“Outlook for Residential and Commercial Construction,” co-presented by the Building Industry Association of Hawaii (BIA) and the General Contractors Association of Hawaii (GCA) in partnership with PBX21, features Kenneth Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Dr. Robert Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Their complementary presentations will provide a full picture of the national and local construction landscape.

Speakers:

Ken Simonson Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America

Ken Simonson has been chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, the leading trade association for the construction industry, since 2001. He provides insight into the economy and what it implies for construction and related industries through frequent media interviews, presentations and the Data DIGest, his weekly one-page e-newsletter that goes to over 50,000 subscribers.

Ken has more than 40 years of experience analyzing, advocating and communicating about economic and tax issues. He currently serves as liaison to the Census Bureau’s Construction Data Modernization Working Group. He is a Fellow and past president of the National Association for Business Economics, and he is co-director of the Tax Economists Forum, a professional meeting group he co-founded in 1982. Ken has a BA in economics from the University of Chicago, and an MA in economics from Northwestern University.

Robert Dietz Chief Economist, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

Robert Dietz, PhD, is the chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). He leads a team of 12 economists whose responsibilities include forecasts of housing and economic trends, survey research, and home building industry and policy analysis. He has published academic research on the private and social benefits of homeownership, federal tax expenditure estimation, and other housing topics. Dr. Dietz is the nation’s leading analyst of the residential construction industry and is commonly cited on CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and NPR.

Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, he worked as an economist for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. He is a native of Dayton, Ohio and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from The Ohio State University in 2003.

Moderator: Glen Kaneshige President, Nordic PCL Construction Inc.

In addition to leading one of Hawaii’s oldest kama‘aina construction companies, Glen served as president of the General Contractors Association (GCA) of Hawaii in 2006 and is currently one of four Associated General Contractors (AGC) Governors for the State of Hawaii. He is a management trustee of the Hawaii Carpenters Union Health & Welfare Fund, the Hawaii Masons & Plasterers Training Fund and Vacation/Holiday Fund, and serves as chair of the General Contractors Labor Association (GCLA) Labor Negotiations Committee. He was president of NAIOP Hawaii in 2016 and currently serves on the board of directors. In March 2011, Glen was awarded “Outstanding Builder of the Year” by the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters in recognition of his contributions to union construction and labor-management relations. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

For more information or to register, please visit pbxhawaii.com.