SOFIA M. BERGER
65 Nassau Street, Apt 10B
New York, NY
/
(317) 750-0921
education
2007-2009 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL BOSTON, MA
Masters in Business Administration, June 2009
1997-2002 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NEW YORK, NY
BS (Civil Engineering) May 2002
BA (Economics-Operations Research) May 2001
· Named John Jay Scholar upon admission
· Awarded Richard H. Fox Memorial Prize at graduation for “combining intelligence with a kindly interest in his or her fellows”
experience
2012 – present LOUIS BERGER
Senior Vice President, U.S. Transportation Market New York, NY
Promote and grow Louis Berger’s presence in the US Transportation Market. Identify and pursue new clients, markets and projects. Particular focus on private clients, public-private partnerships, rail and port sectors.
Managing Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Division Panama City, Panama
Led $15M+ in operations throughout the region, with 250+ staff and 5 principal offices. Responsibilities included:
· Developing and implementing new 3-year strategic plan, including key geographies, clients and profit targets,
· Establishing new offices in Colombia and Peru and merging in offices in Mexico and Chile through acquisition,
· Overhauling financial management and internal controls, leading to sustained YoY profitability improvements,
· Coordinating the identification, pursuit, and execution of flagship infrastructure projects through the region.
Private Sector Development, Africa Division Paris, France
Created a strategy for increasing our portfolio of private sector clients in the region. At the time, the primary targets were mining companies with activities in Cameroon, Guinea and Mozambique. Duties included:
· Identifying potential clients and creating a capture strategy including meetings, presentations and proposals,
· Supporting the activities of projects for private sector clients in the region.
2010 – 2011; McKinsey & company, inc. washington, dc
summer 2008 Associate; Summer Associate
Worked on a variety of projects with a focus on management decisions regarding construction, infrastructure, and capital productivity. Past projects have included:
· Developing cost savings initiatives related to service delivery at a large US metropolitan transportation agency,
· Conducting early stage value management analysis of a new metro line in a major Southeast Asian city,
· Designing a methodology for a development bank to assist mid-size Latin American cities in becoming more sustainable, with a focus on environmental sustainability (piloted methodology in Peru),
· Providing construction monitoring assistance for greenfield construction of high-tech facility in Malaysia,
· Consolidating purchasing of construction materials for large international retailing consortium in Italy,
· Developing implementation plan and materials for large-scale organizational change of public sector agency,
· Evaluating options for IT consolidation strategy between two US federal agencies.
2002-2007 PERINI CORPORATION FRAMINGHAM, MA
Project Manager – Perini Management Services, Inc., Surety Services Program
Led project completion teams mobilized to turnaround defaulted construction projects on behalf of large domestic insurance companies.
· Directed a rehabilitation project for the substructure of bridges along the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City. Completed project in record time despite owner delays and major obstacles due to pre-existing conditions.
· Supervised termination of operations of a landscape construction company in Los Angeles. In 6 months, closed out 72 open projects and reduced the potential liability to client from $82 million to less than $1 million.
· Participated in 8 major projects in distinct locations including Puerto Rico, California, New York, & S. Carolina.
· Specialized in entering tense and contentious situations and establishing a completion plan while addressing the concerns of the multiple project stakeholders.
Project Engineer – Perini Management Services, Inc., Surety Services Program
· Created and monitored the project schedule for the construction of a jet testing facility for the US Marine Corps. Schedule was effectively used to secure a 4-month time extension equivalent to over $500,000.
· Created a new jobsite safety plan in order to convince a local fire department in Colorado to allow construction of a contentious low-income housing development to recommence after having been shut down.
prior
2001 HINDUSTAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY MUMBAI, INDIA
2000 U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT/OVERSEAS BUILDING OPERATIONS PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
1999 U.S. TRADE & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY WASHINGTON, DC
1998 GRUPO FERROVIAL MARBELLA, SPAIN
service Board Member, International Road Educational Foundation
Member, External Advisory Committee, Northwestern University’s Department of Civil & Env. Engineering
languages Fluent in French and Spanish
hobbies Travel, reading novels, SCUBA diving