Professional and Career Topics

It is interesting that ASCE's new chief executive, Peter J. O'Neil, is not a civil engineer and dnd does not appear to have any experience with our industry. I, for one, am cautiously optimistic about the new connections and initiatives he might start, free of biases from an entrenched design or construction background. Subject-matter expertise is important, but it comes at a price when leading an organization as diverse as ours. I hope he goes on a listening tour that spans the diversity of the ASCE membership, that includes the voice of rank and file members What do others think?

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Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
Houston, TX
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Association professionals can take a while to understand what association members (we civils) want and are interested in.  After cybersecurity and a health association, a lot of listening and talking to members will be critical.  If the majority of HQ staff is civils, a good manager shouldn't have too much trouble getting in the groove.  

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Sarah Simon P.E., M.ASCE
RETIRED
Ipswich MA
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I have been active in many professional organizations over the years.  I have seen both good and bad examples of association executive directors with subject matter expertise and without subject matter expertise.  But I agree that the new ED should make an effort to get to learn about the "rank and file" members since those typically with more direct contact are by definition a biased sample.

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Charles Haas F.ASCE, NAE
LD Betz Professor of Environ. Eng.
Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Eng.
Philadelphia PA
haas@...
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-22-2026 03:48 PM
From: Sarah Simon
Subject: ASCE's New CEO

Association professionals can take a while to understand what association members (we civils) want and are interested in.  After cybersecurity and a health association, a lot of listening and talking to members will be critical.  If the majority of HQ staff is civils, a good manager shouldn't have too much trouble getting in the groove.  

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Sarah Simon P.E., M.ASCE
RETIRED
Ipswich MA
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Abubakr Gameil, R. ENG, M. ASCE®️,
MSc-Holder, [ SEI, EWRI, CI, ISSMGE ]Mermber
Past / Chairman & Director General
Almanassa Engineering International Co. Ltd,
Khartoum, Sudan
Currently / UAE- Humanitariam Residency
NXN- Central branch -Al Fujairah,
PO.Box : 1142 (Fujairah)
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Beautifully articulated – Abubakr. Indeed, perhaps a strategic tailored adaptation requirement to the rapidly changing challenges and scenarios – is one of the criteria in selecting the CEO. Perhaps – business-as-usual way of doing things was deemed inadequate – to make room for something different. Whatever may be the reasons – we wish the new CEO best of success.

Nature of communications, technology, engineering and everything else – are increasingly gravitating towards AI powered activities. And new leadership of institutions, interdisciplinary of some sort – who wouldn't hesitate to take risk while charting new direction – is expected to steer things in that direction to address the new challenges of time.

As a leadership rises above the managerial trivia – his or her role demands more of a vision than minuteness (more in Leadership and Management). The experience of Charles tells us that subject matter expertise may not always adequately serve the purpose – and we see the same in many other institutional and corporate structure.

Again agreeing with Mitch, Sarah, Charles and you – that a leadership must not get detached from those he or she leads and works for – such as not to be superficial – but to listen, and address the aspirations and concerns of professional reality. And one more reasons for doing so is that sometimes brilliant ideas come from unexpected sources.

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Dr. Dilip K Barua, PhD

Website Links and Profile

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Original Message:
Sent: 03-22-2026 04:43 AM
From: Abubakr Gameil
Subject: ASCE's New CEO

An interesting point , Dr. Mitch. From my humble perspective-if I may share my view; I believe the true importance of this position lies in translating high‑level strategies into tasks that are executable, tractable, and continuously improvable.

I deeply understand your concerns, which would indeed be critical in the context of professional firms. However, within the institutional reality of ASCE, most initiatives and projects carry a more organizational nature. In this sense, the CEO role may take on a different character, shaped by the strategic direction of the Board.

From my review of the previous report on streamlining the Board of Direction to make it more agile and strategic, I see this as a positive step. It suggests that the Board is preparing for an internal organizational shift in the coming era. If my reading of the situation is correct, this reflects a strong awareness of the technological and organizational challenges ahead-challenges that sometimes require tailored adaptation.

 

With respect and appreciation,

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Abubakr Gameil, R. ENG, M. ASCE®️,
MSc-Holder, [ SEI, EWRI, CI, ISSMGE ]Mermber
Past / Chairman & Director General
Almanassa Engineering International Co. Ltd,
Khartoum, Sudan
Currently / UAE- Humanitariam Residency
NXN- Central branch -Al Fujairah,
PO.Box : 1142 (Fujairah)
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While a significant percentage of staff may be degree holders in engineering and a smaller group are licensed professional engineers - I believe engineers are in the minority staff wise.   To get a feel - look at the senior leadership team at https://www.asce.org/about-asce/leadership/staff

About 1/3 of the senior leadership team are engineers.  Critically the COO is a PE.  Similarly many leaders on the technical side of the house are engineers.  Given the importance of publications, member services, conferences, government relations IT, etc.  I wouldn't lament the presence of non engineers on the ASCE staffteam.  If anything they bring value added due to their expertise in these other fields.

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Mark Killgore P.E., BC.WRE(Ret.), F.EWRI, F.ASCE

Henrico VA
[Phone]
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Hi Mitchell,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree that having a CEO without a traditional civil engineering background could bring fresh perspectives and new connections to ASCE. Subject-matter expertise is valuable, but leadership also requires listening, inclusivity, and understanding the diversity of the membership. I hope the new CEO takes the time to engage with members at all levels and balances industry knowledge with innovative approaches.

Best regards,
Darya

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Darya Stanskova M.ASCE
Cost Estimator, Construction Engineer, Power Engineer, Project Manager
Fort Myers FL
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