Rosendin

Winners of ENR Southwest’s 2020 Top Young Professionals competition include architects, engineers, project managers and executives. A common theme among them is a commitment to serving the AEC sector and their local communities.

Several of the winners have grown up in the construction business, and others have already started their own companies. This year’s class also includes several immigrants making a marked difference in their fields.

All have demonstrated a mastery of new technologies and worked hard to teach their colleagues and other young professionals about better design and smart construction practices.

The competition remained highly competitive this year. Companies or individuals were allowed to nominate more than one person, and individuals could also nominate themselves.

Nominees must be working full time in some aspect of the commercial construction industry in the Southwest region, which includes Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Entrants must also be under age 40 as of Jan. 1, 2020.

Other key selection criteria included achievement of or progress toward industry certifications, significant success in creating more efficient systems, designing new processes or managing landmark projects and consistently doing volunteer work across the industry and within the community.

This year’s judges were: Kelly Kaysonepheth, marketing director, AZTEC Engineering; Cherilyn McCabe, estimator, Mortenson; and Tony Illia, public information officer, Nevada Dept. of Transportation.

The following pages contain profiles of the winners, describing their achievements and goals in a tribute to excellence, success, quality, family and community.

Congratulations to the winners.

Chad Constance
36, Project Executive
Rosendin
Tempe, Ariz.

Constance began his construction career with a regional general contractor, working full time while attending Arizona State University. While completing his studies in construction management, he worked for two Arizona electrical contractors, gaining onsite and estimating experience.

After graduation, Constance went to work for two national general contractors before joining Rosendin in 2016. As a project executive, he oversees Rosendin’s Arizona data center and sports-entertainment work. His department generated more than $25 million in revenue in 2019, an increase of 178% from last year and up more than 300% from 2017.

Constance has been involved in a large number of landmark projects, including the Phoenix International Raceway Bobby Allison Suite Expansion and Emergency Tunnel Addition in Avondale, Ariz.; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport In-Line EDS Deployment; Northern Arizona University Science and Health Building in Flagstaff; Tempe Center for the Arts; Scottsdale Stadium renovation; and the Arizona State University Student Pavilion in Tempe.

Constance is an active participant in the Arizona Energy Consortium and the Design Build Institute of America as well as the Association for Computer Operations Management and 7X24, two organizations focused on data centers and IT infrastructure.

Brandon Stephens
37, Division Manager
Rosendin
Tempe, Ariz.

Stephens started visiting his father’s electrical contracting business when he was just 8 years old. At first, he did it to hang out with his dad, but later he became an apprentice and got paid to help when he wasn’t in school. By the time he graduated from high school, Stephens had learned to estimate work, deliver parts and operate heavy equipment.

A graduate of Boise State University, Stephens has been with Rosendin Electric for nearly 15 years and is now responsible for the firm’s Southwest region operations as well as some national and international projects.

“My time in college taught me how to learn, and my career at Rosendin has taught me how to lead.”

As division manager, Stephens was the general contractor for a data center project in Texas for which Rosendin incorporated a modular design that saved significant schedule time. He also has incorporated a number of lean and integrated concepts at the project level and supported remote operations in Reno, where Rosendin has been building for a mission-critical client since 2014, averaging roughly $50 million a year.