Speakers

Fred Sargent has spent virtually all of his working years in the electrical contracting industry. He is former CEO of Pittsburgh-based Sargent Electric Company, where he first acquired his passion for the wide-ranging possibilities in service & maintenance in 1978. A decade later he co-founded the TEGG® network, which today is an international organization with a business-format franchise for predictive and preventive maintenance. He is founder and president of Great Service Forums,℠ a one-of-a-kind program, exclusively for union electrical contractors. (See www.greatserviceforums.com) Great Service Forums℠ began in 2016 with a mission of filling a need to support union electrician service department managers with unique learning experiences tailored specifically to the demands of their role in service & maintenance.

Shaabini is a Director at Maxim Consulting Group and is responsible for assessing, evaluating, and implementing client processes. Shaabini works with various sized construction firms to train, educate and inspire leaders. Having over 20 years experience, Shaabini has faced and conquered many difficult situations to a successful conclusion specifically in jobsite crisis management, contract terms and conditions, and legal negotiations in multi-million dollar change order settlements.

Dave O’Brien is a CPA with over 40 years of experience and is widely respected and considered an expert in the area of accounting practices of the Construction Industry.
Mr. O’Brien has an extensive background in assurance and accounting with an emphasis in real estate, construction, manufacturing and distribution. His primary focus is in the construction industry. His clientele in the construction industry includes general contractors, mechanical contractors, and electrical contractors, flooring contractors, sheet metal contractors, fire protection contractors, landscape contractors, homebuilders, commercial developers, land development and numerous other contractors.
Mr. O’Brien is a national speaker for various organizations in the Construction Industry, which include the Home Builders Association (HBA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Epcon Franchising, and Great Service Forums. Mr. O’Brien also provides professional consulting on a monthly and quarterly basis to more than 30 contractor’s in the Construction Industry. His professional education includes a BSA in Business Administration from the California State University at Chico, California, and he is a Licensed CPA in the States of Nevada and Ohio. Prior to becoming a partner at Mosley Glick O’Brien, Inc., he worked for large firms in Reno, Nevada and Toledo, Ohio.
Mr. O’Brien is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Society of Certified Public Accountants in Ohio, Nevada and Michigan. He is also affiliated with the Construction Industry CPA’s/Consultants Association (CICPAC), the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and is a current member of the Board of Directors for the Home Builders Association of Greater Toledo, Inc.

Robert Kirkpatrick is the Managing Partner of Broadside Advisors, LLC, a merger and acquisitions advisory firm with a focus on companies in the mechanical, electrical, and facility services industries.  Prior to Broadside, from 2006 to 2016 he was the Director of M&A for ABM Industries, a Fortune 500 member and provider of facility services, and its predecessor company The Linc Group, which ABM acquired in 2010.  Robert was responsible for identifying target companies and managing the M&A and integration processes for all acquisitions in the mechanical, electrical, high-voltage power, and energy solutions industries.  He was also responsible for managing the due diligence and integration process when Linc was sold to ABM.  During this time, he and his team closed 17 transactions.
From 2004 to 2006, Robert was a Principal/Senior Consultant at American Management Systems, an IT services firm, where he analyzed US acquisitions and managed the sale of AMS to CGI.
From 1999 to 2003, Robert was an Analyst for Consolidated Engineering Services, a provider of mission-critical engineering and facility services.  While at Consolidated, he acquired 10 companies to grow revenue 5x, before the company was sold to EMCOR Group.
Robert started his career in 1994 as an analyst at Salomon Brothers Inc in the Leveraged Finance department.
He is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce (BS) and Darden School of Business Administration (MBA).

Dave Orman is the Midwest Field Representative serving the snow belt states of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Until July of 2023, Dave was the Chapter Executive of the Twin Ports Arrowhead Chapter in Duluth, Minnesota. Among other responsibilities, he is lucky enough to be facilitator for PEER Group 3, otherwise known as the Bull Run PEER Group. Prior to joining NECA, Dave was an entrepreneur and business owner. 

Nic Bittle is the founder of Work Force Pro and works with organizations and leaders who want to prepare and develop their workforce to lead with impact, act like a pro, and perform at their very best on a daily basis.  He does this in a variety of ways, from presentations and workshops, to books he’s written, or through other solutions he has created. 
He is the architect of multiple performance improvement process curriculums which are specifically designed to prepare and develop current leaders, as well as our next generation work force, for the roles and responsibilities that lie ahead.
Nic is the author of four books.
 

Sharon is a certified Gamification for Training Developer, a certified CBT for insomnia instructor, speaker, TV personality, and author. She holds a Guinness World Record for the Longest Line of Toothbrushes – 3.5 miles! This charity event collected 55,000 toothbrushes and 17,000 tubes of toothpaste for Colorado children. As founder of the non-profit Change Gangs, Sharon raised more than $100,000 for charity. Sharon’s award winning articles have appeared in EHS Today, Incident Prevention, and the Professional Safety Journal. As CEO of Habit Mastery Consulting, Sharon has delivered more than 200 trainings and helps organizations increase their targeted safety behavior by up to 150%.

Dr. Mark O. Federle is a distinguished professor of construction and proven researcher for ELECTRI. Dr. Federle currently serves as Associate Dean at Marquette University, while remaining active in consulting and training for construction organizations across the country. Dr. Federle has taught more than 20 different college courses and has authored or coauthored more than 45 technical publications, many specifically related to electrical construction. Adding to his comprehensive experience, Dr. Federle also worked for nearly a decade for Weitz Company, ultimately as Chief Information Officer.

As the Head of Professional Services at ChargePoint, I oversee the sales and project channels engagement for the electrification of the transportation sector. With more than 15 years of experience in the clean tech industry, I have successfully delivered hundreds of projects involving charging, energy, and battery storage solutions for various types of customers and partners.

I am passionate about leading a world-class team that focuses on vertical expertise and strategic customer success. I create programs, coach, and enable teams to support all business markets and accelerate sales. I also collaborate with enterprise account executives and other organizations to ensure a standard and efficient approach to professional services. My goal is to deliver the new EV charging network with speed and scale, while ensuring quality, safety, and compliance.

Jeff Beavers Is NECA’s Executive Director of Network Integration and Services.

With more 30 years in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, Jeff began his (telecommunications) career in the U.S. Air Force as a cable splicer. He has served in various roles from lineman to installer/technician, to design and consulting roles.

He has experience in many types of projects, including the Department of Defense, municipal and federal government, K–12 and higher education, healthcare, sports and entertainment, data centers, and utilities (broadband, water, energy, wind and solar).

He is a recognized subject matter expert and a technical contributor to standards and reference manuals from BICSI (pronounced Bic-see), a global professional association supporting the advancement of the ICT community. Jeff served as President of BICSI from 2018- 2020.

Jeff is a Registered Communications Distribution Designer and has the OSP Designer credential.