Eric Drooff Named President of Hayward Baker

GEOSTRATA, 2015, May/June, 64-67

Hayward Baker Inc. (HB), North America’s leader in geotechnical construction, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new president, along with several other senior leadership staff appointments. Eric Drooff has been named the company’s sixth president. Hired by HB in 1992 as a project manager, Drooff has been the vice president and senior vice president of HB’s Northeast Region for the past 12 years. His impressive project accomplishments and industry credentials make him a natural choice to lead HB into the future.

The appointment of Drooff to succeed John Rubright as president will allow Rubright to concentrate on his role as managing director of Keller North America, HB’s parent company.

In addition to Drooff ’s appointment, several other management changes were announced for HB’s Northeast Region: o Geo-Foundations Contractors Inc. and the Keller Canada Toronto office have joined forces to pursue industry and market synergies in Eastern Canada. The newly established group will operate as Geo-Foundations, a Hayward Baker company under the leadership of Todd Edmunds. Edmunds was an owner of the original Geo-Foundations entity and continued in that leadership role after it was acquired by HB in 2013.

Geo-Foundations will also work with Keller Canada to establish HB products and services throughout Canada. Edmunds and his team have forged strong relationships within HB, and this collaboration will continue to maximize opportunities for all sectors of business in Canada.

Scott Nichols has been appointed vice president of HB’s Northeast Region. His responsibilities include strategic management of the New England, New York, and Mid-Atlantic areas. Nichols joined HB in 2005 as part of the G. Donaldson acquisition, and he has been manager of the Providence, RI, office since 2009. The Providence office has been consistently successful in a competitive union setting. The skills Nichols has acquired will benefit him as he develops further collaboration throughout the Northeast Region.

In addition, Kevin Dawson has been appointed area manager of the Providence, RI, office. Dawson joined HB in 2004 as a field engineer in the New England Area. He has mastered a broad range of products offered by this region and demonstrated effective leadership skills, most recently as a senior project manager. See his article “The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal” on p.54 of this issue.