New Burns & McDonnell CEO begins new year with push to expand interest in trades

By Ben McCarthy

Burns & McDonnell’s new CEO Leslie Duke began her first week on the job with a public discussion Wednesday morning, January 3rd, about her focus on finding new ways to bring a new generation of people into a career in the construction trades. Duke, who’s also been busy creating new positions within the firm as it heads into 2024, spoke about Burns’ commitment to helping foster that next generation of skilled trade workers as a new wave of infrastructure construction begins to take off. 

“There’s a massive federal investment taking place in infrastructure,” Duke said. “We have got to develop a pipeline of talent and be ready for all of the large projects forthcoming in 2024.”

The discussion was held at the new Career Development and Exploration Center (CDEC) in north Kansas City. The CDEC opened in October 2023, as a partnership between Burns and The Builders. The Builders new President, Lance Claiborne, fielded questions alongside Duke from Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) President and CEO Tim Cowden. The duo agreed that there’s a unique urgency being felt as the federal government has trillions of dollars earmarked for massive infrastructure improvements, but the country has an increasingly aging workforce, particularly in the construction sector. 

For generations, the construction industry was populated by families who grew in it and populated it, but that kind of organic recruitment is no longer taking place across the country. It is forecasted the construction industry will need to recruit over half a million new workers into the trades above current levels over the next couple of years just to keep pace with demand and to offset a rapidly retiring and aging workforce.

“We will have to attract people into this field with new incentives,” Duke said. “We have to show the next generation how rewarding this career can be.”
Claiborne sees the partnership between his organization and one of Kansas City’s five largest employers as essential in helping illuminate the pathway for young people and career transitioning professionals toward apprenticeships and trades. Matt Ralston, Senior Vice President of Construction for Burns, echoed Duke and Claiborne’s optimism that Kansas City will continue to attract people throughout the heartland, including graduates in Iowa and Nebraska, and spaces like the CDEC will help open people’s eyes to trades being more than just another job. 

“We can get people started straight out of high school and expose them to trades not just being a job but a career they can grow in and advance,” Ralston said. “Through spaces like this we can really engage the entire community on what the trades are all about.”

In 2023, the five most in-demand jobs the firm hired were: 1) electrical engineers, 2) mechanical engineer, 3) project manager, 4) construction manager, 5) civil engineer. 

Duke also announced several new leadership roles in the firm, including: Joe Podrebarac as the firm’s first chief safety officer, Matt Olson as the firm’s first Chief innovation officer, and Chris Baxter as the firm’s first Chief risk officer. Duke, who grew up in El Paso TX, joined Burns and McDonald in 1999 as a structural engineer. Throughout her 24 years with Burns, she has served in multiple leadership roles, and becomes the firm’s 8th CEO, succeeding Ray Kowalik who retired at the end of 2023 after 36 years with the firm.