Bill McConnell, PE, JD, MSCE, CDT

CEO – The Vertex Companies

Speaker Bio: Bill McConnell, co-founder and CEO of The Vertex Companies, Inc.(VERTEX), has worked in the construction industry for nearly his entire life. He rose through the ranks from a union construction worker during high school and college summers, to a project engineer at a top 50 construction company, to a senior executive at VERTEX. In addition, Bill is a top expert witness for construction disputes as he has testified approximately 170 times, most notably for cost and/or standard of care opinions. Many construction, engineering, and law organizations have published Bill’s articles and reports over the past two decades. Bill is a lifelong learner (MS, JD, and PhD student) and a firm believer in the value of industry-academic collaborations.

Since inception of VERTEX in 1995, Bill has led the organization by example. Under his leadership, VERTEX has seen consistent year-over-year growth of more than 20%. Twenty-five years later, in addition to setting strategy and leading VERTEX, Bill works on billable projects while also contributing as an active teacher and student in academia. Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver, and a Master of Science degree from Columbia University. Bill is working towards his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado. He also completed a part-time three-year business program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bill serves on the Industry Advisory Board for the University of Colorado Denver (CU) Construction Engineering and Management program.

Phil Bernstein

Architect, Technologist and Lecturer at the Yale School of Architecture

Speaker Bio: Phillip G. Bernstein is an architect and technologist and Lecturer in Professional Practice at the Yale School of Architecture, where he has taught since 1988. He was formerly a Vice President at Autodesk, where he was responsible for setting the company’s future vision and strategy for technology as well as cultivating and sustaining the firm’s relationships with strategic industry. Phil was the executive responsible for Autodesk’s Waltham AEC Headquarters project, which received more than 14 architectural awards including those from the American Institute of Architects, Business Week/Architectural Record, the Association of General Contractors and Interiors Magazine. Prior to joining Autodesk, he practiced architecture as a principal at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects where he managed many of the firm’s most complex commissions. He writes and lectures extensively about practice and technology, and has been published in Architectural Record, Architecture, Architecture+Urbanism, Design Intelligence, Fast Company, Fortune, Architectural Design and Perspecta. Phil was co-editor of Building (In) The Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture, published in 2010 by Princeton Architectural Press, as well as BIM in the Academia: Technology’s Implications for Practice and the Academy in 2011. He is currently writing a book for Birkhauser Publishers on the intersection of design methods, technology and architectural practice. Phil was honored twice by DesignIntelligence as one of the “30 Most Admired Educators in Architecture”. Phil received a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude with Distinction in Architecture from Yale University and a Master of Architecture also from Yale. He is a a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and former Chair of the AIA National Contract Documents Committee. He is licensed to practice in California.