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Paul J. Varello, P.E., is President and CEO of Commonwealth Engineering and Construction of Houston, Texas. Prior to founding Commonwealth, Varello spent more than 40 years in the engineering and construction industry as both a contractor and an owner. His contractor experience includes 18 years with Fluor in various capacities including President of the Process Sector. In 1990, he became Chairman and CEO of American Ref-Fuel Company, a major energy firm involved in the design, construction, ownership and operation of advanced technology waste-to-energy plants throughout the northeast United States.

In Commonwealth Engineering and Construction, Varello has created a company that addresses the need to provide innovative and cost effective engineering and construction services while maintaining a positive and supportive work environment for the company’s employee-owners.

A native of Rockaway Beach, New York, Varello received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Villanova University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas, Louisiana and California and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Sims Group Limited, an international metals recycling company headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
 

Hans J. Kirchner P.E., is Commonwealth's Executive Vice President. He brings more than 38 years of experience in major E&C firms including Fluor, Raytheon and ABB Lummus. As Vice President of Operations, Petroleum and Petrochemicals at Fluor, and later as Vice President, Division General Manager, he directed refining, power and petrochemical projects. He performed similar duties at Raytheon and Lummus and also has experience in the aerospace industry.

In reuniting with Commonwealth CEO Paul Varello, Kirchner notes the pair has an opportunity to bring the value of their many years of experience to a new generation of engineers. The concept of mentoring is central to the company’s charter, as is a system of rewarding innovative approaches to efficiently executing work processes.

Kirchner is a registered professional engineer in Texas and a member of various technical societies, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He sits on the Advisory Board of a major geotechnical firm and is also a past chairman of the Executive Board of the Houston Business Council and the Industry Advisory Board of the Center for Construction Education at Texas A&M University. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami and a master's of science degree in Business Administration from the California State University at Northridge.

Lloyd G. Kirchner is Senior Vice President of Commonwealth Engineering and Construction, LLC, responsible for Operations. Kirchner came to Commonwealth from a similar capacity at Capstone Turbine Corporation where he held various executive positions, including the management of Engineering and Operations.

Prior to his affiliation with Capstone, Kirchner worked for Amoco Corporation. During his last three years with Amoco, he was a member of the Worldwide Engineering & Construction Group and was assigned to the Polypropylene No. 2 Project, a $137 million effort to build a 200,000 MTPY petrochemical plant in Geel , Belgium . As Commercial Project Manager during FEL, he implemented foreign currency hedging strategies and led negotiations of engineered equipment and construction subcontracts which contributed to a 9 percent cost under-run. Shortly after groundbreaking, Kirchner assumed the role of EPC Manager. In March 1997, the project was completed ahead of schedule, producing on-specification polymer at design rates within seven days of initial start-up, and achieving a safety record with no lost time accidents.

Kirchner had initially joined Amoco Production Company as a Facility Engineer in the West Texas District in 1985 after receiving his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University . Early in his Amoco career, his assignments included Production Engineer, Automation Engineer and Project Engineer. From 1989 to 1994, Kirchner worked in the Worldwide Engineering and Construction group in various executive roles. He received an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1991.

Donald F. Coleman is Commonwealth's Sr. Vice President Commercial. Coleman has over 30 years experience in the E&C industry, including key positions in marketing, sales, operations and business strategy for Fluor. He has been involved in setting strategy and business design for Commonwealth from the earliest meetings held to conceptualize the company. He brings to our clients innovative and flexible approaches to address customer needs in an environment of high demand for critical process plant capital project resources.

In the E&C industry, he has held several sales and marketing leadership positions, and as an individual contributor led over a hundred successful campaigns in energy and chemical markets. These encompass refining and petrochemicals, production module fabrication, sub-sea production, sub-sea pipelines, and gas processing efforts. Major projects were located in the U.S., Norway, Saudi Arabia, Korea, among others, and utilized both open-shop and union construction execution. He also has negotiated several strategic partnering and alliance relationships in E&C. Coleman has served on a major corporation office leadership team, and on several sales/people development boards. Other background outside the E&C industry includes wind-turbine capital equipment and advanced aerospace composites fabrication. He also serves on the Advisory Board of a leading Texas minority-owned geotechnical firm.

Coleman holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, and an MBA from the Drucker Center, Claremont Graduate University.

  

Jim Hime, CPA is Commonwealth Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  He is responsible for all Finance and Accounting functions at Commonwealth.  In this role he manages a team performing all traditional accounting and business office functions as well as Enterprise Reporting System implementation and administration.  

Prior to joining Commonwealth Engineering, Hime worked as Vice President – Finance for staffing firms in the engineering and construction industry.  Previously, he had several years as an independent CPA in private practice after early career positions as an Accountant and Controller in service, distribution and manufacturing industries.  He brings a total of over 30 years experience to the CEC management team.

Hime holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.  He is a Texas licensed Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Houston Chapter of Texas Society of CPAs.
 

Lyle Hanna is Vice President – HR and Administration for Commonwealth, responsible for directing the human resources activities of the firm as well as overseeing administration and public affairs. Hanna has nearly 30 years of professional experience including more than 20 in the engineering and power industries.

As one of the original members of the Commonwealth team, Hanna helped create the company identity and continues to develop the brand through oversight of Commonwealth’s personnel policies and corporate communications. Prior to joining a Commonwealth Engineering, Hanna was employed with American Ref-Fuel Company, a major waste-to-energy services firm.

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