Valerie Granger
Director of Engineering
Suntec Engineering & Design
Background: Across 19 years, Granger has served as engineer of record for over 60 major construction projects, designing buildings of various scales and types across the Southwest. A distinguished Structural Engineer, she is committed to integrating engineering design with construction practices to significantly minimize rework, enhance cost certainty and ensure success for design-build projects from conception to completion. Granger is a 2015 Engineering News Record 40 Under 40 and active member of the Structural Engineer’s Association of Arizona. At Suntec, she expertly bridges the gap between engineering design and construction, as she continues to shape the region’s skylines.
Innovative act: “Without a doubt, the most innovative business decision I’ve made in my career was to leave a decade-long leadership position and soon thereafter launch and lead Suntec Engineering & Design. I have admired Suntec for my entire career, and could not pass up the opportunity to do something radically different with a company that has a four-decade track record of excellence and a vision for how to step outside of the box and make our industry better. It is abnormal for a subcontractor to have a full-service, in-house engineering and design division; however we are continuously proving the validity of that approach. We’ve taken our processes out of their silos, collectively solving issues and value engineering in real time. Along the way, we are turning the most challenging parts of construction, like cost certainty, quality and schedule, into predictable outcomes. Our partnership makes Suntec a better construction company and me a better engineer. But the best part is the results we are delivering to our clients, who are the beneficiaries of this improved way to design and build. I see our best practices at work every day, and am so glad I took this leap.
Trend to watch: “As the term ‘design-build’ becomes trendy, not all firms using the label are fully embracing the concept. For those that do, exciting opportunities are emerging to deliver innovative, high-quality results. With our various Suntec departments just a few feet apart, we can seamlessly collaborate between engineering, estimating and construction and flawlessly deliver on the promise of design-build. While ‘collaboration’ may seem like a buzzword, it defines how this process must work – with one team serving as a single-source solution for both the design and construction of a project. As the Valley grows, I expect that the demand for authentic design-build will grow alongside of it, providing ample prospects for firms that fully commit to the approach.
