Timothy Barnard
Chairman of the Board
Barnard Construction Company, Inc.
Barnard of Nevada, Inc.
Barcon, Inc.
Barnard Environmental, Inc.
Barnard of Canada, Inc.
Barnard of Australia, Pty Ltd.
Barnard de Mexico, Inc.
In 1975, Tim Barnard moved to Montana with an idea that he could start his own construction company. He had $1,000, two shovels, a pick, and all of his worldly possessions in the cab of his pickup. His grandmother loaned him the $3,500 to cover his first bond on a $17,000 project. Since then, he’s never looked back. Mr. Barnard’s knowledge of the heavy civil industry has been gained through first-hand experience in the field and the boardroom.
Today, he continues to be involved with all major decisions in an organization that has always focused on unique and challenging projects. These remain the mainstay of our business. Tim’s first job in construction had him working in a ditch at age 15 with the family-owned business. It was there that he learned to respect hard-working men and women. This respect permeates his business today. He has always insisted on a corporate culture that treats all with dignity and respect, and builds all projects with safe, quality work, a culture in which the company as a whole is committed to doing what we say we’ll do.
Mr. Barnard recently received an Honorary Doctorate from Montana State University in recognition of his lifetime professional achievement and service to community. He attended Villanova University, Gonzaga University in Florence, Italy, and Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Barnard has served on numerous boards. Currently, he serves on the Gonzaga University Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Mary, support numerous charitable and educational organizations.
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Jeff L. Higgins
Chief Executive Officer
After 25 years in the construction industry, 20 of them with the Barnard Companies, Jeff Higgins moved to CEO in October 2011. Prior to this move, Mr. Higgins was a highly qualified Operations Manager who had estimated, negotiated, and successfully constructed small and large heavy civil projects throughout the U.S. He is well respected within the company and the industry for his attention to detail in safety, quality, budget and stakeholder relations. As CEO, he is involved in all major decisions in an organization that encompasses affiliates in Canada and Australia, in the telecommunications, transmission, tunneling, and oil and gas industries in addition to his work in dams, reservoirs, hydro, utilities and environmental projects. Under his leadership, the Barnard Companies continue to focus on remote, difficult, and unique projects.
Jeff Higgins began estimating for Barnard Construction while completing his degree in Construction Engineering Technology at Montana State University. His range of expertise in the field covers all methods of dam, reservoir, and hydropower construction and rehabilitation, including roller-compacted concrete (RCC) and earthfill dams. One of his recent projects, the Saluda Dam Rehabilitation Project, earned three national awards, not only because it was completed safely, on time and on budget, but also because it encompassed finding creative solutions to unusual challenges through value engineering. Mr. Higgins also recently oversaw three independent GMP contracts for the $400 million Everglades Agricultural Area A-1 Reservoir, the first in a multi-phased effort to restore the Everglades.
In addition to dams and reservoirs, his experience includes large-diameter pipelines, concrete structures, and electric transmission. He has worked in all types of conditions across the country and negotiated with Owners outside the U.S. as well. He has experience in alternative contracts, including Construction Manager at Risk. And he is committed to the partnering process.
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Paul A. Franzen
President
As President, Paul Franzen is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Barnard Companies. Mr. Franzen has more than 30 years of experience in the heavy civil construction industry. He joined Barnard in 1990 and was promoted to President of Barnard Construction in 2000. He interned with Barnard while earning a degree in Construction Engineering Technology from Montana State University, where he graduated with highest honors. MSU’s College of Engineering recently honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Award. His career has taken him from working as a laborer, carpenter and equipment operator to overseeing safety, quality, value engineering, scheduling and personnel. His areas of expertise first encompassed water and wastewater pipelines, and pumping facilities and later expanded into dam construction and rehabilitation, oil and gas pipelines, environmental, and tunneling work.
Mr. Franzen oversees the management and development of Barnard Construction, from negotiating new contracts and developing and implementing long-range plans, to routinely visiting project sites, participating in Partnering meetings and constructability reviews, interviewing potential new employees, and contributing to annual reviews of our in-house talent. Paul is very involved in the Partnering process and our relationships with project owners. His experience in alternative contracting methods ensures that from the outset we embark on projects that will meet the owner’s needs. The Barnard Companies have experienced steady growth and expansion into new areas under his leadership.
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Joseph P. Nelson
Vice President/Operations Manager
Joe Nelson has 37 years of experience in the heavy civil industry. He worked his way up the ladder, from driving trucks, to work in the field, to estimating, to managing all of these details and the personnel who currently tackle them. Mr. Nelson joined Barnard 27 years ago and has been instrumental in developing the firm we are today. He has extensive training in the technical and management aspects of the industry in addition to the degree in Construction Engineering Technology he earned with honors from Montana State University. His trademarks within the company and the industry are his abilities to innovate, to build a team, and to share his contagious enthusiasm. MSU’s College of Engineering recently honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Nelson has worked on projects throughout the U.S., from sewer rehabilitation in Los Angeles to lake-source cooling at Cornell University in New York. He has overseen large-scale projects, including the $400 million Owens Lake Program for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. From the beginning, Joe has been known a team player and a team-builder. He believes in Partnering; in the last 10 years, his teams/projects have earned four Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Awards from the Associated General Contractors of America, an unparalleled feat. In fact, Joe was a pioneer of the Partnering process long before it was adopted by most organizations.
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Daniel S. Schall
Vice President/Operations Manager
Dan Schall has built his 20+-year career in the heavy civil construction industry specializing in tunnels, shafts, concrete, hydropower, earthwork, water and wastewater treatment plants, marine work, and turbine/generator equipment installation. Mr. Schall has been with the Barnard Companies 16 of those years, having spent a number of years early in his career with M.A. Mortenson after earning a degree in Construction Management from North Dakota State University.
As Operations Manager since 2001, Mr. Schall has had oversight and direct involvement in a broad range of successful projects throughout the U.S., a number of which have encompassed alternative contracting methods. He recently oversaw the successful, on-time, on-budget construction of the Lake Mead Intake No. 2 Connections and Modifications Project for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. His other recent work has included deep-water marine construction as well as the emergency repair of the Fern Ridge Dam in Oregon, earning a Contractor of the Year Award from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the safety, efficiency, and partnering which made this ambitious project achievable. Mr. Schall was also part of a team that earned a Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award for the teamwork that made Cornell University’s Lake Water Cooling Project possible within the Ithaca, New York, community.
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Neil VanAmburg
, P.E.
Vice President/Operations Manager
In Neil VanAmburg’s 16 years at Barnard, he has focused primarily on challenging dam, reservoir, water supply and hydropower projects that have involved RCC, mass concrete, structural concrete, earthwork, large-diameter pipe, and penstock work. As Operations Manager/Vice President, Neil oversees projects from Barnard’s initial estimating, through design and execution, to project delivery. Recently, he oversaw the Wanapum Dam Future Unit Infill Project, successfully completed a full two years ahead of the Owner’s schedule due to a creative schedule approach.
Mr. VanAmburg earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering Technology from Montana State University in 1995 and became a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in 2002. He began as a Project Engineer at Barnard Construction after working on a precast segmental bridge project for Martin K Eby Construction in Austin, Texas.
Earlier, when a Project Manager, Mr. VanAmburg drew together a team of stakeholders and pursued innovative value engineering solutions that resulted in the successful on-time, on-budget completion of the Saluda Dam Remediation Project in South Carolina. This $188 million project drew three national industry awards for its design, adaptation to conditions, and construction. More recently, he led a sizeable Barnard team in a joint venture with Parsons Water & Infrastructure on the EAA A-1 Reservoir Project for the South Florida Water Management District, which encompassed three independent GMP contracts and more than 300 employees.
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Mike Jenkins, Jr.
Vice President/Operations Manager
Mike Jenkins, Jr. was promoted to Vice President/Operations Manager in the fall of 2011. Mike has spent the last 19 years focused on heavy-civil construction, but his exposure to construction actually began earlier. Influenced by a father working as a Superintendent on a variety of projects throughout the U.S., Mike started out in his teens working as an Operator and Laborer. He then earned a B.S. in Engineering Science from Montana Tech in 1997, joining the Barnard Companies upon graduation.
Mr. Jenkins’ construction career has covered a broad range of projects, large and small, from a challenging lake source cooling project for Cornell University, to a backup dam requiring 1.3 million CY of RCC in South Carolina. More recently, he managed a Design-Assist contract that involved attaching a 280-foot-tall, 300-ton selective water withdrawal structure to an existing intake 270 feet below the water’s surface in a central Oregon reservoir. Several of these projects have earned national awards for success in Partnering and construction excellence. He has worked on dam and reservoir construction and rehabilitation, tunnels, underground utilities, concrete structures, and a variety of earthwork and RCC projects. As Operations Manager, Mr. Jenkins oversees Electrical Transmission and Civil projects from estimating through design and construction, also working with Owners and Stakeholders in a Partnering atmosphere.
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Derek Tisdel
Vice President/Operations Manager
Derek Tisdel was recently promoted to Vice President/Operations Manager of the Barnard Companies' Barnard Telecommunications, Inc., where he is coordinating BTI’s efforts in wireless communications, including cell phone tower estimating, construction and repair throughout the U.S. Derek has spent his 15-year career focused on heavy-civil construction. He joined the Barnard Companies immediately after earning a B.S. in Construction Management with a minor in Business Administration from Central Washington University in 1997. Since then, his work at Barnard has included numerous complex projects in the field, from Florida to California, New York and Colorado.
Mr. Tisdel began his career working on a storm drainage and utilities project. His work has encompassed tunnel rehabilitation, lake source cooling, dust mitigation measures, water resources construction, and, most recently, telecommunications. He demonstrated his ability to manage and partner with clients while managing the Tampa Bay Regional Reservoir and a significant portion of the Everglades Agricultural Area Project, a $275 million project that included managing more than 50 salaried and 300 hourly employees operating under a Construction Management @ Risk contract. He has been on three project teams that have earned national Partnering awards.
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Robert A. Reseigh
Vice President
Tunnel Group
Bob Reseigh’s expertise in underground construction developed from a career that spans more than 40 years. His role at the Barnard Companies is to oversee the expansion of our work in tunnel and shaft construction and rehabilitation. Following graduation from the Colorado School of Mines in 1968 with a Masters degree in Mining Engineering, and service in the U.S. Army, Bob joined Peter Kiewit Sons and worked his way up through the field ranks of Project Engineer, Superintendent, Project Manager, and Estimator before being promoted to District Manager, Vice President, and Area Manager. Bob retired from Kiewit after 18 years, and decided to join Atkinson Construction in the capacity of Executive Vice President where he ran the Underground Group for 15 years prior to joining Barnard Construction.
Mr. Reseigh built his career specializing in underground construction, both domestically and overseas. He is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable individuals in the country in deep shaft and drill and blast tunnel work, having been responsible for in excess of 6 miles of shaft sinking and 55 miles of tunnel/horizontal mine development in his career. In addition, his work has involved both mine development and heavy civil projects, including subways, outfalls, railroads, dams, pump storage, water and sewer, marine construction, and municipal work. At Barnard, Bob has proven invaluable in our strategic planning, new business development, estimating, field operations, and client contact. He also provides leadership and training to our team of experienced and new engineers.
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Scott Brady
Vice President of Finance and Accounting
Scott Brady was promoted to Vice President of Finance and Accounting for the Barnard Companies in 2010.
Scott grew up in Great Falls, Montana, and became interested in construction in high school. He earned a B.S. in Construction Engineering Technology from Montana State University in 1985 and immediately entered the construction industry, first working for Neal & Co. in Alaska, Guam and Hawaii, followed by seven years with Kiewit. He originally worked for Barnard as an Intern in 1984, and then rejoined Barnard in 1995 as a Project Manager. From 2000 to 2009, he managed five dust mitigation projects at Owens Lake for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power totaling approximately $380 million. Through his leadership and attention to detail, these projects have been awarded numerous regional, state, and national awards for partnering, engineering, environmental, design/ build, and community development. Mr. Brady will now be based at Barnard’s Home Office in Bozeman, Montana.
As VP of Finance and Accounting, Mr. Brady’s responsibilities include overall management of the accounting department, reviewing and implementing company cost controls and procedures, reviewing subcontract/vendor contracts for compliance with corporate policy as well as contract requirements, forecasting insurance/risk management, bonding, and financial needs.
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Jim Tilleman, CPA
CFO/Controller
In 2010, Jim Tilleman assumed the role CFO/Controller of the Barnard Companies. Jim joined Barnard as Controller in 1991. He was born and raised in Chinook, Montana, and first came to Bozeman to attend Montana State University, where he earned a B.S. in Business/Accounting in 1982. He became licensed as a certified public accountant (CPA) in 1983.
Prior to joining Barnard, Mr. Tilleman worked briefly for Gulf Oil Corp. in Wyoming, gaining experience in oil and gas job cost accounting and analysis, among other duties. He spent five years at Galusha, Higgins & Galusha CPAs in Helena and Bozeman, where he worked on tax planning and preparation, financial audits, budgeting, cost analysis, and cash flow forecasting for clients. He became Controller of United Tote in Shepard, Montana, in 1998, where he was responsible for financial accounting and reporting, SEC filings, income tax planning and preparation and overseeing a computer conversion.
As CFO/Controller at Barnard, Mr. Tilleman’s responsibilities include financial reporting, income tax planning and reporting, audit procedures, cost analysis, cash flow forecasting, and researching various state, federal, and international requirements related to labor and tax issues. Jim also coordinates with various financial institutions to ensure that the Barnard Companies’ financial and investment needs are met.
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