Smith to Executive VP at Corporate Offices; Hennelly to President, Great Lakes Region

Naperville, Ill. (February 3, 2011)—As part of efforts to position itself for leadership transition and future growth in Chicago and across the country, Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US, Inc. has announced the promotions of Jeff Smith to executive vice president at the corporate level and Tim Hennelly to president of the Great Lakes Region. The promotions are effective February 1, 2011.

“These moves are important as we create a framework for moving forward, from a challenging period in commercial real estate,” said Pat Ryan, chief executive officer of Ryan Companies US, Inc. “This is a great opportunity for two of our established leaders to accept new challenges at Ryan.”

As executive vice president, Smith, 49, will be responsible for overseeing all of Ryan’s regional hubs and for driving business in key industry segments. Ryan has offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, San Diego, Tampa, Phoenix, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines. Its new framework will consolidate these offices into five regional hubs:  Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Southcentral and Great Lakes — the region to be managed by Tim Hennelly.

"We are seeing a break in the clouds and a turn around that will be substantial in various segments over the next five years,” said Smith. “To prepare, we are implementing a structure that allows us to move forward on a national platform specializing in industries that we believe will be strong as the economy recovers.”

Smith joined Ryan in 1986 as a project manager and over the years has risen through the ranks holding various management positions. In 1999, with the company looking to expand its footprint in the Midwest, he opened the Chicago office. Most recently his title with Ryan was President, Midwest Division.

“In 25 years with Ryan, Jeff Smith has been critical to our success,” said Ryan. “He has opened new regions, developed new platforms and expanded our business. We are asking him to come to the corporate office and do the same at a national rather than regional level.”

As part of the restructuring that will move Smith to Minneapolis, Tim Hennelly, 49, assumes the role of president of the newly named Great Lakes Region. From offices in Naperville, Hennelly has responsibility for executing strategy and managing activities in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

Hennelly’s promotion comes on the heels of some significant recent project announcements and completions for Ryan locally including the completion of the 120,000-square-foot Rosemont Corporate Center in Rosemont, the completion of the 85,000-square-foot Delta Dental of Illinois headquarters building in Naperville, the completion of the 105,600-square-foot Burr Ridge Medical Center in Burr Ridge and the completion of the 116-unit Thomas Place Fox Lake senior housing project in Fox Lake. Ryan will break ground on over $100 million worth of projects in the next several months including the 140,000-square-foot Froedtert Health Menomonee Falls Clinic in Wisc., the 125,000-square-foot Kone Centre in Moline, Ill. and the 600,000-square-foot WBI Center for Wirtz Beverage Illinois in Cicero.

Hennelly brings more than 25 years of experience and a well-established track record to his new position. He joined Ryan in 2002 as vice president of development and has played an integral role in building the firm’s platform in Chicago.

Tim has been a tremendous asset to Ryan as we have established our company in Chicago as a fully-integrated construction and development firm,” Smith said. “Tim is well-respected in the industry and has built on his strong relationships in the local community to help Ryan win significant new assignments and expand our reach regionally. He’s a natural for this leadership position.”

Hennelly began his career as an industrial broker before working as a development and construction specialist for The Alter Group and FCL Builders.

“I am very excited about this opportunity to continue to advance Ryan’s name and market share in Chicago and throughout the Great Lakes region,” Hennelly said. “We see great opportunity to leverage our recent successes, continue to build strong relationships and help businesses in our region achieve their real estate and construction objectives.”

About Ryan Companies US, Inc.
Ryan Companies US, Inc., a nationally recognized design-builder, developer and real estate manager, has specialized in providing fully integrated solutions for more than 70 years. Ryan ranked 76th in Engineering News-Record’s (ENR’s) list of Top 400 Contractors. In its first 10 years of operation, Ryan’s Midwest Division (based in Chicago) has completed over $1 Billion in projects for customers such as Deere & Company, Isle of Capri, Target Corporation, Dominick’s, C. H. Robinson and Froedtert Health.  In addition to its Chicago office, Ryan has offices in Minneapolis, San Diego, Tampa, Phoenix and Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa.