LeMessurier appoints Blanchet as chief executive officer

Boston, MA LeMessurier has appointed Craig Blanchet, P.E., as chief executive officer. As the trusted engineering practice celebrates its 65^th anniversary, Blanchet, a 29-year veteran of the firm, will lead LeMessurier’s growth initiatives while continuing to serve clients as managing principal. As part of the firm’s succession plan, he will also transition responsibility for day-to-day operations to its emerging leaders.

Since its founding, LeMessurier has built a legacy of engineering excellence rooted in structural design and sustainable construction, partnering with architects, contractors, owners, and developers to solve complex challenges in the built environment. The firm expanded its capabilities through a strategic acquisition in 2020 and now provides building enclosure services. Blanchet’s appointment marks the culmination of a thoughtful, multi-year succession plan led by the board of directors and positions the firm to build on its legacy while pursuing growth beyond its Boston, Philadelphia, and Portland offices.

“From the Board’s perspective, selecting Craig as CEO was a natural choice,” said Bill Lovallo, chairman of the board. “Over the past three decades, Craig has consistently exemplified our core values of technical excellence, integrity, client service, and thoughtful growth. His proven track record of operational leadership, his deep passion for our people and clients, and his unwavering commitment to preserving LeMessurier’s exceptional reputation uniquely position him to lead the next generation of our firm.”

A Career Defined by Engineering Excellence

Since joining LeMessurier in 1997, Blanchet has risen through the ranks, becoming an associate in 2004, principal in 2010, vice president in 2016, and managing principal in 2022. He is widely recognized for bringing creativity, technical expertise, and a collaborative approach to large-scale, complex building projects.

A champion of firm founder Bill LeMessurier’s guiding principle to “simplify, simplify, simplify,” Blanchet has long paired engineering first principles with the thoughtful application of emerging technologies. His leadership in advanced structural analysis and custom software integration has consistently placed LeMessurier at the forefront of design and efficient project delivery.

Blanchet’s portfolio spans commercial, residential, healthcare, life science, higher education, municipal, and cultural projects, including:

•  Air-Rights & Mixed-Use Landmarks: The 1.8 million s/f Hub on Causeway over the MBTA Orange and Green Line tunnels; Phases 1 and 2 of the 1.7 million s/f Fenway Center over I-90 and the MBTA Commuter Rail; and the 1.5 million s/f 350/400 Summer St. life science and office complex over the I-90 tunnel in Boston’s Seaport.
• Complex Adaptive Reuse & Repositioning: The repositioning of the 42-story One Post Office Square building in Boston with its 19-story addition; and Harvard University’s 60 Oxford St. Laboratory Conversion.
• Institutional & Research Facilities: Amherst College’s New Science Building; Northeastern University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) and EXP research center; MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex; Harvard Medical School’s New Research Building.
• Healthcare Facilities: The Future Cancer Hospital for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Baystate Medical Center’s Hospital of the Future; and Greenville Hospital Expansion in Greenville, South Carolina.

Vision for the Future: Empowering Talent and Expanding Market Impact

As CEO, Blanchet is advancing a phased strategy that aligns operational excellence with purposeful growth. His priorities include modernizing the firm’s infrastructure, strengthening its culture of collaborative leadership, and investing in technologies that help principals and their technical teams work more effectively. Together, these initiatives will improve responsiveness to clients and reinforce LeMessurier’s position as an industry-leading engineering firm.

Building on these operational investments, LeMessurier continues to recruit top engineering talent and position the firm for sustained growth. Under Blanchet’s leadership, the firm will expand its work in higher education, healthcare, life science, and commercial markets across the Northeast and beyond, with particular emphasis on increasing its presence and project activity in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“I am honored to guide LeMessurier through our fifth major leadership transition,” said Blanchet. “Our strength has always been our people – their curiosity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to technical excellence. By investing in them and in the systems that support their work, we will continue to earn our clients’ trust by helping them solve their most challenging building problems, from high-performance new structures and large-scale urban developments to the adaptive reuse of mid-century icons and renewal of aging buildings.”

“The future of LeMessurier is bright,” said Lovallo. “The Board remains deeply committed to our firm’s independence, our collaborative culture, and the talented professionals who bring creativity, clarity, and resourceful problem-solving to every challenge. I am confident that Craig’s leadership will shape decades of continued success while preserving the values and excellence that have defined LeMessurier for 65 years.”

Blanchet holds a Master of Science in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as Bachelor of Science degrees in Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering from the University of Miami. A licensed Professional Engineer in 13 states, he is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and the Council on Vertical Urbanism (formerly CTBUH). He has also served as a Visiting Lecturer at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Northeastern University.

To learn more about LeMessurier’s structural engineering and enclosure solutions, go to www.lemessurier.com