News & Insights

Salas O’Brien has appointed four presidents, elevating proven senior leaders across the firm’s major areas of work: Tim Burnham, Shane Kirby, Harry Kleiser, and Deirdre McDaniel.

Each has served as a senior managing principal at Salas O’Brien, leading dedicated teams across their respective markets. In their expanded roles, they will connect expertise across geographies and disciplines to meet client needs. This evolution of leadership strengthens our client and market sector delivery and continues our local empowered leader decision making with client relationships and project responsibilities. All partners, leaders, and teams remain in place and continue to make day-to-day decisions.

Clients today are navigating challenges that rarely fit within a single discipline, sector, or region, from energy solutions for power-intensive industries, to expanded and more resilient supply chains, to the integration of AI and advanced technologies into how facilities are designed, built, and operated. With over 5,000 team members and a project portfolio spanning infrastructure, energy, sustainability, federal facilities, and the built environment, Salas O’Brien’s leadership connects clients with the right expertise across the firm, so they work with one coordinated Salas O’Brien team.

“The markets we serve are moving fast, and the work is getting more complex,” said Darin Anderson, Chairman & CEO. “Harry, Shane, Deirdre, and Tim are exceptional leaders who know our clients, our teams, and our business. Bringing our teams closer together under their leadership puts us in a stronger position to deliver across disciplines, move with our clients, innovate and accelerate faster decision-making and stay ahead of what’s next.”

Each president will focus on driving performance within their area while working across Salas O’Brien to strengthen the client experience, create new pathways for team members to grow, and build alignment as the firm continues to scale.

About the presidents

Tim Burnham, PE, PMP has more than 30 years of experience in industrial and manufacturing engineering, spanning automation, process design, and power generation. He led Varo Engineers as CEO before its merger with Salas O’Brien in 2018 and has since led the firm’s process and manufacturing work.

Shane Kirby, PE is an electrical engineer who has spent his career leading multidisciplinary design teams across healthcare, mission critical, aviation, power generation, and industrial/advanced manufacturing markets. He led I.C. Thomasson Associates as president before its merger with Salas O’Brien in 2024 and now oversees teams delivering engineered solutions across a broad range of clients and market types.

Harry Kleiser, PE has more than 25 years of experience supporting federal agencies and complex government programs. He held federal leadership roles at a global design and engineering consultancy and led SIA Solutions as president before its merger with Salas O’Brien in 2021, where he now leads the firm’s federal work nationally. He also serves on the board of the Association of Defense Communities.

Deirdre McDaniel, PE, LEED AP has more than 35 years of experience in engineering design and project management, with deep expertise in HVAC and building infrastructure. She served as managing executive and president of WMA Consulting Engineers before its merger with Salas O’Brien in 2019 and now oversees built environment teams spanning the U.S. and Canada.

Learn more about Salas O’Brien’s leadership here. (www.salasobrien.com/leadership)