Austin Industrial

Bernard Hewett serves as executive vice president of operations for Austin Industries, and was named president of Austin Industrial in 2020. He brings significant leadership experience, previously serving as senior vice president of operations at Austin Commercial and president of Austin Bridge & Road. Since joining Austin in 1982, Bernard’s experience includes serving in estimating, project management, and project executive capacities for projects across the U.S. A significant part of Bernard’s service includes working closely with teams at each operating company to make improvements to process, platforms, and people systems (3P). In 2005, Bernard helped to commission Austin Industries’ Leadership Development Group and has served to develop current and future leaders across the enterprise.

Brad Morris has more than 20 years of leadership experience in industrial construction, primarily in the markets of oil, gas & chemical; power; and mining. He was named vice president of construction for Austin Industrial in 2019. Before joining Austin, Brad served as a Houston-based director of operations over a large capital projects group. He has served as program director for projects with a total installed cost of $250 million and more. Brad directs all construction operations for Austin across the nation, with a focus on safety and accountability for planning, staffing, execution, and performance.

Jim Hodges possesses more than 30 years of heavy industrial construction experience in the petrochemical, chemical, refining, power, and pharmaceutical industries. Jim first worked for Austin from 1997 to 2007, when he served as project manager, manager of marketing, and project controls manager. He returned to Austin in 2016 and led the deployment of several technology solutions as vice president of operational technology. In his current role as vice president for preconstruction, he oversees estimating, fabrication, construction contract negotiations, and pre-project planning for capital projects. Jim assists with special projects across all areas of Austin’s services as needed.

Dean Gronnerud is vice president of technical services for Austin Industrial, where he leads commercial pricing, proposal development, and negotiations for reimbursable contracts. Dean also manages quality, the equipment division, and contractor licensing. Dean first joined Austin in 1994 as a project engineer and has been responsible for estimating, contracts, project controls, and procurement during his tenure, while providing extensive support to maintenance and construction operations. Dean has helped establish, refine, and implement many of Austin’s operating procedures. While a construction project manager, Dean managed projects in the petrochemical, refining, power, and semiconductor industries, in locations from New Mexico to Florida. He is a member of the University of Houston Construction Management Industry Advisory Board.