Kansas City, Missouri – Following the retirement of founder Chris Larson, CEO Gregory Trees has stepped into the role of Chairman of the Board for Dialectic Engineering. The board also welcomed Chief Operating Officer (COO) Joe Hillebrenner, PE, as a new member.
Trees, who was promoted to CEO in January 2020, formerly served as Dialectic’s CFO for five years. A seasoned executive with more than 30 years of experience in finance, operations, IT, HR and sales, Trees continues to add value to the firm’s successful employee ownership model.
Hillebrenner, who joined the Dialectic team in 2014, was promoted from VP of Project Management to COO in January 2020. He brings a holistic approach to the position with exceptional results in commercial, retail, restaurant, health care and hospitality design projects.
Headquartered in Kansas City with offices in Austin and Denver, Dialectic is a full-service MEP design and consulting firm providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering design services nationwide. Dialectic serves its clients in the distribution, multifamily, retail/restaurants, entertainment, senior living, hospitality and charter schools/higher education spaces.
For more than three decades, Larson guided Dialectic into a nationally respected firm with projects across multiple industries throughout all 50 states. After formally retiring from the company in December 2020, Larson transitioned to the role of Founder in January, in which he has assisted with administration and client relations.
In his one-year tenure as CEO, Trees has continued the legacy of growth for Dialectic: The company achieved a revenue growth of approximately 8% in 2020, a figure that Trees projects will increase to at least 12% in 2021 if progress continues at its current pace.
As Chairman of the Board, Trees will expand his leadership footprint within the company to continue Dialectic’s industry-challenging work and lasting client relationships.
“I’m honored and excited to serve as Dialectic’s Board Chairman,” Trees said. “Together with our incredible team, we can keep building out our strong internal culture and continue to redefine industry standards for engineering firms.”
About Dialectic Engineering
Founded in 1988 with offices in Kansas City, Austin and Denver, Dialectic Engineering is a 100% employee-owned, nontraditional mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm. Recognized as one of Kansas City’s Best Places to Work in 2020, Dialectic brings buildings to life across a broad range of verticals, including distribution, multifamily, retail/restaurants, cannabis, entertainment, senior living, hospitality and charter schools/higher education. Learn more at dialecticeng.com.
