Leathers named chairman at GEI

GEI Consultants, Inc.'s board of directors has named Frank Leathers, P.E. as its next chairman, replacing Richard Westmore, P.E., a long-time GEI veteran who remains active with the company as senior vice president and senior principal. Leathers also continues to serve as president of GEI. Having joined GEI in 1974, after receiving his Master of Science degree in civil/geotechnical engineering from MIT, Leathers was named president in 1999. During his tenure the company has grown from $26 million in revenues with 200 employees to $60 million revenue and 350 staff in 2007. Twenty-five years after joining GEI as an entry-level geotechnical engineer, Leathers was named president of GEI in 1999, the first non-founder to serve in this role.  As president, Leathers has focused on building a strong leadership and management team that can carry the firm into the future.  His goal is for the firm to continue to evolve and enhance it services by providing strategic consulting to its clients. In addition to his Masters Degree from MIT, Leathers also received a Bachelor's Degree in civil engineering from the university in 1972. He holds professional civil engineering licenses in eleven states and specializes in the fields of soil mechanics, foundation engineering and groundwater hydraulics. A past president of ACEC/MA and The Engineering Center, Leathers is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and an active member of ASFE, the Deep Foundation Institute and the Massachusetts Building Code Seismic Advisory Committee.