Merrick announces changes within leadership team

Greenwood Village, Colo. — Merrick & Company announced changes to the firm’s leadership team. Effective April 1, 2018, David Luke, PE. and senior vice president, will become the new chief operations officer; Tamara Johnson, LEED AP. and vice president, will assume the role of business unit leader to Merrick’s High Performance Facilities (HPF) group; Scott Gustafson, PE, and vice president, will take over as the business unit leader for Merrick’s Nuclear Services & Technology (NST) group; and Melanie Auen will move into the role of director of Central Marketing Services (CMS).

Luke has been with Merrick for more than 21 years and has incredible operations experience, from managing countless complex projects to successfully leading the HPF business unit since 2008. He has also demonstrated mobility while at Merrick, serving the firm’s various offices in CO, SC, GA, and now FL. Dave embraces Merrick’s unique culture and is committed to employee ownership.

Johnson has a 26-year career at Merrick successfully managing some of the largest design projects in the HPF business unit and has established long-term relationships with key clients. Tammy has served Merrick from offices in CO and TX, making her well qualified to tackle the new challenges associated with running a business unit.

Gustafson has been involved in a deliberate transition during FY18 from John Buckle, Merrick’s current NST business unit leader. In FY19, John will move into a part-time strategic development role for NST. In Scott’s 24 years at Merrick, he has completed many significant projects from both Merrick’s CO and NM offices.

Auen brings Merrick a rich resume in marketing for professional service design firms. Prior to joining Merrick three years ago, she worked for an infrastructure design firm in Chicago as a sub-regional marketing manager and has spent more than 18 years writing for the engineering industry. She joined Merrick as the manager of proposals and has since helped make exciting changes.

David Huelskamp will remain the firm’s chairman and chief executive officer and Christopher Sherry, PE, will continue his role as the firm’s president.