Press Release: F&V Announces Leadership Moves

The Board of Directors for Fleis & VandenBrink is pleased to announce that Bob Wilcox, PE, has been promoted to senior vice president, and Don DeVries, PE, will assume the position of vice president.

These promotions apply to the related companies Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering (F&V), F&V Operations and Resource Management (FVOP), and F&V Construction Management, Inc. (FVC).

The changes in the leadership team come as Craig Shumaker, PE, vice president, eases toward retirement over the next year.

“As F&V continues to grow and mature, leadership succession is natural,” said John DeVol, F&V president and chairman of the F&V Companies, Inc. Board of Directors. “This is part of a leadership progression we’ve all been working on for a while.”

DeVol, who has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company since December 2020, oversees the company and supports the management teams. DeVol joined F&V in 2004 as an engineer-in-training in the Traverse City office and progressed through company leadership roles.

Wilcox joined F&V in February of 1999. Wilcox currently leads FVC and the construction management delivery team. Wilcox was named Vice President in 2021.

“Bob has been a key part of the executive team for the last five years and has grown tremendously in that time,” DeVol said. “The company is in good hands as Bob continues to expand his leadership role.”

DeVries joined F&V in May of 1994. DeVries currently leads F&V’s municipal engineering group out of our Grand Rapids and Muskegon offices and is a principal of the firm. He has 30 years of experience as a project engineer and manager in various civil engineering projects.

“I am very excited to welcome Don to our executive team,” DeVol said. “He has a proven track record having earned the trust of many clients and our staff. He also has a long history of successfully delivering projects and solving problems for our clients.”

F&V is an employee-owned firm, headquartered in Grand Rapids, with more than 300 employees and 11 offices in Michigan and Indiana. The firm has been locally and nationally recognized as one of the “101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For” and a Top 10 “National Hot Firm” for its revenue growth and outperforming the economy and competitors. Over the last few years, F&V has also received multiple prestigious engineering and surveying excellence awards, including from the American Council of Engineering Companies – MI (ACEC/M).