WALTER L. BOUCHARD, MPH, CIH

is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bouchard Companies with over 35 years experience as a results oriented professional.  He completed a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree at Western Illinois University, with honors.  He received his graduate degree (MPH) from The University of Michigan. Thereafter, he was a manager in a major chemical company with nationwide responsibilities prior to becoming a senior executive for a large investor owned electric and gas utility for 16 years. 

Mr. Bouchard founded The Bouchard Companies in 1993 and developed the company to become a recognized bi-national consulting, project management, and construction firm with over 80% of its work coming from repeat clients or referrals. 

In the course of his career Mr. Bouchard has become an internationally recognized expert in project management, regulatory entitlements, environmental science, planning, and construction.  He has served as a University Professor and/or lecturer at all three of Arizona’s major Universities. 

Mr. Bouchard is also certified in Comprehensive Practice by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, which is the highest credential for those specializing in the recognition, evaluation, and control of occupationally related disease.  He is a community leader having served over 15 years on the Board of Directors of The American Lung Association of The Southwest.  At the request of various elected officials, during the past 35 years; he has served as a prime mover in several environmental policy venues and technical study groups serving Arizona and its communities. 

Mr. Bouchard is a Vietnam veteran, having served with the United States Marine Corps as a rifleman in the First Battalion Fifth Marines.

A more detailed resume is available upon request

SELECTED ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS - SOUTHWEST U.S.

THOMAS J. GILL, Environmental Health & Safety Specialist
is a Senior Consultant who also serves as an industrial hygiene technician.  Mr. Gill assists our clients with occupational safety and health regulatory compliance, environmental permitting and licensing; environmental remediation projects; and hazardous materials management, storage, transport, and disposal.  His extensive background in manufacturing and heavy industry, makes him a unique asset to any project team requiring a results-oriented EH&S professional.

BRADLEY D. STAIB, MBA, Environmental Chemical Engineer
is a Senior Consultant & Project Manager; with unique experience with Superfund projects.  Mr. Staib is a results-oriented, data-driven professional with expertise in opportunity recognition, financial analysis, and project development. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Cincinnati and a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Management from Babson College, F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Prior to his employment by the Bouchard Companies, Mr. Staib was a Materials Engineer for the Intel Corporation in Chandler, Arizona. His responsibilities ranged from the management of product development teams to creating business continuity plans in collaboration with key international polymer suppliers.    He also is an avid adventurer, and has spent significant time working abroad in Mexico, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT - MEXICO

ING. RICARDO PLATT GARCÍA
Is a Principal in The Bouchard Companies and is involved with projects across Mexico.  Mr. Platt obtained a Civil Engineering degree from the prestigious Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM); which is recognized as Latin America’s premier institute of higher learning, and graduate-work in computer technology and hydraulics, also at ITESM.  He is an internationally renowned leader within the construction industry and has over 40 years’ experience in the industry across Mexico.  Mr. Platt has led major construction projects across Mexico, including important infrastructure, housing, commercial, institutional, and industrial projects in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Puebla, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, etc.

Mr. Platt is a former Secretary of Economy for the State of Sonora, and was responsible for developing and implementing the growth strategy of the State’s dynamic economy (USD30 Billion in 2012). During his tenure, he led trade missions to and represented Sonora at major events in Europe, Japan, Brazil, the U.S., and Canada that brought together the most important worldwide players related to the aeronautics, aerospace, automotive, medicine and software industries, leading to the relocation of major companies to the State. He represented Sonora at the Paris and Farnborough Air Shows, where for the first time Sonora participated jointly with Arizona.

Mr. Platt was National President of the Camara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construccion (CMIC), Mexico’s national association of construction contractors with 11,000 members throughout the country and representative offices in the 55 most important cities of Mexico.

He is currently FIIC President. The Federacion Interamericana de la Industria de la Construccion (FIIC), is the Latin America’s Construction Contractors’ Association, and a Federation that brings together the national construction associations of all 18 Latin-American countries. He previously held for eight years the position of Secretary General of FIIC, having been sworn as such in 2007 by Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon.  He was Vice President of and represented the entirety of Latin America before the Confederation of International Contractors Association (CICA), the organization that groups all construction associations across the world. Since the establishment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1994, he has led on behalf of Mexico, the yearly meeting between the leadership of the construction contractors’ associations of all three NAFTA countries.

Mr. Platt is a leader of local industry in Sonora, having served on the Advisory Board of two major banks in the state, as well as on the Advisory Board of a major insurance and bonding company. He is currently a Regional Advisory Board member of Nacional Financiera (Nafinsa), Mexico’s Development Banking Institution. He is a member of Hermosillo 2025, a private sector initiative with the mission of establishing and implementing the long range planning for the city of Hermosillo, the capital of the State of Sonora. He is also a Board member for ITESM Campus Sonora Norte in Hermosillo.

Mr. Platt is also a Board member of the Fundación Esposos Rodriguez, a private Trust based in Hermosillo, Sonora, and that since 1946 has provided scholarships to Sonoran students of different educational levels (2015: 5,500 scholarships from elementary to masters level granted); the Fundación Esposos Rodriguez is the most important institution of its type in northwest Mexico.

HOWARD REED FERNANDEZ, MBA, JD
Is a Director within The Bouchard Companies specializing in government relations and Project Management.

 Mr. Reed is a Mexican businessman.  He was born and raised in Tampico, Mexico.   After attending the Jesuit High School and completing his Mexican military service in Tampico, he moved to Austin, Texas where he completed his higher education at the University of Texas.

Mr. Reed’s father moved from South Texas to Tampico in 1946.  There he met and married his wife who is from the State of Veracruz.  He began his career as a cattle rancher and then expanded his interests to include Mexico’s only privately owned natural gas pipeline, feedlots, meat packing plants and shrimp farms in Central and South America and “actual “ commodity trading. By the late 1950’s the Reed family owned ten cattle ranches in the three State Region of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas known as “La Huasteca“. He retired in 2005. 

The Reed family is very well known and respected throughout “La Huasteca“ and as such, Mr. Reed is very familiar with Northern Veracruz as he still manages several cattle ranches in that area.  He also manages a cattle ranch in the State of San Luis Potosi and another in the State of Coahuila near the Texas border. 

Mr. Reed has been involved in international commodity trading such as scrap metal, live cattle and horses, boxed meats, agricultural products, aluminum ingots, diesel and crude oil.  He has extensive experience in venture capital, investment banking, mortgage banking and merchant banking and has dealt with the Mexican government at all levels throughout his life. 

Mr. Reed has had extensive business experience with PEMEX’s exploration and production divisions both onshore and offshore.  He has built over 300 homes in Costa Rica and has developed real estate projects in Texas and Mexico. He was recently involved in a Phase One 11.6 million gallon a day seawater desalinization project in northern Sonora, Mexico in conjunction with the United States Trade Development Agency which involved discussions with the State of Arizona as to its participation in the project.

Mr. Reed has been a member of Texas State University’s Latin American Business Advisory Council since 2005.  Mr. Reed maintains a home in Tampico, Mexico City and Austin.