Ames Construction

As Chief Operating Officer, Emil “Butch” Trebesch provides strategic leadership for Ames Construction. Working with the executive management team, he is charged with maintaining the company’s prominent position in the marketplace by adapting to meet fluctuating demands in an ever-evolving industry. A proven leader who delivers results, Butch advances strategic growth of the business, its environment, and our people, while preserving the corporate vision.

Butch joined Ames in 1991, serving in several leadership roles prior to his appointment to COO in 2018. With knowledge, experience, and respect for a corporate culture that values its people and community, he assesses current and future prospects that keep the company strong in multiple markets and furthers the company’s success.

Jerry Ouimet directs the vision and guides the strategic direction of Ames Construction. As president and chief executive officer, Jerry is committed to building on the company’s long-established culture as a builder who encompasses and lives by the values of integrity, loyalty, respect, trust and innovation. Drawing from his more than 30 years in the industry, Jerry leads with an entrepreneurial perspective and applies his keen ability to link people with purpose to grow into new challenges and move forward as a cohesive team to achieve mutual goals.

Jerry earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance from St. Cloud State University, and a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Studies and Risk Management from the University of St. Thomas. Active in multiple industry organizations, Jerry is passionate about keeping the workforce safe, both physically and mentally, and serves as a trustee for the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

Jerry has been in the construction industry for more than 25 years, with a 22-year career at Ames Construction. As President of our Southwest Region, he drives operational success by motivating employees to always be safe, work to their highest potential, and bring value to their role by doing the right things. These factors provide rewarding careers and meaningful employment for the sustainability of the company. Jerry earned his BSCE at Montana State University, where he has been a Civil Engineering Advisory Board member for nine years. He also serves on the Board of Directors for AGC of Arizona.

In his nearly 17 years with Ames Construction, Justin has been involved in a broad range of markets, clients, and project types. He is committed to helping the company grow and deliver first-class projects while working with new and existing clients, and staying ahead of the ever-changing market. His primary focus is on ensuring our people are put in an environment where they can succeed for the client, themselves, and Ames Construction. A graduate of North Dakota State University, Justin majored in civil engineering with a minor in business. Justin and his wife, Jamie, have two young children.

Roger McBride directs the advancement of safety and health initiatives, risk management and mitigation, and human resources management, supervising a team of more than 50 Ames health and safety professionals and support staff. In his 35 years with the company, Roger has developed, implemented and administrated comprehensive corporate safety and loss control programs on projects throughout the United States and Canada. His skills, knowledge and work ethic guided the company successfully through difficult challenges to align the safety program with changing industry standards. Under Roger’s leadership, Ames remains an industry leader in safety practices. Roger is an active member of the Construction Industry Safety Institute (CISI) and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Shawn Dahl directs the real estate portfolio for Ames Construction with extensive experience in land reclamation and residential/commercial development and redevelopment. In his 30 years with the company, Shawn has expertly applied his proficiency in planning and design, along with a keen knowledge of environmental regulations, to develop multiple master-planned communities throughout the country. Shawn is instrumental in conducting assessments and acquiring permits for aggregate operations needed to support specific projects in our respective markets, and he oversees the company’s holdings in a retail aggregate processing operation that serves as a resource to the construction industry.

Tim is the senior legal advisor to the company on all legal and regulatory issues with a focus on managing and minimizing the company’s current and future risks in the marketplace. During his career, Tim has worked throughout the United States and Canada with a successful track record in both senior and executive leadership capacities. Specifically, Tim has been in a construction leadership in-house role for more than 20 years, with over 30 years of experience in the industry.

Tim has responsibility for Ames legal and compliance departments. His expertise includes corporate governance, risk management, litigation management, labor, M&A, regulatory compliance, and corporate transactions. Tim earned a B.S. degree in both Public Administration and Communications from Minnesota State University, and a Juris Doctorate from Creighton School of Law in 2002.

Tim has spent virtually his entire 27-year career in the construction industry with Ames Construction. As President of our Western Region, he manages the overall operations to sustain the ongoing success of the region and its people. Tim possesses a unique perspective of our growth into new markets and expansion into existing markets, having worked in all but one of the company’s multiple regions.

Todd Goderstad manages and directs all project-specific and corporate matters requiring legal review. He examines and negotiates contracts, subcontracts and other documents, monitors changes in law affecting the company, assesses controls for risk management, and ensures surety and insurance compliance. Todd also manages internal and outside counsel and consultants both in and outside of litigation. In over 25 years with the company, Todd has also served as the governmental liaison, and applied his expertise to legal aspects of real estate development, credit and collections, and formal and informal dispute resolution of all kinds.

Todd obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Culver-Stockton College, and is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. He is a member of multiple bar associations and construction law organizations and is a past president of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota.

As Ames Construction’s Chief Financial Officer, Tom Bessel plans, implements, manages, and supervises all of the finance activities for the company, including business planning, budgeting, reporting, and forecasting. Tom came to Ames Construction as the Assistant Controller in 2011 after serving the company for six years prior while employed by a local public accounting firm. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Tom is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional. He applies his expertise to streamline and maintain efficient operations while adapting to ever-changing needs of both the industry and the departments as the company continues to grow and expand. 

Craig has nearly 30 years of experience in the construction industry, with an emphasis on developing energy markets for the past 10 years with over 3.5 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. Craig oversees Business Development in the solar energy EPC business group at Ames Construction, strategizing and leading the team in discovering and developing new business in solar energy and all other renewable energy projects. Craig’s long history in the industry affords him keen insight into client challenges, which has helped him to build and foster valuable client relationships while advocating for the industry. 

Curtis leads a team of business development managers focused on building relationships in our markets. Serving the construction industry for nearly 25 years, Curtis joined Ames Construction in 2005 as a Project Manager in our Southwest Region. Curtis has served in numerous leadership roles and applies a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to shaping our business development efforts.

Curtis also continues to serve as Corporate Director of Freight Rail, overseeing the company’s major rail projects. Curtis serves on the NRC (National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association) Board of Directors, and is the Chair of the Policy and Legislative Committee.