Haydon Companies

Meet Cindy, Chief Financial Officer at Haydon. Growing up in Phoenix, Cindy spent several summers working for her father’s business, learning about public accounting, and what it really means to be a business owner. An alumna of Xavier College Prep, Cindy played varsity golf the first year the team took first place at the state tournament. She went on to graduate from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in Economics/Accounting in 1985, returning to begin her accounting career on the audit staff of Price Waterhouse in Phoenix.  Cindy continued to work in public accounting, achieving the rank of Audit Manager with Virchow, Krause & Co.  In 1994, she left public accounting to accept the position of CFO and Treasurer of a client, H.E.R.C., Inc., who was making a public offering. Cindy later worked for Schuff Steel as their controller and as CFO for Pulice Construction.

With a wealth of experience in public accounting and construction, she arrived at Haydon with a broad network of peers across accounting departments in construction companies and has worked to further build that community of supportive professionals. Believing that in order to be truly effective, she must continually travel outside of the organization to broaden her idea of what is possible, she vows to, “always stay in motion and to always be growing.” Cindy’s thirst for knowledge and idea-sharing has spread to the rest of Haydon, making the workplace even more collaborative.

Cindy is a proud member of the Valley of the Sun chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), having served as the chapter president from 2006-2007.

When Cindy is not managing the financial accounting department at Haydon, you can find her traveling abroad with her family, swimming laps in her pool, working on home improvement and DIY projects, or trying a new recipe in the kitchen while drinking wine and bingeing on Netflix. She is an avid reader of all things non-fiction, believing that the truth is always more interesting than anything fictional.

Meet Eddie, Chief Information Officer at Haydon. Eddie was raised in Tucson, Arizona and was always fascinated by numbers as a child. When a summer internship in college led him into a position in IT, he was immediately drawn in. His mathematical skills, along with his passion for technology launched him into a career lasting over two decades. Prior to Haydon, Eddie had spent 13 years with Sundt Construction as their IT Manager.

Eddie joined Haydon in 2012 to see them through the development of their IT department and in that same year Haydon made the shift from consultant-based IT to an in-house staff. Throughout the past eight years, Eddie has seen the IT department at Haydon grow immensely.

As Chief Information Officer, Eddie is responsible for internal and external support services. He ensures these services are in alignment with the companies’ strategic objectives and that services are delivered in compliance with their stated Service Level Agreements and Customer Satisfaction requirements.

When Eddie is not getting his hands on the greatest tools for Haydon, you can find him spending his free time exploring the local events around town with his family.

Meet Garren Echols, Haydon’s Commercial Building Division Vice President. Garren brings to Haydon a tremendous amount of experience and client relationships, particularly in private development and working for large organizations. Originally from Telluride, Colorado, Garren began his career early on, working for his father’s construction company over 24 years ago. After serving in the Army, Garren founded two small construction companies before traveling the world working for a technology-focused defense, commercial, security, and infrastructure firm. This was where he was able to broaden his construction knowledge locally and?overseas working?alongside consultants, engineers and contractors across nine different countries.

At this firm, Garren built one of his largest and most unique projects locally and around the world. He also was able to expand his portfolio building high profile towers in Dubai and?Abu Dhabi. Although he enjoyed working and living overseas, it was important to him that his daughter attend high school in the United?States,?so they decided to move back home. He began working for another large contractor and continued to build several high-profile projects for them as a Project Executive. It was through a collaborative pursuit with Haydon that Garren first experienced Haydon’s culture and potential which sparked his interest in becoming a part of it.

Garren has earned a stellar reputation as a top member of the construction industry with highly diversified experience. He will be responsible for the overall execution of strategic initiatives of Haydon’s Building Division, including the development of market initiatives and expansion.

Outside of work, Garren is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, rock climber and alpinist. He has climbed Denali, Matterhorn and Eiger, and is working on climbing the seven summits around the world. With a passion for philanthropy, Garren is also on the board of directors for the Tempe Diablos whose efforts provide scholarships to Tempe students and grants to Tempe schools and other local non-profit that provides leadership and resources to the community. Garren even began his own non-profit in 2018 raising money for children in foster care through his climbing expeditions. Garren is very excited to become part of the Haydon family and begin this new journey.

Meet Gary, President and Founder of Haydon Building Corp. Gary was born in Hope, Arkansas and grew up in Aguila, Arizona, graduating from Wickenburg High School. As the son of a ranch hand, his humble beginnings provided him the work ethic and grit that has made him the man he is today. Hard work was part of growing up, so construction was a likely profession for Gary. In his nearly 40-year career in construction he has performed almost every job in the industry ranging from laborer, iron worker, heavy equipment operator, superintendent and project manager. He went on to attend Arizona State University and graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Construction.

In 1991, he founded Haydon Building Corp and has grown the company into one of the largest general contractors in the Southwest with a unique ability to perform building, heavy civil and landscape construction. Over the course of the last 30 years, Gary has overseen the company’s growth and strategy, and has prided himself on creating a firm that is able to provide clients with all the resources, expertise and stability of large construction company while maintaining the flexibility and responsiveness that are characteristic of a much smaller firm.

Gary is a member of the Greater Phoenix Leadership, an organization that allows him to continue his work to improve the economy of Phoenix and Arizona through the coordinated efforts of business executives and policy makers. He is also a member for the Arizona Chapter of Associated Generals Contractors of America, where he served two consecutive terms as Board Chairman.  During his tenure, Gary led AGC’s efforts to advocate for Arizona’s transportation and infrastructure development with policy makers in Arizona and Washington D.C and was instrumental in helping create the “We Build Arizona” Coalition (www.webuildaz.org) with the goal of expanding Arizona’s economy, creating jobs, and increasing and protecting state and local infrastructure funding.

When Gary is not mentoring and coaching the next generation of leaders, you can find him traveling abroad with his wife or flying his airplane.

Meet Katie, Executive Vice President for Haydon. Katie was born in beautiful Winnemucca, Nevada but grew up in Phoenix. She attended Xavier College Prep for high school, ASU for a BS in Accountancy, and Thunderbird for her MBA in Global Management. Upon graduation from ASU, Katie accepted an accounting position at a large publicly held corporation, then years later worked as Controller of a small, privately held Phoenix-based land development company. The diversity of experience between these two organizations and depth of knowledge gained throughout her accounting career is something she calls upon every day. However, it was her time at Thunderbird, School of Global Management that she describes as “memorable” and “life-changing”. It was Thunderbird that really opened her eyes to the importance of culture, the global mindset that was instilled in her through her studies and is what laid the foundation for her approach to leadership. Upon graduation, Katie packed one suitcase and moved to Madrid, Spain to start a new life as a newly minted MBA. As she attempted to perfect the Spanish language (an ongoing goal) and traveled to over 27 countries, Katie learned an appreciation for culture, acceptance, and gained a worldly education.

The economy of 2009 meant Spain was not issuing work visas, so it was time to start a new adventure. Katie returned home to the family business and in 2010 joined the accounting department at Haydon. Through the years, Katie has held many positions in the organization, continually learning the business. But it was her intentional focus, development, and continuous improvement of the culture and people at Haydon, that made her Executive Vice President. As EVP her main responsibility is strategy: to position the company for sustainability and growth for the next generation. Her passion for the business and the people that work at Haydon is unwavering and obvious to anyone that knows her.

Katie is extremely active in the community and is a member of Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Westmarc, Leadership West, Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, Arizona Builders Alliance, The Consul Corps of Arizona, Canada Arizona Builders Council, and Junior League of Phoenix. Her philanthropic work spans across these organizations but her heart is with the Esperanza School for Homeless Children, which is her preferred organization for charitable efforts. Katie was recognized by the Construction Financial Management Association as 2020 Emerging Leader and was featured as one of the 20 Young Leaders Shaping Commercial Real Estate in 2020, by AZ Big Media.

When Katie is not engaging with the people at Haydon or in the community, you can find her with her family or traveling, which is still one of her greatest pleasures and passion.

Born in Urbandale, Iowa, Mark moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University where he graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science Degree from the School of Construction. He has accumulated over 35 years of experience in all areas of the construction industry. In 1998, Mark brought his experience to Haydon Building Corp and started the Company’s Heavy Civil Division. As a Vice President and Principal of the company, Mark has been instrumental in helping Haydon Building Corp become one of the largest and most respected Heavy Civil Contractors in the Southwest.

Matt Carpenter, Chief Operating Officer of Haydon Building Corp, grew up in Sisters, Oregon. He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Sciences from Oregon State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University.

After graduating from OSU, Matt moved to Arizona to accept a job offer with Arizona Game and Fish. Once in Arizona, he quickly found an opportunity working for the Sheet Metal Union as an apprentice on Bank One Ballpark which today is known as Chase Field. In 2000, after a few years as an apprentice, upon his enrollment to ASU he found an internship opportunity with Haydon Building Corp. As an intern, Matt was able to experience every stage of a project from estimating to its completion. From there, Matt’s consistency and determination to overcome challenges has propelled him forward and shaped him into the leader he is today.

“It’s not about where you start; its about where you finish,” Matt says. He knows that it was the intentional mentorship that he received in his early years at Haydon that helped shape his professional career. Providing mentorship and developing young professionals is one of the favorite parts of his job. Matt understands that sharing lessons learned from years of experience with the next generation is vital to the future of the construction industry and for Haydon.

As COO of Haydon Building Corp, Matt has much responsibilities in making key decisions that will impact the future of the company. His job is to provide the company strategic vision for growth and provide the necessary resources to Haydon to continue to be a high caliber competitor in the construction industry.  The values of hard work, perseverance, and being challenged, in which he lives his life, are evident in the success and growth of Haydon.

When Matt is not providing strategic vision for growth for the company or pioneering methods for entering new market sectors, you can find him with his family at his daughters’ swim meets or golfing with his son.

Meet Fritz, VP of Pre-Construction at Haydon. Fritz, LEED AP got his start in construction as a teenager – sweeping, working labor jobs and pounding nails for local builders in his hometown of Winfield, Kansas. He worked his way through college at Kansas State University, working on construction jobs and as a contractor for several home additions. Fritz received a degree in Construction Science in 1983, loaded his 1977 Dodge Charger, and drove west to Arizona for a new career where it was warm.

When Fritz first arrived at Haydon in 1993, there was no pre-construction department. He was originally hired to oversee estimating and later took on marketing and business development. While wearing many hats, Fritz saw Haydon through the market shift from hard-bid to CMAR and is largely responsible for laying the groundwork for Haydon’s later growth. Although Fritz is currently the Vice President of Pre-Construction, he remains largely involved in the pursuit of work and the strategy behind it. Cross-department collaboration is what maintains a foundation of trust between all departments.

When Fritz is not overseeing his team estimating and pursuit work, he is actively playing his banjo or completing another woodworking project at home.

Project Highlights:

26 years at Haydon

Meet Doug, Healthcare Market Sector Leader for Haydon. Doug was born in Huntington, Long Island, NY near an old whaling town named Cold Spring Harbor. For all you Billy Joel fans, Cold Spring Harbor was actually the title of his first album and for you history fans, you can still visit the whaling museum in the town. Doug attended the SUNY at Stony Brook and completed his degree in mechanical engineering. While attending college he worked at a company that manufactured laboratory testing equipment.

After graduating, Doug moved to Arizona to work for Garrett Turbine Engine as a facility engineer and was tasked with supporting their manufacturing processes. He worked on a variety of projects including low-altitude test chambers, environmental salt spray chambers, bearing spin test pits, plating and etching lines, and his favorite project, the infamous chicken launcher. Yes, that is correct. The company had to test the impact of birds induced into the turbine engines during operation. Rumor has it that that is where chicken nuggets came from, but no one knows for sure.

After Garrett, he worked for a design engineering firm where he was tasked with turning dirty manufacturing space into clean rooms. It was here that he began spending more time in the field reviewing existing equipment and layouts and working with contractors to ensure new designs were constructable. This is when Doug began to feel the draw toward the construction aspect along with design (design-build).

Doug then took a position at a design-build firm that specialized in building micro-electronics facilities throughout the west. One of the largest projects he worked on had over 1,300 tradesmen onsite per day at its peak. It was here that Doug had the opportunity to move to mainland China to work on a new project; though it was a culture shock, he still appreciated the experience.

When he eventually returned to the States, he worked on a wide variety of high-profile, complex projects including the Mall of America, a device assembly facility in Mercury, Nevada (yes by Area 51), a BSL-3ag biocontainment facility, and a biopharmaceutical facility that produced an injectable rheumatoid arthritis drug.

Doug has been involved in numerous healthcare projects in Arizona including major hospital expansions that included construction of a new emergency department, doubling the size of an existing central plant, construction of a new main entrance, as well as a new six-story patient tower, to name a few. He has also worked on various projects for providers such as Banner Health, HonorHealth and Dignity Health.

When Doug is not engaging with the people at Haydon, you can find him traveling and spending quality time with his family.

Joe Malone, Director of Operations for Heavy Civil, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Construction Management at the Del E Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University.

Joe got his start in construction in 5th grade. Joe’s dad worked on a lot of drill rigs and would take Joe to work with him. At a young age, he was around a lot of heavy equipment and as he got older, he would work summers at his uncle’s residential construction company doing roofing projects, small additions, and demos. During his junior year of high school, he visited Arizona for a college tour of Arizona State University. After he graduated high school, he moved to Tempe, Arizona to attend the Del E Webb School of Construction.

In 2006, Joe began interning at Haydon Building Corp with the takeoff department while completing his courses at ASU. Upon graduation, Joe was hired on full-time as a Project Engineer with the Civil Division. From there, he was promoted to Senior Project Engineer to Project Director, and most recently has been promoted to Director of Operations for Heavy Civil.

As Director of Operations, Joe has the privilege of providing leadership and guidance to Project Engineers, Project Managers, Project Directors, and Superintendents in the Civil Division at Haydon and is also very involved with the Summer Internship for college students. He strives to work with each team to make sure that the Haydon Fundamentals are upheld in every aspect of a project, from start to finish. Ownership is a fundamental value that Joe lives his life by and conducts himself professionally. Ownership for Joe means stewarding the “weight of leadership by taking ownership of decisions made and mistakes of the whole team.”

When Joe is not helping to provide guidance and leadership to project teams, you can find Joe either traveling with his wife and daughter, outdoor hunting, building jeeps to rock crawl, or volunteering at a nonprofit organization.

Highlighted Projects:

Town of Queen Creek West Park CMAR, Queen Creek, Arizona

City of Buckeye Apache Road Water Treatment Plant Buckeye, AZ

Cardon Development Aspera ADOT Improvements, Peoria, AZ

Meet Haydon’s Vice President of Risk Management, Les Keeble. He was born and raised in Port Lavaca, Texas. He spent his college years pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. After he graduated in 1986, the commercial construction industry in Texas was at an all-time low. He began his career in construction shortly after, completing residential historical preservation and traveling all over the states. He then transitioned from restoring historical buildings to completing commercial projects as a Project Superintendent with a company in Houston. In 1989, Les made the move to the great state of Arizona to continue to pursue his career as a Superintendent. 

Les joined Haydon in 1994 as a Project Manager for the rapidly growing company and developed right along with it. Today, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s risk, ensuring that procedures are followed, and developing strategies to protect Haydon’s assets, “it is important that we have procedures in place for how we best serve our clients and how we manage our contracts.” His expertise also entails managing as well as understanding Haydon’s risk, rights, and responsibilities, “a big part of our work is making sure we are completing our work in accordance with our owner agreement.” 

In addition to maintaining owner agreements and protecting the integrity of the company, Les spends much of his time mentoring our team. On any given day, you can find a Project Engineer in his office going through and learning any necessary topic of discussion to improve results. His leadership has been an integral part of the development at Haydon. 

Les’ thorough knowledge of contracts and risk analysis has made him one of the leading industry professionals in this area. He is also the Chairman of the Underwriting Committee for Four Corners Construction, Ltd. 

Les is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hiking and biking at trails, such as Dreamy Draw in Phoenix. Many days, you can find Les riding his bike around Central Phoenix or spending time with his family. 

Les’ best piece of advice, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Be persistent in fighting the good fight. 

Mike Rhode, Vice President of Earthscapes, was born and raised in Chandler, Arizona. During his high school summer breaks, Mike worked for a family friend doing residential landscape construction, which he enjoyed very much. Upon his high school graduation, Mike joined the Navy where he was a helicopter rescue swimmer for 5 years. After his service, he decided to pursue his interest in residential landscape construction.

Throughout his early career years, he was involved in transforming the way the industry views landscape construction with his attention to detail and genuine passion for building his team. He’s completed many high-end residential and commercial landscaping projects in the Phoenix area. Mike is known for his vast experience in the business, he has worked in every aspect of the business from positions like Project Manager to becoming the Vice President of Earthscapes where he thrives today.

Mike joined Earthscapes in 2009 and completely re-vamped the organizational structure of the company. He knew he had to build trust internally and externally, his goal was to make sure Earthscapes was, “going to be done on time and deliver a great product.” Earthscapes has now had several successful collaborative projects with Haydon’s other divisions, “it’s gotten to the point now where we’ve really been able to streamline and anticipate things in advance. It just helps when all three divisions are communicating from the day we’re awarded…” as a joint effort. Earthscapes is now highly recommended by other prestigious clients because of the leadership, integrity and quality that Mike and his team maintain.

During his time at Earthscapes, Mike has transformed the culture of Earthscapes through his unique brand management, personnel development and his commitment to integrity. What Mike enjoys most about his work in addition to the variety of work is, “the people, I really enjoy working with the people that work for us.” Mike is actively involved in all of Haydon’s community and field outreach events. He values service and spends a majority of his time mentoring his team and helping them reach their goals.

His best piece of advice is to, “slow down and don’t be reactionary. Be more planned and methodical about how you solve issues.” There is always a sense of urgency in Mike’s line of work, but his advice is to be patient about the outcome for the best results.

Mike loves traveling and rarely goes to the same place twice. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting and camping and spending time with his family.

Highlighted Projects:

Gilbert Regional Park

Kino South Sports Complex

Hance Park

Mansel Carter Oasis Park

Avondale Festival Fields

Meet Krista Norton, Marketing Director for Haydon Building Corp. Growing up in New York, Krista attended the liberal arts college SUNY Geneseo, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with coursework in Organizational Psychology, and a minor in English. Her first job out of college was working for a nonprofit organization that provides services for people with developmental disabilities. She later obtained her master’s degree in management from Keuka College in New York to further expand her skillset. Tired of the cold weather, she moved to Arizona in 2007 to start a new life and career.

Within a couple months of arriving to Arizona, Krista entered into the construction industry. From her experience working for the nonprofit, Krista was well-versed in coordinating multi-disciplinary teams, paying close attention to details, writing service plans, planning special events and working under tight deadlines; all of which have proved to be beneficial for building Haydon’s marketing team, proposal functions and capabilities.

During Krista’s first years with the company, she was heavily involved in the pursuit of work and proposal development. Since being promoted to Marketing Director, she is now focused on big-picture strategy and finding innovative ways to reach Haydon’s clients and industry partners through new and traditional marketing efforts. Her secret to success is keeping her environment organized and most importantly fun so that both the marketing and pursuit functions can stay agile while maintaining a positive attitude.

Krista is a Certified Professional Services Marketer through SMPS. She enjoys donating time to assist a variety of small businesses with marketing strategy, is a formidable foe in a game of dominoes, and can really rock a karaoke bar. “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi (1986) is her jam.

Meet Matt Gilliland, Safety Director at Haydon. Matt is a proud Okie, born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma. He comes with very strong family values which shaped his work ethic while working in residential construction with his dad during high school. One of his strongest family values was to be a genuine human being to anyone no matter their background and to be kind even if it was not reciprocated. His values alongside his residential construction knowledge later enhanced his career growth in construction.

Matt had the opportunity to take a full ride scholarship to the University of Central Oklahoma for baseball and football; however, he decided to focus on his education and went into Construction Management Technology focusing in Commercial Construction at Oklahoma State University. After graduation, Matt started his career as a Field Engineer in Texas with Archer Western. He later moved into a Project Coordinator position and eventually a Superintendent at Austin Bridge and Road.

He joined Haydon in 2013 as a Project Superintendent in Texas. He’s fulfilled multiple vital roles in a short span from Project Superintendent to Project Manager and then General Superintendent, between Arizona and Texas projects. After Haydon completed all Texas projects, Matt decided to make the move to Arizona with his family in the fall of 2019 and accepted the role of Safety Manager. With the varying positions he’s held at Haydon, he has prepared to take on the challenges of the Safety Department as Safety Director.

Matt is a leader of the Safety Committee at Haydon and a member of the American Society of Safety Professionals.

When Matt is not learning the newest safety guidelines and training Haydon personnel, you can find him exploring the outdoors with his family. Since moving to Arizona, he spends most of his weekends camping, hiking or simply driving to different parts of the state.

Key Projects:

Drinkwater Bridge Replacement in Scottsdale, AZ

Texas

Walsh Ranch Parkway -IH30 Grand Prairie- Josephine Bridges- Balch Springs- Denton FM 720.

Meet Shelby Saifi, HR Director at Haydon. Shelby was born and raised in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. She first began her career as an HR Specialist and soon found her passion in all aspects of HR and not just specializing in one area. Through the years, she was mentored by other knowledgeable HR professionals and strongly believes the strength of mentoring is a valuable asset for her own HR team. Fast forward 10 years, Shelby is now well versed in all aspects of Human Resources with majority of her experience developing as an HR Consultant for various highly respected business organizations. Her HR curriculum vitae expands into the fields of healthcare, corporate America, non-profits, engineering, restaurant management, construction, and sports entertainment. She is proficient in federal and multi-state compliance including California employment law.

Her knowledge of the field allows her to provide guidance with employee relations, unemployment, worker’s compensation, immigration law, leave of absence, benefits administration, training & development, onboarding, and ensures compliance with ever-changing employment laws. Her interpersonal skills allow her to communicate effectively with staff and she empowers management to make sound business decisions and implement them effectively.

As the HR Director at Haydon, Shelby is working to develop innovative human resources strategies designed to support the vision of the company. Shelby provides excellence in human resources compliance and demonstrates success by earning the trust and respect of the team she serves.

She is an active member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and HR Certification Institute (HRCI).

When Shelby isn’t working on new HR developments among her team, you can find her spending quality time with her family and enjoying water sports.