Dunaway, a multi-discipline engineering firm, announced today Chris Wilde as the firm’s new CEO. Former CEO Tom Galbreath, a 35-year veteran of Dunaway, has become the company’s Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Galbreath will also assist sales teams with business development efforts across the state and continue to mentor and advise the team as well as take key roles on projects that need his expertise.
“Leadership change is healthy,” said Galbreath. “I’ve been working diligently on this transition with Chris for a few years and feel very blessed and honored to have served as CEO of Dunaway. I am humbled to lead this firm and am especially pleased in how successfully our team handled the last year during the pandemic. The time is right for Chris to take the reins and I have full confidence in his leadership through Dunaway’s next critical stage of growth.”
Wilde, who began his career with Dunaway as a civil engineer 18 years ago, will be responsible for setting the company’s vision and putting the right leadership in place to execute that vision.
“I am grateful for Tom’s leadership and excited about Dunaway’s future,” said Wilde. “We are focused on stable, profitable growth in the top five Texas markets in 2021. Dunaway has been growing 15 percent annually for the last six years and we have the right leaders and resources in place to continue that growth.”
Wilde says Dunaway restructured in 2018 to accommodate future growth, eliminate silos and enhance career development for employees while building a sustainable company. One key aspect of the company’s transition plan is to provide opportunity for ownership to all employees as the company continues to build a legacy firm.
“Our plans include a mix of strategic acquisitions along with a well thought out succession plan for our current and future owners,” said Wilde. “We have a foundation of core values that defines us, centered on our One Heart culture, ensuring all employees are rowing in the same direction. We want our employees to be passionate about what they do because the result is long-term, happy clients.”
Dunaway has offices in Fort-Worth, Austin, Midland, San Antonio and Farmersville and plans to add Dallas and Houston this year, adding new team members at every level.
“Our goal is to be the leading multi-discipline firm in the state,” said Wilde. “As we expand to other markets in Texas, it’s critical that we continue to operate as one team. That’s what we call the Dunaway Difference. It means we work together to match clients with the right expertise, at the right time on every project. We have shared goals and allocate our top resources and people across markets to provide the best outcome for our clients.”
Wilde is a graduate of New Mexico State University and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington.