KMI International is pleased to announce the retirement of one of its Founders, Mike Kraus, who is stepping down as the company continues its transition to becoming employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP). Along with John Manning, Kraus founded and built KMI in 1999, delivering success as a project manager, engineer, executive in charge, and business development lead.

Kraus will continue to serve on the board to further execute the transition and provide guidance as the company moves along a prescribed path.

In line with these changes, the following organizational changes are also being made:

John Manning, PE, CGC, CCM, LEED AP, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board and will also continue to focus and grow KMI’s Dispute Resolution practice. Manning co-founded KMI over 22 years ago based on the principle that projects can avoid trouble and dispute if managed correctly. His thought leadership in this area is the DNA of today’s KMI—how to prevent troubled projects by managing a project properly. He is an accomplished public speaker and has been heavily involved in CMAA where he served on the Board of Directors for six years, delivering presentations and contributing to expert panel interviews. Additionally, Manning served on the CMAA national Standards of Practice Committee for four years and the national Professional Development Committee.

Eric Quinn, MBA, is being promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Quinn brings years of leadership and business experience to this role after two years as KMI’s Chief Operating Officer, President of a large international building materials company, and several other significant management roles throughout his career, including working at Procter & Gamble. He also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. KMI is excited to be led by such a seasoned and distinct leader, furthering KMI’s founding principles about the critical nature of leadership for successful project execution.

John Newton, FCIOB, is being promoted to Senior Vice President. In this role, Newton will be the senior executive for Program Management and lead Business Development and Marketing. Newton will serve as the practice lead for the Hospitality, Aviation, and Marine sectors. Newton has more than 40 years of experience in the property industry. He has worked with leading organizations such as Hill International Inc., Arcadis, Lend Lease, Marks & Spencer, Frontier Estates, and The Facility Group. Newton possesses an astonishing international track record spanning from the U.S. to Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining KMI, Newton was the V.P. of Capital Planning at Marriott Vacations Worldwide in Orlando, FL. Before that, he was the Equity Partner for Arcadis, based out of New York City.

Drew Horn, is being promoted to Vice President of Project Controls. Under Horn’s guidance, KMI’s estimating and scheduling services have grown significantly. He plans to further expand KMI’s Project Controls service line into new construction technologies and services. Horn will also serve as the practice lead for Themed Entertainment. Prior to KMI, Horn held leadership positions at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, and AECOM at Kennedy Space Center. He is an active member of several industry associations, including the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE), Professional Construction Estimators Association (PCEA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), IAAPA, and the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA).

Julia Estevez, PMP, MA, MS, is being promoted to Director of Program Management. Estevez has an extensive skill set in Program and Project Management across many sectors and service lines, both domestically and throughout Latin America. She has worked in both public and private sector for more than 15 years, delivering key projects in the U.S. and in her native Venezuela. She is instrumental in seeing projects through from inception to completion across all stages of the development process, including pre-planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. She looks for opportunities to use her passion for project management and inject her experience and creative problem-solving

“The core vision we had when we founded KMI remains fundamental to how we operate,” remarked Manning. “We are excited to usher in a new era of growth and success as an employee-owned company.”

“This is a pivotal time for KMI, and the future is exceptionally bright. We continue to execute and remain true to the vision of combining our core values with credentialed experts to lead our owner clients’ projects to success from the start,” said Quinn.

About KMI International

Founded in 1999, KMI International is a global program and construction management consulting firm that offers industry-leading levels of talent, resources, and experience along with the added benefit of a personal, hands-on, custom-tailored approach for each project. An employee-owned company, KMI provides robust and agile leadership to owners at every project stage. Clients turn to KMI to bring a derailed project out of trouble or to ensure a complex project is properly managed from its inception. To learn more, visit www.kmiintl.com.