Education a Priority for Bechtel Corporation

It is no surprise that one of the nation’s biggest engineering and construction firms is concerned about science and math education, said new CCST Council member Jude Laspa.

“The workforce issues identified in Rising Above the Gathering Storm and Shaping the Future directly affect companies like Bechtel,” said Laspa. “We have a need for large numbers of highly qualified people, and the education system often doesn’t meet that demand.”

“The Bechtel Group Foundation and the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation (Laspa is a director on each of these foundations) provide support to hundreds of non-profit organizations annually,” said Laspa. “Math and science education are high on our list of focus areas.” Laspa brings this focus to his work with CCST, where he serves on both the Education and Large Science Projects committees. Laspa is Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and Director of Bechtel Group, Inc. (BGI). Bechtel is a global engineering, construction and project management company with more than a century of experience on complex projects in challenging locations. Privately owned with headquarters in San Francisco, the company has 40 offices around the world and 40,000 employees.

Based in San Francisco, Laspa, 63, also serves as sponsor of the Bechtel Fellows (world class technical specialists) Program as well as being the Chairman of the BGI Group Strategy Committee. In his long career with Bechtel, he sponsored the BGI Corporate Six-Sigma program implementation and served as President of Bechtel Systems and Infrastructure, Inc. (BSII), the Bechtel entity that handles government business. Before this assignment, he was responsible for Bechtel’s central engineering, procurement, and construction functions, including contracts, project management, and project controls; previously, he served as President of Bechtel’s Asia Pacific region located in Hong Kong, responsible for all of Bechtel’s engineering and construction work in Asia and Oceania. Before his assignment in Asia, he served as Executive Vice President and Director of Bechtel Enterprises, the project development, financing, and ownership affiliate of Bechtel Group, and a General Manager of the Fossil Power business line.

Laspa holds a B.S., Engineering, from Harvey Mudd College and M.B.A. from University of Chicago. He serves on the Boards of a number of outside organizations including Harvey Mudd College, U.S.-China Business Council and the Exploratorium.

“CCST has succeeded in building a good deal of momentum for reform with its recent education related projects,” said Laspa. “I hope that we can continue to constructively advise California in this very important area over the years to come.”