CASTLE CONTRACTING - Key Persons
As a project director and director of St. Louis markets, Brian's focus is on the delivery of civil construction projects and pursuits direct to owners/developers as well as local general contractors. His primary duties include design-build and other alternative delivery opportunities, including leveraging Castle's unique expertise in self-performing civil site work from concept through construction and closeout. Brian joined Castle in 2016 after 14 years managing large-scale highway projects. He is a Designated Design-Build Professional, a member of the Design-Build Institute of America and a Master Drainlayer in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
As director of design-build at Castle, Christie leads efforts to develop new business opportunities for Castle's design-build practice while overseeing the design team and projects. She creates value for every client by engaging them early in the civil design and construction process, listening to their challenges and leveraging her extensive network to find the right team and deliver solutions that save costs and reduce risk. Christie is an active member of numerous industry organizations including Commercial Real Estate Women, Urban Land Institute, St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers and Construction Forum STL. In her community, she serves on the board of directors for Home Sweet Home in St. Louis and volunteers for multiple organizations including LifeWise STL, Women's Safe House and SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.
As a teenager, Clint Erickson got a head start on his peers by learning how to install box culverts and build foundations and walls for box bridges.
Job Titles:
- Director Field Operations at Castle
As Director Field Operations at Castle, David oversees and communicates daily with project teams. With more than two decades of industry experience, he is responsible for training and development of superintendents, foremen, field employees and internal apprentices. David also created a foreman development program to standardize Castle's field management and train future project leaders; he also partners with the AGC Laborers Training Center and Local 513 Operating Engineers Training Center to optimize our apprenticeship training program. David has prior experience in safety and risk and is a Master Drain Layer in St. Louis City and County.
Job Titles:
- Director Fleet Operations
Doug is responsible for managing fleet operations for Castle's Central region. This includes leading a team of mechanics and drivers as well as coordination, maintenance, service, transportation and purchasing for the fleet of trucks and equipment. He has over 20 years of experience as a heavy equipment mechanic and fleet manager that he utilizes to make sure Castle project teams have everything they need to get started every morning on site.
Dustin was the first employee hired to start Castle's Omaha office in May 2019. Since then, he has simultaneously built relationships with clients, won work and managed projects. He has also successfully assembled a dedicated Omaha workforce. Through his efforts, Castle gained momentum in the Omaha market as a site utility and earthwork contractor as well as an exceptional civil and excavation partner for MEP clients. While Dustin wears many hats, he is primarily responsible for estimating, planning and managing projects. As a lifelong Omaha resident, he is passionate about executing impactful projects for the community.
Jeremy leads the MEP/Utility team at Castle in St. Louis. Before joining Castle in 2019, Jeremy grew his expertise as a project engineer, estimator and project manager in commercial construction management for K-12 education, higher education, healthcare and public municipal clients. Jeremy is focused on continuous improvement, making sure his team is known for being problem-solvers and excellent communicators that fuel strong rapport and genuine partnerships with MEP and utility clients.
Job Titles:
- Director Operations
- Editorial: 07.31.2023
California native Keaton Taylor grew up with two dominant themes that directed the outcome of his career - sports and construction.
Keaton leads operations for the Newport Beach office of Castle. He was responsible for building the team and serving clients before opening a new office in spring 2023. Keaton oversees the development, implementation, and monitoring of Castle operational systems and processes to ensure the alignment of goals and key initiatives for the team. He brings extensive experience in commercial construction for owners with dense and complex infrastructure, which he leverages to guide his team and clients to successful project delivery. Keaton provides general management of shop/warehouse operations for the Southern Pacific region, as well as office operations and project teams serving the Orange County and Los Angeles areas.
Kurt is responsible for overall operations of the Omaha office. With more than 30 years of experience in self-perform work in the field, preconstruction and project management, he has implemented some of Castle's most complex MEP and utility projects. He leverages his expertise to lead and mentor his growing team while also focusing on developing strong and long-lasting relationships with Omaha clients and trade partners.
Matt Mudd's workday kicks off at about 6 a.m. with a barrage of phone calls and text messages from Castle superintendents and foremen.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Operations
As Senior Vice President, Mike is responsible for overseeing all management and operations for Castle's Central region. With a commitment to deliver an exceptional experience for clients on every project, he brings more than two decades of experience to his wide variety of roles, including carpenter apprentice and assistant superintendent to estimating, preconstruction and project management. Mike has an extensive background in both the building and civil sectors. A Castle team member since 2005, he previously worked for eight years with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. He is a member of Associated General Contractors of Missouri, the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers and the American Subcontractors Association.
Rich collaborates with Castle project directors and the estimating team to deliver comprehensive, accurate estimates for clients. Bringing two decades of industry experience with a variety of delivery methods ranging from GMP to hard bid, his deep understanding of constructability helps drives accountability for Castle as a project partner and leads to frequent value engineering ideas to improve cost certainty for clients. Rich serves on the McCarthy National Preconstruction Steering Committee - Specialty Markets/Self-Perform Group and has a Master Drainlayer's License in St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis.
Job Titles:
- Director of Project Accounting
Since 2005, Sherri has been responsible for overseeing daily accounting operations for all Castle projects, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and billing. Collaborating with project staff, she supports accounting, billing, forecasting, subcontract billing, contract review, change order management, and close-out. Sherri is an integral leader in client and supplier partnerships, making sure they have an exceptional client experience through quality financial processes and communication. As a champion of employee engagement, she is passionate about making sure Castle is a great place to work. Sherri is a member of Construction Financial Management Association.
Conkling's story with Castle begins with a college internship he took for college credit.
Tim leads operations for the San Diego office of Castle. Having started his career with Castle in St. Louis, Tim transferred to San Diego after the acquisition of Paul Hansen Equipment and has been instrumental in growing the team and adding earthwork services to its strong utility installation portfolio. Tim is responsible for project operations, including management of construction project staff and craft workforce. He continues to mentor the team, develop high-quality systems for project execution, and establish Castle's presence in the San Diego market.
Job Titles:
- Senior Regional Safety Manager
Trey oversees and manages the safety program for Castle Contracting. His 15 years of safety experience includes nearly 11 years at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., Castle's sister company. Throughout his career, Trey has focused on developing, managing and executing safety and safety education programs for heavy industrial facilities, dense urban project sites, heavy self-perform work and other larger, complex sites. Trey is licensed as a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), an Occupational Hygiene and Safety Technician (OHST) and a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). He also is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Operations
As Vice President, Vernan is responsible for overseeing all construction operations and management for Castle's Southern Pacific region. With 15 years of experience with McCarthy Building Companies and over 20 years of industry experience, Vernan brings expertise to Castle from projects across various market types including industrial, science and technology, healthcare, higher education, entertainment, and more. Vernan's extensive background and expertise will ensure he is able to deliver an exceptional client experience on every project.