The Virginia- and Kentucky-based AE firm Mason & Hanger has promoted Benjamin A. Lilly, PE, a 23-year company veteran, to the position of President.
Lilly, 46, replaces Mike Matthews, whom the company named President in July 2016 after it had acquired the AE firm Hankins & Anderson, which Matthews had helmed for 18 years.
Prior to assuming his new role, Lilly was Mason & Hanger’s Vice President of International Federal Programs. He has traveled to over 31 countries, and has managed AE services for international construction projects with a combined value of more than $4 billion.
Mason & Hanger is a Day & Zimmermann company whose origins date back to 1827. It is one of the industry’s oldest architectural and engineering services firms, and has worked on projects in 48 U.S. states and 163 countries.
Currently, international work represents a bit more than half of Mason & Hanger’s total portfolio. But Lilly tells BD+C that the firm will continue to invest “in all of our services and consider them to be equally essential” to the company’s growth and mission.
The firm has three offices spanning Lexington, Ky., and two in Virginia (Glen Allen and Hampton Roads), supporting both domestic and international projects with equal importance to the U.S. government.
As a federally focused firm whose primary clients are the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, Mason & Hanger will continue to invest in such growth sectors of energy, sustainability, and security design services, says Lilly. Its strategic focus includes adding other government agencies “where we believe we can provide unique value.”
Mason & Hanger will continue to focus on expanding its business with federal agencies. Image: Mason & Hanger
To achieve its objectives, Mason & Hanger will need to find qualified and capable people to support its work in complex environments and various geographies. “This is a good challenge to have and one I am most excited about,” says Lilly.
He is not averse to expansion via acquisition, either. After acquiring Hankins & Anderson last year, he says “we are always open to the right new growth opportunities that fit within our overall strategy.”
A graduate of Virginia Military Institute, Lilly is past president of the Virginia Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies, which in 2015 bestowed on Mason & Hanger its Virginia Engineering Excellence Grand Award for design of the Innovation Center in Helsinki, Finland. The previous year, Mason & Hanger received ACEC’s Virginia Engineering Excellence Pinnacle Award for design of the U.S. embassy in Monrovia, Liberia.
In his spare time, Lilly is an avid golfer and, as an Eagle Scout, has been an active leader with the Boy Scouts of America.
Related Stories
| Feb 15, 2011
AIA on President Obama's proposed $1 billion investment in energy conservation
The President’s budget increases the value of investment in energy conservation in commercial buildings by roughly $1 billion, reports AIA 2011 President Clark Manus, FAIA. The significant increase from the current tax deduction of $1.80 per sq. ft. now on the books is an increase for which the AIA has been advocating in order to encourage energy conservation.
| Feb 14, 2011
Sustainable Roofing: A Whole-Building Approach
According to sustainability experts, the first step toward designing an energy-efficient roofing system is to see roof materials and systems as an integral component of the enclosure and the building as a whole. Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Feb 11, 2011
Four Products That Stand Up to Hurricanes
What do a panelized wall system, a newly developed roof hatch, spray polyurethane foam, and a custom-made curtain wall have in common? They’ve been extensively researched and tested for their ability to take abuse from the likes of Hurricane Katrina.
| Feb 11, 2011
RS Means Cost Comparison Chart: Office Buildings
This month's RS Means Cost Comparison Chart focuses on office building construction.
| Feb 11, 2011
Sustainable features on the bill for dual-building performing arts center at Soka University of America
The $73 million Soka University of America’s new performing arts center and academic complex recently opened on the school’s Aliso Viejo, Calif., campus. McCarthy Building Companies and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects collaborated on the two-building project. One is a three-story, 47,836-sf facility with a grand reception lobby, a 1,200-seat auditorium, and supports spaces. The other is a four-story, 48,974-sf facility with 11 classrooms, 29 faculty offices, a 150-seat black box theater, rehearsal/dance studio, and support spaces. The project, which has a green roof, solar panels, operable windows, and sun-shading devices, is going for LEED Silver.
| Feb 11, 2011
BIM-enabled Texas church complex can broadcast services in high-def
After two years of design and construction, members of the Gateway Church in Southland, Texas, were able to attend services in their new 4,000-seat facility in late 2010. Located on a 180-acre site, the 205,000-sf complex has six auditoriums, including a massive 200,000-sf Worship Center, complete with catwalks, top-end audio and video system, and high-definition broadcast capabilities. BIM played a significant role in the building’s design and construction. Balfour Beatty Construction and Beck Architecture formed the nucleus of the Building Team.
| Feb 11, 2011
Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
| Feb 11, 2011
Former Richardson Romanesque hotel now houses books, not beds
The Piqua (Ohio) Public Library was once a late 19th-century hotel that sat vacant and deteriorating for years before a $12.3 million adaptive reuse project revitalized the 1891 building. The design team of PSA-Dewberry, MKC Associates, and historic preservation specialist Jeff Wray Associates collaborated on the restoration of the 80,000-sf Richardson Romanesque building, once known as the Fort Piqua Hotel. The team restored a mezzanine above the lobby and repaired historic windows, skylight, massive fireplace, and other historic details. The basement, with its low ceiling and stacked stone walls, was turned into a castle-like children’s center. The Piqua Historical Museum is also located within the building.