Board of Directors

David Sgro has been a director since August of 2016. Mr. Sgro is a Senior Managing Director of Crescendo Partners and has held positions of increasing responsibility since joining the firm in 2005.  Prior to joining Crescendo, Mr. Sgro was an investment analyst at Brandes Investment Partners and a valuation analyst and investment banking associate at Management Planning, Inc./MPI Securities.  Mr. Sgro currently holds executive and/or board of directors positions with:  Pangea Logistics Solutions, Ltd. (NASDAQ:PANL), a dry bulk logistics company; Imvescor Restaurant Group (TSX:IRG), a restaurant franchisor; BSM Technologies Inc. (TSX:GPS) a provider of GPS enabled fleet and asset management solutions; and Harmony Merger Corp. (NASDAQ:HRMN), a special purpose acquisition company.  Mr. Sgro previously held executive and/or board of directors positions with: COM DEV International Ltd.; SAExploration Holdings; Primoris Services Corp; Bridgewater Systems, Inc.; Rhapsody Acquisition Corp; Quartet Merger Corp and Trio Merger Corp.  Mr. Sgro earned a BS in Finance from The College of New Jersey in 1998, an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2005, and is a CFA Charterholder. Mr. Sgro is a regular guest lecturer at the College of New Jersey and at Columbia Business School.

Raouf S. Ghali is Hill's Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Mr. Ghali oversees Hill’s operations, implements short-and long-term strategic plans, and grows Hill’s businesses in current and new markets. He also acts as the main point-of-contact between Hill’s Board of Directors and the Company’s operations.

Mr. Ghali has been with Hill since 1993, serving in several leadership positions before assuming the CEO title in 2018. He served as President and COO from 2015 to 2018, President of Hill’s Project Management Group (International) from 2005 to 2015, Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2004, and Vice President from 1993 to 2001.

Over the course of his nearly 30-year career, Mr. Ghali has helped to deliver complex, high-profile building projects for clients around the world, including iconic commercial and high-rise developments, defense facilities, and theme parks in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mr. Ghali has expertise in project cost control, financial analysis, planning and scheduling, procurement and contract administration, claims analysis, and accounting. He is also fluent in five languages.

Mr. Ghali earned a B.S. in Business Administration/Economics and an M.S. in Business Organizational Management from the University of LaVerne.

Arnaud Ajdler rejoined the board as a director in 2018 after previously serving from June 2006 to June 2009. He founded and has been the managing partner for Engine Capital L.P., a value-oriented investment firm, since 2013.  Prior to that, Mr. Ajdler was a senior managing director and a partner at Crescendo Partners, a value-oriented activist investment firm from 2003 to 2013. He has been a board member of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) since 2014.  Mr. Ajdler earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, an M.S. in Aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is an adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School where he teaches value investing.

Paul J. Evans has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Sevan Multi-Site Solutions, a privately held company that provides program management and construction management services, since April 2020. He has also served on GameStop’s Board of Directors since June 2020 and is currently a member of the company’s Audit Committee. Previously, Mr. Evans served as the Interim Chief Executive Officer at Hill International, Inc., from May 2017 to October 2018, where he has also served as a director since August 2016. Mr. Evans is the current Chairman of Hill’s Audit and Risk Committees and is a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee. From January 2012 to October 2015, Mr. Evans served in a variety of roles at the MYR Group Inc., a holding company of specialty electrical construction service providers that service the electrical infrastructure industry, including as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, President of MYR Real Estate Company, and MYR’s Principal Financial and Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to MYR, Mr. Evans served as the Chief Executive Officer of Conex Energy Corporation, a privately held company that developed renewable energy projects, from February 2010 to December 2011. Mr. Evans served as the Treasurer and Corporate Officer at NorthWestern Energy, an energy service provider assisting customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, from 2002 until 2009. Prior to Northwestern, Mr. Evans served as the Vice President of Finance at Duke Energy North America, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, an electric power holding company, from 2001 to 2002. Mr. Evans served as Executive Director of Finance at NRG Energy, Inc., an integrated power company, from 1996 to 2001. Mr. Evans served as a Senior Staff Auditor at McLane Company, Inc., a wholesale supply chain service company, from 1993 to 1995. Mr. Evans is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Evans received a B.B.A. in Accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Masters of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Grant McCullagh has more than 35 years of executive management, operational, and corporate finance experience, having served as a top executive of a Fortune 500 company and CEO of multiple global business services companies as well as successful entrepreneurial start-ups. This includes his work for such notable firms as AECOM, BEK Building Group, McClier, TTWiiN LLC, and many others. He has worked in various markets, including facilities, infrastructure, and government services, holding profit and loss responsibility and oversight of general management, operations, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. He holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL. He is also a member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, and served as past Director and Chairman of the Design-Build Institute of America and has served on the Board of Directors of numerous private and public companies.

James Renacci joined Hill International’s Board of Directors in 2020. In addition to more than 30 years of business experience, Mr. Renacci was elected and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2011-2019. During his tenure in Washington, Mr. Renacci served on the Ways and Means Committee and Budget Committee and authored several common-sense pieces of legislation. He was one of the architects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill. Since 1994, Mr. Renacci has regularly served on and led the boards of various for-profit and not-for-profit institutions, including the Alithya Group, Custom Glass, the Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange, the Arena Football League, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Old Phoenix National Bank. Mr. Renacci is a proven entrepreneur, business owner and job creator. Since 1985 when he founded the company, Mr. Renacci has served as President of LTC Management Services, Inc. in Wadsworth, OH a firm that provides management and financial consulting for small business owners. Altogether, he has owned, managed, and operated more than 60 different businesses, including multiple Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships, a Chevrolet dealership, concert amphitheater, an Arena Football Team, golf course, a minor League Baseball team, a construction management company and 23 health care facilities. His efforts have created more than 1,500 jobs and employed over 3,000 people. His business experience includes manufacturing, health care services, construction, entertainment and CPA consulting services. Mr. Renacci holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1983.

Susan Steele is currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global management consulting company Steele & Partners, Independent Director for the Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) Board, and the former CEO of Austin, Texas-based JMJ Associates. Ms. Steele has more than 35 years of experience leading global businesses in the A/E/C industry, including serving as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Management at Jacobs Engineering. There she was responsible for the company’s worldwide supply chain, leading a management team of 1,600 people worldwide with annual spending of $5 billion. Ms. Steele joined Jacobs in 2010 as the Vice President for Global Maintenance Services, overseeing a workforce of 13,000. Prior to Jacobs, Ms. Steele worked for CH2M Hill as Vice President of Business Development and Vice President, Manufacturing & Life Sciences. She also served as the Program Director for the MASDAR development program in the UAE. Ms. Steele has been recognized as an Outstanding Woman in Construction by Arizona State University and honored with the Crystal Achievement Award by the National Association of Women in Construction. She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Miami, FL, and a Bachelor of Science from Auburn University, AL. Ms. Steele is affiliated with the Construction Industry Institute (CII) Board of Advisors and Executive Committee, the EPC Procurement Executives Group, and the Society for Maintenance & Reliability.