PITTSBURGH: Engineering company Michael Baker International has hired Beth Foley as EVP and CCO.
Foley stepped into the position last month, reporting to CEO Kurt Bergman. She is working to support the company’s expanding global reach and develop local and regional client relationships.
Foley is overseeing all corporate communications, marketing, and advertising for the firm’s 90 global offices.
She joined Michael Baker from Pacific Gas and Electric, where she served as senior director of corporate communications and, previously, director of external communications.
The position is new at the combined company. Various team members handled its responsibilities before Foley joined, she said.
"We are a global company with a hyper-focus on being local," she explained. "So I am going to concentrate on raising the profile of the company’s focus and making a difference in the communities that we serve."
Foley added that the company is planning to roll out a website to mark its 75th anniversary next year.
Prior, she worked for GSI Commerce, now a part of eBay, as VP of corporate marketing. Foley was also VP of corporate communications at Radian International and manager of corporate communications at PJM Interconnection. She worked at Progress Energy, now known as Duke Energy, earlier in her career.
In April, Michael Baker implemented a strategy of local leadership for national and international markets and expanded worldwide practices in targeted markets. That followed the October 2013 acquisition and privatization of the former Michael Baker Corp. by Integrated Mission Solutions, an affiliate of DC Capital Partners. The $397 million deal came after a yearlong takeover battle after an 84% decline in Baker’s 2012 profit.
The company is planning to move its global headquarters and 65 staffers from Moon, Pennsylvania, to the top two floors of Bank of New York Mellon Center in downtown Pittsburgh next month. About 400 staffers will stay in Moon.
This story was updated on December 3 with comment from Foley.
