man talking

Team Leaders

Every Great Leader is Currently Training His/Her Replacement

It’s a philosophy that enables continuous growth and opportunity and keeps leaders grounded in reality. Though we have grown rapidly over the past several years, the Castle team still closely resembles a family. Led by a team of individuals who have played a big part in that growth, this team of leaders proves every day that their commitment to their partners, work ethic in the field and dedication to our clients make all the difference.

  • Christie Brinkman

    Christie Brinkman

    Job Title
    Director Design-Build
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    University of Missouri
    Bachelor of Science, Business Administration
    Bachelor of Arts, International Studies

    As director of design-build at Castle, Christie leads efforts to develop new business opportunities for Castle’s design-build practice while overseeing the design team and projects. She creates value for every client by engaging them early in the civil design and construction process, listening to their challenges and leveraging her extensive network to find the right team and deliver solutions that save costs and reduce risk. Christie is an active member of numerous industry organizations including Commercial Real Estate Women, Urban Land Institute, St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers and Construction Forum STL. In her community, she serves on the board of directors for Home Sweet Home in St. Louis and volunteers for multiple organizations including LifeWise STL, Women’s Safe House and SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

  • Brian Carlson

    Brian Carlson

    Job Title
    Project Director
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    Missouri University of Science & Technology
    Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering

    As a project director and director of St. Louis markets, Brian’s focus is on the delivery of civil construction projects and pursuits direct to owners/developers as well as local general contractors. His primary duties include design-build and other alternative delivery opportunities, including leveraging Castle’s unique expertise in self-performing civil site work from concept through construction and closeout. Brian joined Castle in 2016 after 14 years managing large-scale highway projects. He is a Designated Design-Build Professional, a member of the Design-Build Institute of America and a Master Drainlayer in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County.

    Authored Content

  • Sherri Cavaletti

    Sherri Cavaletti

    Job Title
    Director of Project Accounting
    Located in
    St. Louis

    Since 2005, Sherri has been responsible for overseeing daily accounting operations for all Castle projects, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and billing. Collaborating with project staff, she supports accounting, billing, forecasting, subcontract billing, contract review, change order management, and close-out. Sherri is an integral leader in client and supplier partnerships, making sure they have an exceptional client experience through quality financial processes and communication. As a champion of employee engagement, she is passionate about making sure Castle is a great place to work. Sherri is a member of Construction Financial Management Association.

  • Tim Conkling

    Tim Conkling

    Job Title
    Director Operations
    Located in
    San Diego
    Education
    Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
    Bachelor of Science, Construction Management

    Tim leads operations for the San Diego office of Castle. Having started his career with Castle in St. Louis, Tim transferred to San Diego after the acquisition of Paul Hansen Equipment and has been instrumental in growing the team and adding earthwork services to its strong utility installation portfolio. Tim is responsible for project operations, including management of construction project staff and craft workforce. He continues to mentor the team, develop high-quality systems for project execution, and establish Castle’s presence in the San Diego market.  

  • David Denny

    David Denny

    Job Title
    Director Field Operations
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    Southern Illinois University Carbondale
    Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering

    As Director Field Operations at Castle, David oversees and communicates daily with project teams. With more than two decades of industry experience, he is responsible for training and development of superintendents, foremen, field employees and internal apprentices. David also created a foreman development program to standardize Castle’s field management and train future project leaders; he also partners with the AGC Laborers Training Center and Local 513 Operating Engineers Training Center to optimize our apprenticeship training program. David has prior experience in safety and risk and is a Master Drain Layer in St. Louis City and County.

  • Kurt Dulle

    Kurt Dulle

    Job Title
    Project Director
    Located in
    Omaha

    Kurt is responsible for overall operations of the Omaha office. With more than 30 years of experience in self-perform work in the field, preconstruction and project management, he has implemented some of Castle’s most complex MEP and utility projects. He leverages his expertise to lead and mentor his growing team while also focusing on developing strong and long-lasting relationships with Omaha clients and trade partners. 

  • Vernan Ibong

    Vernan Ibong

    Job Title
    Vice President, Operations
    Located in
    Newport Beach
    Education
    University of California, San Diego
    Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering

    As Vice President, Vernan is responsible for overseeing all construction operations and management for Castle’s Southern Pacific region. With 15 years of experience with McCarthy Building Companies and over 20 years of industry experience, Vernan brings expertise to Castle from projects across various market types including industrial, science and technology, healthcare, higher education, entertainment, and more. Vernan’s extensive background and expertise will ensure he is able to deliver an exceptional client experience on every project.  

    Vernan is active in several industry and community organizations. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego.  

  • Dustin Moyer

    Dustin Moyer

    Job Title
    Sr. Project Manager
    Located in
    Omaha
    Education
    University of Nebraska at Omaha
    Bachelor of Science Construction Engineering

    Dustin was the first employee hired to start Castle’s Omaha office in May 2019. Since then, he has simultaneously built relationships with clients, won work and managed projects. He has also successfully assembled a dedicated Omaha workforce. Through his efforts, Castle gained momentum in the Omaha market as a site utility and earthwork contractor as well as an exceptional civil and excavation partner for MEP clients. While Dustin wears many hats, he is primarily responsible for estimating, planning and managing projects. As a lifelong Omaha resident, he is passionate about executing impactful projects for the community.

  • Rich Mueller

    Rich Mueller

    Job Title
    Chief Estimator
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    Saint Louis University
    Bachelor of Science Business Administration/Marketing

    Rich collaborates with Castle project directors and the estimating team to deliver comprehensive, accurate estimates for clients. Bringing two decades of industry experience with a variety of delivery methods ranging from GMP to hard bid, his deep understanding of constructability helps drives accountability for Castle as a project partner and leads to frequent value engineering ideas to improve cost certainty for clients. Rich serves on the McCarthy National Preconstruction Steering Committee – Specialty Markets/Self-Perform Group and has a Master Drainlayer’s License in St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis.

  • Dan O'Neal

    Dan O'Neal

    Job Title
    Project Director
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    Missouri University of Science & Technology
    Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering
    University of Missouri-St. Louis
    Master of Business Administration

    As project director, Dan leads Castle teams in the execution of large civil construction projects. He joined Castle after 18 years with sibling company, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. He has worked throughout the organization from project engineer to superintendent and project manager, while playing a key role in projects worth nearly $2 billion. Dan has been involved with a variety of complex projects, including those located in dense, urban environments for both private and public sector clients. His extensive experience includes bio-safety research laboratories, aquariums, museums, hospitals, public transportation and pharmaceutical facilities.

  • Trey Patterson

    Trey Patterson

    Job Title
    Senior Regional Safety Manager
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    University of Central Missouri
    Bachelor of Science Safety Management

    Trey oversees and manages the safety program for Castle Contracting. His 15 years of safety experience includes nearly 11 years at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., Castle’s sister company. Throughout his career, Trey has focused on developing, managing and executing safety and safety education programs for heavy industrial facilities, dense urban project sites, heavy self-perform work and other larger, complex sites. Trey is licensed as a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), an Occupational Hygiene and Safety Technician (OHST) and a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). He also is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers.

  • Mike Pranger

    Mike Pranger

    Job Title
    Sr. Vice President, Operations
    Located in
    St. Louis

    As Senior Vice President, Mike is responsible for overseeing all management and operations for Castle’s Central region. With a commitment to deliver an exceptional experience for clients on every project, he brings more than two decades of experience to his wide variety of roles, including carpenter apprentice and assistant superintendent to estimating, preconstruction and project management. Mike has an extensive background in both the building and civil sectors. A Castle team member since 2005, he previously worked for eight years with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. He is a member of Associated General Contractors of Missouri, the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers and the American Subcontractors Association.

    Authored Content

  • Rod Riddle

    Rod Riddle

    Job Title
    Senior Vice President Operations
    Located in
    Sacramento
    Education
    Bachelor of Science, Construction Management
    California State University, Sacramento

    Rod serves as senior vice president operations for Castle’s Northern Pacific region, based in Sacramento/Bay Area. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry and prior to working for Castle, has experience integrating various departments for commercial, parking structure and renewable energy projects at McCarthy Building Companies. Rod is also experienced in facilitating necessary conversations between different teams to foster collaboration and productivity as well as to anticipate any potential conflicts. Rod has a gift for looking through the lens of his clients to ensure that they have the most predictable outcome on their projects and by keeping an open mind to different ideas while targeting solutions that maximize value to project stakeholders.

    With a bachelor's degree in construction management and a minor business administration, Rod is a certified LEED AP BD+C, is the past president of the American Society of Professional Estimators and served as a committee member for Design-Build Institute of America Sacramento Chapter.

  • Keaton Taylor

    Keaton Taylor

    Job Title
    Director Operations
    Located in
    Newport Beach
    Education
    California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
    Bachelor of Science, Construction Management

    Keaton leads operations for the Newport Beach office of Castle. He was responsible for building the team and serving clients before opening a new office in spring 2023. Keaton oversees the development, implementation, and monitoring of Castle operational systems and processes to ensure the alignment of goals and key initiatives for the team. He brings extensive experience in commercial construction for owners with dense and complex infrastructure, which he leverages to guide his team and clients to successful project delivery. Keaton provides general management of shop/warehouse operations for the Southern Pacific region, as well as office operations and project teams serving the Orange County and Los Angeles areas.

  • Doug Thurman

    Doug Thurman

    Job Title
    Director Fleet Operations
    Located in
    St. Louis

    Doug is responsible for managing fleet operations for Castle’s Central region. This includes leading a team of mechanics and drivers as well as coordination, maintenance, service, transportation and purchasing for the fleet of trucks and equipment. He has over 20 years of experience as a heavy equipment mechanic and fleet manager that he utilizes to make sure Castle project teams have everything they need to get started every morning on site. 

  • Jeremy Wood

    Jeremy Wood

    Job Title
    Project Director
    Located in
    St. Louis
    Education
    Bachelor of Science Industrial Technology
    Construction Management and Design
    Southeast Missouri State University
    Associate of Applied Science
    Building Construction Technology
    East Central College

    Jeremy leads the MEP/Utility team at Castle in St. Louis. Before joining Castle in 2019, Jeremy grew his expertise as a project engineer, estimator and project manager in commercial construction management for K-12 education, higher education, healthcare and public municipal clients. Jeremy is focused on continuous improvement, making sure his team is known for being problem-solvers and excellent communicators that fuel strong rapport and genuine partnerships with MEP and utility clients.