Jim Feath Named Vice President of Operations
HRG has promoted Jim Feath to vice president of operations. This is a key role in the firm’s organizational re-design initiative, which seeks to build a foundation for aggressive growth while maintaining the company’s reputation for exceptional quality and client service.
“To achieve our growth goals, we need to anticipate and offer the services our clients will need most in the coming years. Yet, even as we expand our service offerings, we must continue to deliver our services with the same quality, creativity, and attention to detail that our clients have always relied on,” Chief Operations Officer Ed Ellinger says. “Our technical service experts will determine what services we offer and the quality standards for delivery. Jim will work with the operations leaders in each office to build capacity for those service offerings at the local level so that we can deliver projects to our high-quality standards while maximizing efficiency and operational excellence.”
Feath has managed operations for HRG’s Pittsburgh office since 2018 and has more than 25 years of experience with the firm. He began his tenure with HRG as an intern shortly after the Pittsburgh office opened and has played a key role in its growth over the past two decades. During that time, he amassed experience as a designer and project manager before taking a leadership role in regional operations. He is a registered landscape architect with vast expertise in site planning and development, particularly in the areas of parks and recreational facilities, trails, and public spaces. He is active in the industry as a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society, but he is also actively engaged in the local community in Pittsburgh as a board member with the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Cranberry Township Environmental Advisory Committee. His vast experience with HRG and knowledge of regional operations make him ideally suited for this role as vice president of operations.
Erin Threet has been promoted to vice president of services, a new role designed to maintain the firm’s commitment to quality as it pursues ambitious growth plans.
Ellinger most recently served as assistant vice president, directing daily operations, project delivery, and business development throughout Central Pennsylvania. His new position as Chief Operations Officer expands his influence across the entire organizational footprint, driving productivity, quality, and project delivery through accountability metrics and implementation of operational policies, practices, and standards for all offices and service groups. He is well-known and trusted by HRG’s clients and his colleagues for his technical skill and business leadership. He first joined the firm in 2001 as a project manager in the water and wastewater service group, steadily increasing his responsibility and ultimately managing the group as practice area leader for six years before he moved into his operational role as assistant vice president. He was succeeded as practice area leader by Fox, who will now establish a new role at HRG as the firm’s first Chief Services Officer.
Fox has been serving HRG’s water and wastewater utility clients since 2006. Like Ellinger, he earned increasing responsibility as a project manager, then group manager and practice area leader managing project delivery and business development for water and wastewater projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He is known for his deep commitment to his clients, his team members, and the community. He is an active member of organizations like the American Public Works Association, the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association, and the Pennsylvania American Water Works Association (PA AWWA) and has recently retired from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. As Chief Services Officer, Fox will drive new business opportunities, expansion into new markets, and diversification of the firm’s service portfolio.