senior Vice President, Market Segment Leader – Energy & Environment. He will leverage 35 years of international experience in energy to help grow Hill’s business and implement best practices across our U.S. energy practice. Richard will also help formulate and implement energy and environmental strategy at Hill and across the GISI Consulting Group, working closely with sector leaders at GEI Consultants, Palladium, and beyond.

Having served in a variety of roles throughout his career, from staff scientist to global oil and gas sector lead, Richard has expertise encompassing operations, business development, client management, and practice leadership. Most recently, he managed a national oil and gas practice with nearly $100 million in annual revenue and 300 staff. In this role, Richard was responsible for managing client relationships, building project teams, and making certain his team performance met all owner requirements.

Richard plans to join his expertise with the capabilities of Hill’s energy team to deliver program and project success for new and existing clients in the U.S. energy market. “With 50 years of experience managing work in a variety of market sectors around the world, Hill has unmatched organizational knowledge of exactly what can go wrong on any kind of project,” he says. “That helps us proactively identify and mitigate risk, leading to more reliable cost, schedule, and quality outcomes. Risk management and predictable outcomes are crucial in today’s highly competitive and dynamic energy space. I look forward to working with my colleagues at Hill, as well as across the GISI Consulting Group, to apply our global expertise and deliver our clients’ projects on time and within budget.”

Driving Innovation With an Interdisciplinary Approach

John will work as Vice President, Energy and Utilities. He will help grow Hill’s energy and utilities business and lead our program, project, and construction management operations across these markets. John comes to Hill with more than two decades of experience managing large energy infrastructure programs. He has directed capital program teams of up to 1,500 personnel, helping implement natural gas pipeline and valve modernization programs, electric vehicle charging programs, transmission programs, and most recently, distribution utility undergrounding. He also has operational leadership experience overseeing emergency operations, electrical maintenance shop and protective equipment testing, field personnel training and compliance activities, equipment operation, materials management, and a variety of safety initiatives to increase efficiency, reliability, and safety and improve customer service.

“I appreciate the experience Hill has in project management and program management on large initiatives in a variety of market sectors,” says John. “I’ve seen the value that such experience can add on capital programs and operations.”

According to John, today’s energy and utilities owners are responsible for a huge number of resources with a multitude of functions across increasingly large program and asset portfolios. Limited access to in-house staff in specialty disciplines, such as schedulers, estimators, and project controls professionals, constrains an owner’s ability to manage their projects efficiently. Just as importantly, without high-level program management expertise in house, owners may struggle to align their portfolios with their strategic objectives, stakeholder requirements, market trends, and operational needs.

“With a pool of program managers and experts across project management disciplines, Hill has the expertise to step in and support owners facing resource constraints,” he goes on. “Plus, with Hill’s expertise in a variety of other market sectors, such as aviation, rail and transit, and buildings, we can build interdisciplinary teams that bring new perspectives to familiar responsibilities and functions. That’s how you can realize innovation and achieve your clients’ goals in a better way.”

Growing Our Team for a Project-Rich Environment

As Vice President, David will focus on program management and business development for utilities throughout the country. David comes to Hill with nearly 30 years of experience helping clients manage major electrical utility projects. For much of his career, David worked with Southern California Edison, designing the electrical grid, running the utility’s largest programs, and overseeing project management teams. His more recent utility experience includes eight years of executive leadership.

David sees no shortage of opportunity in today’s electrical utility market and looks forward to helping Hill build upon an energy organization that already wins large programs, exceeds expectations, and delivers on all of its commitments.

“While the replacement and expansion of the grid, which was primarily installed more than 40 years ago, continues to be a top priority, utilities across the country also require updates to accommodate increased renewable energy output and massive commercial superuser load sparked by new data center construction and AI-related industries,” he explains. “New transmission lines, substations, renewable generation sites, distribution lines, bidirectional electrical systems integration, battery storage, and major initiatives to fire harden, underground, and modernize the grid promise a project-rich environment. So, there won’t be any shortage of work. We just need to continue enhancing and positioning our team to capture available opportunities and help owners achieve their objectives.”

Investing in Technologies & Capabilities That Matter

Senior Vice President Juan Pablo (J.P.) Villamizar highlights the increasing influence of technology on the energy and utility markets as a clear rationale for making these investments in Hill’s capabilities. “AI-driven data center growth and continued population expansion are creating unprecedented demand on power systems,” he says. “To help owners stay ahead, Hill is investing in the technologies and capabilities that matter most.”

“As infrastructure becomes more connected, operational risks now span both digital and physical systems. In addition to our energy and utility expertise, our increasing focus on cyber and operational technology security enhances our ability to be trusted advisors and partners that support and protect our clients’ capital investments. So, we’re very pleased to welcome Richard, David, and John to the GISI Consulting Group and to Hill. Their collective expertise, combined with Hill’s resources and relationships, will help energy and utility owners plan and deliver impactful capital programs to expand their networks and keep pace with demand, complete deferred maintenance, increase the useful life of their assets, and continue delivering outstanding customer service. I look forward to collaborating with all three professionals.”