Engineering Advisory Committee

Summary

Signal Hill’s continued involvement in the engineering sector is propelled by positive megatrends and tailwinds, presenting unparalleled opportunities for investment and growth. In the midst of a thriving M&A landscape, our decades of experience in growing companies provide us with a profound understanding of the engineering sector. To support our ongoing initiatives, we are guided by our Engineering Advisory Committee, comprised of former CEOs in the U.S. in Canada, who provide independent expert advice to assist us in identifying, assessing, and building enduring engineering companies.

Our Industry Leaders

Hugo Blasutta P.Eng, ICD.D

Hugo Blasutta, a professional engineer and business executive, has more than 45 years’ experience in the consulting engineering industry, both in Canada and internationally. He has extensive experience at the senior management and board level and has held business leadership roles in strategic planning and execution, corporate development, business development, marketing, risk management / compliance, merger and acquisition activities, and financial and operational management.

Hugo has a proven track record of building, developing and leading high-performance teams and companies that deliver industry leading results across the broad spectrum of employee engagement, client satisfaction, technical and project delivery excellence, enterprise financial performance, and shareholder value.

Hugo’s previous executive experience includes CEO of Comtech Group Inc., WSP Canada Inc., and MMM Group Limited.  His fiduciary / advisory board experience includes McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers, Lochner-MMM Group LLC, Manhard Consulting Limited and Rand Technology Corporation.

  1. Comtech – Project management
    - President, CEO & Chair of the Advisory Board
    - 300+ employees
    - Sold to Accenture in Q4 2023

  2. McIntosh Perry – Infrastructure
    - Chair of the Board of Directors
    - 800+ employees
    - Sold to Egis Group in Q2 2023

  3. WSP Canada – Multi-disciplinary
    - President & CEO
    - 7,000+ employees

  4. MMM – Transportation & infrastructure
    - CEO
    - 2,000+ employees
    - Sold to OMERS (2004) and subsequently sold to WSP (2015)

  5. Yolles – Structural
    - Senior Principal
    - 300+ employees
    - Acquired by Halcrow Group in 2004

Jim Bishop, P.E.

With over 4 decades of senior management and leadership experience, Jim possesses a strong understanding of all aspects of leading an enterprise, including operations, leading & developing people, strategic planning, management, sales, business development and profitable growth at the CEO, COO and Senior Executive levels. He concluded his 7-year run as President and CEO of H.W. Lochner in July 2017. Lochner, a privately-owned national engineering consulting firm, is consistently listed in the Engineering News Record Top 500 Design firms list. Over the last 5 years of his term as CEO, Lochner’s share price delivered a CAGR of ~20%.

Jim has extensive board-level experience including at DKS, Ardmore Roderick, Manhard Consulting, Ardurra Group, MSA Professional Services, Alan Plummer Associates, MC Squared, Gewalt Hamilton Associates, H.W. Lochner, and Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan.

In addition to his board of director duties, Jim provides advisory services and executive coaching to occupants of the C-suite (and candidates to move into C-level positions). He is involved in delivering strategic planning (clients with net revenue from $10M to $1.5B) and leadership development programs. Jim is also a veteran of engineering M&A and has supported the integration of multiple acquisitions at numerous organizations.

  1. U.S. Based Engineering Firm
    - Interim CEO
    - 200+ employees

  2. H.W. Lochner – Transportation
    - President, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors
    - 500+ employees
    - Sold to Elysium Management in 2021

  3. Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan – Multi-disciplinary
    - Executive Vice President & Member of the Board of Directors
    - 3,500+ employees
    - Sold to Atkins in 2011

  4. Served / Serving on 10 Engineering Boards of Directors including (but not limited to):
    - H.W. Lochner
    - Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan
    - Ardmore Roderick
    - Ardurra Group
    - MSA Professional Services