BEI Welcomes Herb Brownett as CFO

Brubacher Excavating, Inc. welcomes Herb Brownett as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. Herb comes to us with over 30 years of construction financial management as a CPA, controller, CFO and technology consultant. He is an active member and frequent seminar presenter for ABC, AGC, ASA and CFMA. Herb was past national chairman of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA).

When asked why he chose to join the Brubacher team, he shares, "I have always been fascinated with excavation and decided to join Brubacher because of the company's reputation for quality and integrity."

As CFO, Herb will oversee all of the financial and administrative management of the company as it relates to banking, bonding and legal matters, insurance and financial reporting. Herb comes from a "construction" family. His parents ran a small general contracting company. One of his grandfathers was a construction superintendent, and the other was a colonel in the Army Corp of Engineers, building roads and bridges.

Herb and his wife, Sandy, have three grown daughters, all married. Herb resides in West Chester. His wife splits her time between West Chester and their home in Vero Beach, Florida. For relaxation, Herb plays golf and is an avid auto racing fan.

Meet BEI's Board of Directors

Family businesses that succeed from one generation to another achieve those milestones by intentional planning. One of the keys that have been identified in family business surveys is having independent board members to expand the family's thinking and to build accountability. The two main jobs of a board are to set the strategy of the business and hold the leader accountable.

As a family, we are committed to building a sustainable business and doing what is right to get there. We have benefited greatly from the insight and feedback of our directors. Here is an opportunity to meet the three men who serve in this capacity.

Jack Kreischer is the retired founder and CEO of Kreischer Miller (KM), a CPA firm of 200 people that serves the needs of privately owned businesses like BEI. A primary focus of KM has been construction companies, homebuilders and real estate developers. Jack graduated from Syracuse University, where he has served as a trustee since 1991. Through mutual contacts, Jack was brought together with Keith Brubacher. To Keith's invitation to join the Board, Jack responded, "If I can make a difference, gain new knowledge and have fun while serving on the Board, I am interested." Jack states that this experience has exceeded these three objectives.

Jack credits his grandparents and parents with instilling in him the self-reliance and enthusiasm for creating prosperity for the families who work for him. He especially respects his Grandfather Kreischer, who grew up fatherless with his immigrant mother and traveled the countryside in a Model T Ford, selling patent medicine to raise the capital to start a grocery business.

When asked where he sees BEI going in the next five years, Jack indicated, "BEI management and team members are responding to the challenges posed by dramatic changes in our economy and marketplace."

He notes it is an understatement to say there has been no pain in these adjustments, but he feels the company has made great strides to remake itself in order to capitalize on the changing opportunities available to BEI. He indicates that BEI's most successful employees will embrace this change, grow their skills and provide solutions to the needs of our clients. Jack foresees, "We will not only do things right [efficient performance], but we will do the right things [effectively fulfilling client needs]."

Although he sees technology helping, he thinks that the skills of team members will have the greatest impact. He predicts that in the future it will be "BEI's people [who] will enable BEI to stand out among the competition."

His vision for the next five years is that BEI will become quite competitive, providing expanded, cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of clients and, if the economy cooperates, become quite profitable.

Jack resides with his wife, Lynn, in Doylestown, PA. They are proud parents of two adult children.

Our second member of the Brubacher Board of Directors in Tripp Davis, who is owner and president of LD Davis Industries, a third-generation family-owned manufacturing and distributing business of adhesive products. Tripp has been involved in all aspects of his family's company from the age of 16, specializing in sales and marketing, team building, strategic planning and implementation.

Mr. Davis received his MBA from Smeal College of Business at Penn State. He is currently a member of Vistage, a peer review group for CEOs and presidents. Tripp's varied experience gives some perspective of his abilities in the business world and what he offers the BEI Board of Directors. Managing a low-tech business for the 21st century, looking into new directions, strategic thinking, strategic planning and implementation are areas where he excels. He and his father successfully developed a transition plan to the third generation for family ownership and management leadership.

Tripp and his wife, Jennifer, live in Huntingdon Valley, PA, with their children, Owen(10) and Gwen (7).

Bill Fairchild, our third Board member, is the retired chairman of R. W. Murray Co., a commercial general contractor based in Manassas, VA. He grew up in a blue-collar family and paid his way through Virginia Tech, where he earned a degree in Building Construction. During college he worked as a carpenter on high-rise condominiums in Virginia Beach. A stint with a large international contractor helped Bill understand how large companies operate. The experience also introduced him to how unions work.

From there he went to work for a small, family-owned business. Unfortunately, Bill learned the hard way how a lack of financial controls can be dangerous — the company was put out of business by embezzlement. From that experience, Bill moved to the R. W. Murray Co., where he eventually bought out the northern branch. Bill credits Mark Twain's philosophy of "Always do right ... this will gratify some and astonish the rest" for the building of the Northern Virginia branch of the R. W. Murray Co. from around $1 million in revenue in 1991 when he bought the branch, to around $70 million in 2008.

Bill connected with Keith Brubacher in 2008 in his role as national chairman of the Associated Builders & Contractors. Bill shares, "I was intrigued with the opportunity to serve as an outside director for BEI, as I felt that I could provide valuable input based on my experience."

He was also extremely impressed with the core ideology of BEI. He states, "One of the most important things I have learned in my career is that a company is no more than its people. And the people need to understand and live the philosophy of the company." Bill is convinced that BEI will thrive in the long run because of the core principles it lives by.

Bill is married to his wife, Anita, for 35 years and has one son and one daughter. His son, Ryan, and wife, Kate, presented them with their first grandchild on August 7. Daughter Brittany works in Virginia Beach and is getting married in May.

Bill believes BEI will be extremely successful over the next five years and thereafter. "As I mentioned before," Bill shares, "I believe that successful companies have a recognizable core ideology that permeates the organization."

Although many companies have either fallen or will fall during these tough economic times, Bill reinforces, "BEI has survived and will thrive." He credits BEI leaders, who "not only run the business efficiently, but also are visionaries, looking beyond today's challenges towards future opportunities."

Jack Kreischer stresses, "We three outside Board members do not take lightly our responsibility to the owners and to the employees of BEI. We will be doing all within our power to maximize BEI's success."

Owner and President of Brubacher Excavating, Inc., Keith Brubacher confirms, "I see Brubacher Excavating maintaining a strong presence in our traditional market areas while growing a more diverse business in the years ahead. Our employees will benefit from ongoing training and growth opportunity, both in new skills and opportunities for growing responsibility."