SERVICE PROVIDERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Design
Andrew Chagnon manages a variety of engineering assignments related to the planning, design and construction of site development projects, highway and roadway projects, drainage improvements, and water and sewer line installations. Mr. Chagnon has 20 years of experience planning, permitting, and executing site design and land development projects. Much of Andrew's experience has been in the northeast specializing in the design of complex land development projects. He is particularly skilled at getting consensus on projects involving complex organizations and regulatory requirements. Mr. Chagnon has provided planning through construction administration for a variety of educational, transportation, infrastructure, residential, commercial, and industrial projects.
Education & Certification
B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Continuing Education, The CFA/CADD Training Center, AutoCAD Rel.
Professional Engineer (PE) - Civil, State of CT, MA, RI, VT
Job Titles:
- Technical Director
- Technical Director of Healthcare Services at VERTEX
- Technical Director, Healthcare Services
Archie Barrett founded Compliance Environmental International (CEI) in 1993. Building upon his vast experiences gained from service in the United States Coast Guard, a health physics technician in the nuclear power industry and as an environmental consultant in private industry. Mr. Barrett established CEI to serve as a superior consulting firm that specialized in providing industrial hygiene and environmental consulting/engineering services to healthcare facilities. In 2019 The Vertex Companies, LLC acquired CEI.
As Technical Director of Healthcare Services at VERTEX, Mr. Barrett provides technical guidance and management of Healthcare Industrial Hygiene staff, trains and mentors Healthcare Industrial Hygiene staff and performs business development with a focus within the Healthcare market. He is an active member in the Environmental Information Association, and a current Certification Board member for the American Council for Accredited Certification. Mr. Barrett is a Council Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant, a Council Certified Microbial Consultant, and a Council Certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor. He has over 30 years of experience in the environmental health and safety field.
Education & Certification
United States Coast Guard Machinery Technician School
Advanced Engineering, USCG Engineering School
Emergency Medical Technician Naval Regional Medical Center
ASHE Healthcare Construction Certificate
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Operating Officer of VERTEX
Ben Strong is the Chief Operating Officer of VERTEX and is responsible for the implementation and management of company operational policies and procedures, working with the various VERTEX service areas for continued growth, and establishing new service areas for further company diversification. Mr. Strong has been with VERTEX since 1997 and has over 20 years of experience in the environmental, construction and insurance industries as a project manager and environmental consultant. Mr. Strong has worked with Fortune 500 capital, private equity, REIT, lenders, developers, law firms, and insurance companies on numerous multi-million and billion dollar real estate portfolio and merger and acquisition deals as well as development and construction projects. Mr. Strong has also worked in support of various environmental and construction litigation matters involving contaminated properties and structural defects.
Education & Certification
M.S., Marine Environmental Science, Sedimentary Geology, State University of New York, Stony Brook
B.A., Geology, Colby College
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Executive Vice President of Construction Contracting, Tenant Improvement
- Executive Vice President, Construction Contracting
Bob Bergeson, Executive Vice President of Construction Contracting, Tenant Improvement (TI) and Restoration, has been working in construction and management for over a decade. At VERTEX, his expertise has quickly expanded from construction project management to include the management of his division, General Construction; projects consisting of TI and Restoration. Mr. Bergeson's work ethic and skills have brought excellent results in his work. He has been able to successfully manage hundreds of TI jobs on time and within budget over the years.
Education & Certification
M.S., Real Estate & Construction Management, University of Denver
B.S., Finance, Northern Illinois University
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President, Digital Forensics
Mr. Rice brings over 20 years of experience from the Managed Services Provider enterprise IT platform working with clients worldwide. He brings a skilled approach to client acquisition and retention due to his ability to explain difficult technical concepts as well as manage the implementation of them.
Mr. Rice joined Optistar Technologies, A Vertex Company, 15 years ago and worked side-by-side with the owner Mark Jordan to build and grow the business. Mr. Rice oversees the account management of the northeastern region boutique law firms. The synergistic work for these clients typically entails:
• Working with business owners to budget and plan IT investment and strategy
• Managing top-level infrastructure for business continuity and stability
• Providing Security Risk Assessments
• Developing Cyber Security Policies
• Digitally optimizing work environments
For the last five years, Mr. Rice has been developing the Cyber Risk Management and Digital Forensics division of VERTEX, which provides comprehensive loss control and risk management strategic consulting and remediation services as well as E-document collection, retention and management services for sureties and law firms, security breach analysis and reporting, digital forensic and claims investigation, and expert witness services.
Education & Certification
B.S., Radio Television Film, University of Austin Texas
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Executive Vice President of the Environmental Insurance Group at VERTEX
- Executive Vice President, Environmental Insurance
Catherine Pierce has over 19 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry. She has provided consulting services related to insurance loss control, environmental site assessments, field investigation activities, scheduling and coordination of subcontractor activities, regulatory reporting, collection of soil and groundwater samples, and data analysis. Ms. Pierce has completed cost control reviews for a broad range of environmental remedial activities on behalf of clients, including multi-million dollar cleanups.
Currently, Ms. Pierce serves as Executive Vice President of the Environmental Insurance group at VERTEX. Her primary responsibilities include management of clients and VERTEX staff for environmental claims across the United States. Ms. Pierce is responsible for staffing and overseeing claim management services to insurance clients including risk management, claim investigation, remedial investigations, regulatory reporting, cost negotiation and closure negotiation.
Education & Certification
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President at VERTEX
- Vice President, Environmental Insurance
Christopher Miceli is a Vice President at VERTEX. He has managed numerous environmental and professional liability claims in New Jersey, New York and across the United States. His responsibilities include client management, schedule coordination, staffing of field investigations, claim investigations, and claim management projects. Claims have included cause and origin investigations, subrogation analysis, petroleum remediation of first and third-party losses, pollution policies, cost cap policies, and indoor air quality claims.
Mr. Miceli has been responsible for the supervision, direction and budgetary control of more than 800 remedial actions. He was directly responsible for all phases of each project including proposal writing/bidding, remedial action assessment/design, remedial action implementation, field sampling and directives, regulatory reporting and correspondence with all applicable parties including clients, insurance companies, attorneys, and regulatory agents.
Education & Certification
B.S., Marine Science, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Job Titles:
- Chief Business Development Officer
Job Titles:
- Regional Vice President
- Vice Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- President, Compass Project Management