When Ray Kowalik first interviewed with a recruiter at Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering, the concept of employee ownership did not endure. so much weight But the recruiter’s words stuck with him: “You know, it’s better than not owning the place you work, so why don’t you give it a try?”
He certainly did, as Kowalik would spend his entire 36-year career with Burns & Mac, the last seven as CEO, during which time the 100% ESOP company saw its construction revenue grow nearly 300% He retired at the end of 2023.
“Ray is incredibly smart and has an insatiable curiosity about everything. At the same time, he’s genuine and approachable. It’s a powerful combination for a CEO,” says Alissa Schuessler, CFO of Burns & McDonnell. “Ray’s strengths and leadership style have propelled Burns & Mac in this industry. He knows when to take it and how much risk he can manage to get an optimal result.”
Kowalik drove a strong focus on STEM education, investing time, resources and money in K-12 outreach efforts to build the pipeline for future participation in STEM careers.
Photo courtesy of Burns & McDonnell
The first successes
After starting as a field engineer with Burns & McDonnell’s Energy Group, Kowalik moved into project management. At that time, the company’s leadership focused on expanding both the scope and opportunities of the company. One such way was to become an EPC contractor. “I raised my hand and said, ‘I have some ideas of places and customers that I can sell this idea to,’ this was in the mid-to-late 1990s,” Kowalik recalls. “I became one of the first in the Energy group to offer these services to our customers.”
The company says Kowalik is instrumental in leading EPC projects with utilities across the country, an offering that will grow over the next 25 years to account for about 60% of the company’s current revenue.
“Ray is incredibly intelligent and has an insatiable curiosity about everything. At the same time, he’s genuine and approachable.”
—Alissa Schuessler, Chief Financial Officer, Burns & McDonnell
“It all started with hiring good people and building this practice. So a lot of those successes I had early in my career I think translated into my opportunities to step into leadership at Burns & Mac,” he says.
Kowalik led the Energy Group as CEO for 11 years, then in 2015 became the first executive vice president and president of the global practice, leading the firm’s business groups. Two years later he was promoted to CEO, the seventh in the company’s 125-year history. Under Kowalik’s leadership, the company’s number of service offerings has expanded to more than 350.
“As a previous project manager, Ray has the experience and broader economic perspective to ask all the right questions, but he also understands what it’s like to execute large-scale projects,” says Schuessler. “And that background allows Ray to relate to the project team and the business leader. He doesn’t have to say yes or no, he can guide the team to move forward on their own.”
Burns & McDonnell dedicated the gym at its world headquarters in Kansas City to Kowalik. He is pictured with his family.
Photo courtesy of Burns & McDonnell
Basic work
After becoming CEO, Kowalik knew he wanted to accomplish three things, the first of which was to put the company’s balance sheet to work to create better business opportunities and returns for shareholders. That means investing in innovation, such as a nuclear technology that Burns & Mac is working to bring to market. The company has even gone into the ownership side of some apartment and office building projects with multiple partners. Mitigation banking is another enterprise.
“That’s the idea that if somebody’s building a transmission line and it’s affecting wildlife habitat or wetlands, instead of trying to mitigate that on their transmission line, we’re going to buy a property and build something I can buy. credits for what they had bothered,” Kowalik explains.
Regarding the second objective, he wanted Burns & McDonnell to become a direct hire construction company in addition to its existing EPC services. The company has acquired two construction companies in the past decade, one a union shop and the other an open shop: AZCO Inc. based in Wisconsin in 2016 (which Kowalik helped deliver after a four-year search) and Texas-based Ref-Chem in 2016. 2018.
Kowalik’s third goal was to establish an infrastructure that decentralizes decision-making across the company to help accommodate its rapidly expanding footprint. When he joined Burns & Mac in the late 1980s, there were only about 600 employees, all at the Kansas City headquarters. “Now we’re at 13,500 and only 4,000 are in Kansas City,” he says. “So we put [in place] a much better structure that is not about “coming to the mother ship” for decision making. Now we’ve really regionalized our offerings to our customers.”
During Kowalik’s tenure as CEO, the number of employees grew by more than 110%. Office locations have also more than doubled to 70 from 30 worldwide. In addition to large operations in Great Britain, Canada and Mexico, the company will soon open its second office in India.
“When I reflect on Ray’s tenure as CEO, I immediately think of how he led us through COVID,” Schuessler recalls. “Globally, we were facing one of the most uncertain moments in recent history. Ray was our rock. He didn’t give up on what our long-term operating model would be; we are an engineering and construction company, our people are in the field and we will be in the office and in the field where our customers need us”.
That meant deciding to return to the office about a year after the pandemic began, once everyone had a chance to get vaccinated, Kowalik recalls. Reflecting on what he calls one of the most difficult moments of his career, Kowalik says he’s glad he made those decisions.
“At that time, I felt very alone in the world, and it was very difficult, and I didn’t like the negativity surrounding it. But I think our company really flourished because of it,” he says. “Our projects flourished and our people’s careers continued to grow.”
Battle of the Brains was launched in 2011 with the goal of sparking greater interest in STEM education and careers.
Photo courtesy of Burns & McDonnell
Community commitment
From STEM education to health care, Kowalik has championed a range of philanthropic endeavors. During his tenure as CEO, Burns & McDonnell’s staff and leadership have raised and invested more than $45 million in communities across the country through United Way, says Chris Rosson, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Kansas City. Through these efforts, staff are “helping to improve health care, enhance educational opportunities and enhance economic mobility for residents in the regions where Burns & McDonnell has a presence. Their exemplary approach to community engagement and support it’s truly unparalleled,” says Rosson.
“Ray’s leadership style can be described as sincere, competitive and supportive. He leads by example and leads the way.”
—Chris Rosson, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Kansas City
A K-12 STEM competition in Kansas City is another way the Burns & McDonnell team is giving back. The Battle of the Brains offers metro area schools the opportunity to earn STEM education scholarships. Student teams develop an exhibit concept for Science City, a local science center. Burns & Mac brings the winning team’s design to life as a new downtown exhibit.
The 2023 contest had 700 entries from 7,000 children in 50 school districts. On December 7, Kowalik was part of a tour that visited the top 20 finalists.
“This program is in its 11th year and we know we’re making an impact,” he says. “We’ve hired people who were in the program while they were in high school who are now full-time employees. I always say that anything big that happens that really makes an impact takes years, if not decades, to take term”.
This no-cost program operates on a two-year cycle, with one for the competition and one for the construction of the winning exhibit.
For the past three years, Burns & McDonnell has also run the Real-World Impact Design for Seniors course at Notre Dame de Sion Schools in Kansas City, says Alicia Kotarba, president of the private Catholic school system.
“I remember when we completed our master planning process and had the designs for a new STEM wing on our high school campus, Ray’s tenure was coming to an end and he offered to not only stay on council to see the project completed, but championed the effort and led the campaign,” says Kotarba.
She credits Kowalik’s dedication to women in STEM for the presence of four new state-of-the-art science labs at the all-girls high school.
“He’s real, approachable and has a wonderful sense of humor, which doesn’t take away from his good business experience and leadership skills,” adds Kotarba.
During Kowalik’s tenure, Burns & McDonnell grew its workforce by more than 110%, from 6,300 to 13,500 employees.
Photo courtesy of Burns & McDonnell
next chapter
Timing was everything in making the decision to retire at the end of 2023, says Kowalik, both personally and professionally.
“I think the biggest part is that our leadership was ready,” he says. Senior management and the board designed the succession plan to ensure the right timing for all involved. Leslie Duke succeeded Kowalik effective January 1.
When asked about the legacy he leaves behind, Kowalik says he doesn’t believe in personal legacies, as Burns & McDonnell’s legacy is one of the hard work and culture of more than 10,000 people. Instead, he hopes to be remembered for helping the company in an honest way that helps people build their careers and is in a better place than when he took over.
“Ray’s leadership style can be described as sincere, competitive and supportive. He leads by example and walks the walk. Whether in corporate or community leadership, Ray goes above and beyond and raises the bar for those who follow him.” says Rosson. “He drives excellence in every aspect of what he leads, and he does it all while being one of the nicest and most approachable humans you’ll ever meet. Those are rare qualities in a leader of his magnitude and influence.”
