Dedham, MA DiPrete Engineering has appointed Joe Penney as the company’s new vice president of development at its office. Penney, is a past director of development for Ahold USA, parent company of Stop & Shop New England, and a former principal for Gale Associates. He has over 30 years of experience in site design and land use approvals throughout New England and brings a variety of skills to DiPrete’s team.

“After 30 years in the industry Joe’s reputation in the engineering and development community is outstanding and we are excited to have him as a team member and resource for our staff and clients,” said Dennis DiPrete, principal of DiPrete. “His extraordinary talent, experience and expertise matched with an already great team of engineering and design professionals will be a terrific resource for our clients.”

In addition to managing the development process for several supermarket and fueling facility sites, Penney played a key role in the development of the 1.3 million s/f distribution facility in Freetown, Mass. and the permitting for one of the first anaerobic digesters in the state which is presently in construction.

Penney is looking forward to improving the firm’s consulting approach.  “At Stop & Shop it was always helpful to work with a firm that realized that understanding the client’s perspective is key to a successful project,” he said. “My goal is to help expand DiPrete’s already strong reputation throughout New England by applying my 30 years in the business to enhancing the client experience.”

After spending a number of years in both consulting and development roles, Penney understands projects from a client’s perspective and how to collaborate with them to create a successful outcome.  This was one of the reasons he was drawn to DiPrete Engineering, he said.

“Understanding your clients’ needs and the permitting process’ that is part of each project is very important,” said Penney.  “DiPrete does a great job of not only focusing on engineering and design, but on all aspects of development.”

“Joe appreciates how a firm’s constructive relationships with regulatory agencies can help a developer navigate through approval challenges more quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Greg Guglielmo, vice president of DiPrete. “We are thrilled to have him on our team and look forward to using his expertise on future projects.”

DiPrete Engineering is a leading civil engineering, planning and surveying firm in New England. The firm has offices in Boston, Providence and Newport, R.I.