KANSAS CITY, Missouri — As the oil, gas and chemical industries navigate current market conditions, Burns & McDonnell has promoted three employee-owners to sustain and advance the firm’s unwavering commitment to delivering integral client services. Bob Reymond, president of the Oil, Gas & Chemical Group at Burns & McDonnell, has announced a leadership transition and two promotions.

Warren Kennedy
Senior Vice President

Warren Kennedy, senior vice president in the Oil, Gas & Chemical Group, is returning to his hometown of Kansas City to help lead key growth initiatives for the entire Oil, Gas & Chemical Group.

Kennedy has made a tremendous impact in leading efforts of the group’s team in Houston, Texas, for the past seven years, Reymond says: “Under Warren’s leadership, the Houston Oil, Gas & Chemical Group has experienced substantial growth in employee-owners and annual revenue. Not only has Warren helped build a strong Houston sales force, but he also led the way in strengthening our process and project management departments.”

Ryan Spangler
Global Practice Manager – Houston

Ryan Spangler has been promoted to global practice manager for the Oil, Gas & Chemical Group in Houston. Spangler has served as a vice president leading Process & Development since 2014, focusing attention on early front-end project stages. He will continue to play a vital role in Burns & McDonnell’s leadership in the oil, gas and chemicals markets, supporting clients as they overcome traditional supply and demand challenges while augmenting their focus on renewables and sustainability-driven solutions.

“During this time, Ryan has been a great leader and advocate for our incredible process engineering group, both within our walls and, more importantly, with our customers,” says Leslie Duke, president and general manager of Houston offices for Burns & McDonnell. “Most importantly, he has helped broaden the industries we serve and improved our performance in the front-end process.”

Karen Bray
Vice President of Process & Development

Karen Bray has been promoted to Vice President of Process & Development and will be relocating to Houston. Bray graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She joined Burns & McDonnell in 2002 and has worked in the Oil, Gas & Chemical Group since that time. Karen has a broad range of experience in process engineering and project management. She is very active in numerous industry associations and was recently elected to the executive board of directors for the ECC Association, which works to advance leadership in engineering and construction of capital projects worldwide.

“In Karen’s previous business development role, she has done a wonderful job of expanding our chemicals market,” Reymond says. “I look forward to seeing how our process engineering team reaches new heights under her leadership.”

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 7,600 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities with more than 55 offices, globally. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned company and proud to be on Fortune’s 2020 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Learn how we are on call through it all.