Vecellio Distinguished Lecturers, Civil and Environmental Engineering

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    Black Holes, Black Swans, Black Magic: The Emerging Arts of Project Execution
    Prieto, Bob (2013-12-12)
    Fluor Corporation executive to give Vecellio LectureBlacksburg, VA , September 16, 2013 Virginia Tech College of Engineering Bob Prieto, senior vice president, Fluor Corporation, will present the 2013 Vecellio Distinguished Lecture, titled “Black Holes, Black Swans, Black Magic: the Emerging Arts of Project Execution,” on Friday, Oct. 11 at 4 p.m. in Torgersen 2150. His talk will provide a whirlwind tour of some of the growing challenges in construction project execution and some of the emerging “arts” that might come to the rescue, Prieto said. “The lecture will look at three broad challenges represented by black holes, black swans, and black magic, and suggest how our perceptions and tools must change to meet these challenges head on.” Prieto is responsible for Fluor’s strategy for the firm’s industrial and infrastructure group. This group encompasses three major business lines: infrastructure with an emphasis on public – private partnerships; mining; and industrial. He consults with owners of large engineering and capital construction programs across all of the firm’s market sectors in the development of programmatic delivery strategies. Prior to joining Fluor, he served as chair of Parson Brinckerhoff. Prieto is the author of Strategic Program Management, The Giga Factor, and Topics in Strategic Program Management, as well as more than 450 other papers and presentations. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Industry Leaders Council, National Academy of Construction, and a Fellow of the Construction Management Association of America. Until 2006 he served as one of three U.S. presidential appointees to the Asia pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council. A $1 million endowment was provided to the Construction Engineering and Management Program in Virginia Tech's Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by the Vecellio Family Foundation and individual family members: the late Mrs. Leo (Evelyn) Vecellio, Sr.; Leo and Kathryn Vecellio, Jr. and their sons, Christopher and Michael; and Patricia Vecellio. The Vecellio Lecture is sponsored by the endowment.