Wendy Cohen was recently named President of Kitchell CEM, assuming leadership of the largest Construction Management firm in Sacramento. “Since Wendy joined Kitchell she has impressed us with her ability to collaborate and lead,” said Kitchell Corporation CEO Jim Swanson. “She has grown our presence in California, mentored hundreds of industry professionals and demonstrates the potential of women in our industry to lead at the highest levels.” Kitchell CEM is consistently listed as the largest Construction Management Firm in the Sacramento Business Journal as ranked by construction management revenue. The company has more than 300 employees spanning California, Arizona, Utah, Iowa, Indiana and Texas. Cohen moves into the role vacated by longtime President Russ Fox as part of a planned transition. Fox will retire from Kitchell at year-end after 34 years with the company, the past 12 years in the role of President. She is the first female to be named president of one of Kitchell’s five operating companies in the company’s 70-year history. During her 26-year career in the building industry, Cohen has worked as general contractor, construction manager, consultant and an owner. Her experience leading high-performance teams helped to grow Kitchell’s presence throughout California, including large building programs on behalf of UC San Diego, MiraCosta Community College District and the Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Works. She played an instrumental role in securing Kitchell’s work with the single-largest state building project in the history of Sacramento: the Read More

Wholesaler magazine recently featured Kitchell’s wholly-owned subsidiary American Refrigeration Supplies and its milestone 80th anniversary. During Kitchell’s 50th anniversary in 2000, Founder Sam Kitchell commented that acquiring ARS was one of the smartest investments he ever made on behalf of the company. Link to full article: ARS Feature June TW 2020 FINAL. The post Wholesaler Magazine recognizes ARS for 80 years of success appeared first on Kitchell Progress. Read More

This article originally appeared in Comstock’s Magazine. While economic activity in California has slowed down over the last two months with the coronavirus pandemic grinding society to a halt, construction is one industry that has continued through shelter-in-place orders, as government officials deemed it an essential business. The construction industry accounts for 3.8 percent of California’s gross domestic product, according to the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. Some of the major construction projects planned in the local region, according to GSEC, include the $4 billion Upper Westside master-planned development near Sacramento International Airport, $1 billion Riverpark subdivision in West Sacramento, $750 million Kaiser Permanente Hospital at The Railyards infill development in Sacramento and $499 million Judicial Council of California courthouse in Sacramento. Comstock’s recently spoke with Wendy Cohen, vice president of operations for Kitchell, a construction firm with several projects underway in Sacramento’s central core. Those projects include the renovation of the Community Center Theater, the Sacramento Commons housing project and the Department of General Services Clifford L. Allenby Project. You said 95 percent of your clients are in the public sector? Yeah. We’ve been very fortunate, candidly, that all — or most, we’ve had a few projects slow down — have been deemed essential across the state. Most of our work is moving forward or actively in construction. When Comstock’s toured the Community Center Theater last September, the theater was all dirt on the inside and it had been pretty much gutted. What kind Read More