Wes Christmas, PE, ENV SP

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Christmas is an experienced civil engineer whose role has included both client service and firm operations for Clark Dietz since 2000. Wes has served on the Board of Directors of Clark Dietz since 2012, acting as Corporate Treasurer from 2018-2020. In 2018 he was named Regional Director for Indiana/Kentucky operations. In 2020, he was named Executive Vice President and in 2021 Corporate Director of Business Development, all while serving as a client liaison and trusted advisor for clients in the Indiana and Kentucky markets. His corporate and regional responsibilities included monitoring and managing regional workload, financial planning, and performance optimization in the areas of profitability, accounts receivable, staff utilization, contract development, and staff recruitment. In 2023, the Board of Directors of Clark Dietz voted to confirm Wes as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.

Jerald T. Payonk, PE

Chairman of the Board

Mr. Payonk has a long and rooted history with Clark Dietz, joining our firm in 1990. As Director of Engineering, his goal is to sustain high performing engineering teams. He provides the resources, information, and motivation to allow every individual to continually increase their knowledge, performance, and value to our client base. Mr. Payonk is a registered professional engineer with 25 years in consulting engineering. Specializing in Transportation and Construction operations, Jerry brings a high level of technical expertise in every aspect of transportation engineering. He currently serves on our Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jerry actively supports his local Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Risk Management Committee for ACEC-Illinois.

Mustafa Emir, PhD, PE

Executive Vice President, Wisconsin Regional Director, Director of Business Development

Mr. Emir is a highly-respected Infrastructure Design and Water Resource Planning Professional with over 20 years of hands-on engineering experience. He brings decades of diverse experience as a civil engineer and Senior Project Manager serving municipal clients in southeastern Wisconsin. Mr. Emir’s background is in water resources, stormwater management and municipal infrastructure planning for the long term. He has successfully created multi-year comprehensive sewer rehabilitation programs for Bayside, Whitefish Bay, and a comprehensive plan for Shorewood. Mustafa was instrumental in flood response projects in several Milwaukee metropolitan suburbs. Mustafa has prepared and led dozens of public information meetings that steadily move from confrontational to peaceful and collaborative. He has a keen ability to simply present complex ideas and foster constructive discussion with the public. Throughout his career, Mr. Emir was responsible for managing a strong team of professionals delivering services in Parks, Planning, GIS, Water Resources, Natural Resources and Environmental Science. Mustafa leads our engineering team serving communities throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.

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