The UHLER GROUP was formed to assist senior executives, investors and Boards with the execution of strategic and marketing objectives. Services include: CEO coaching, succession planning, corporate governance, strategic prioritization and resource allocation to enable innovation and longer term positioned initiatives.
Convinced that the digital age will revolutionize the economics of all service-oriented companies that previously depended on selling labor, Uhler applies his experiences of successfully transforming MWH in eight years to a global company earning over 50% of its profit from intellectual property and IT bundled solutions. He helps firms understand that the threat and opportunity of the rapidly evolving information revolution is a primary starting point. His expertise aligns teams to exploit the advantages of a firm’s historic service reputation, knowledge and relationship base with offering of bundled or repeatable solutions to create differentiation, efficiency and client stickiness.
Dating back to 1976, Bob joined then James M. Montgomery, Consulting Engineers (the U.S. predecessor of MWH) as a process design engineer in water treatment. Bob was design engineer of record in some 20 water treatment facilities. His most noted design projects are the Living Seas Pavilion at Disney World in Orlando and the National Aquarium in Baltimore Harbor. Over a 30+ year career with Montgomery, Bob served in progressive positions as a project engineer, division engineer, branch manager, regional group manager, chief of corporate strategy, Industrial and Federal Sector COO, Americas President and, finally, the Chairman and CEO of the global corporation. In 1983, Bob completed the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and later attended the Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence Program at INSEAD.
Bob’s previous MWH Global (MWH) positions included: Chief Strategy Officer, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of MWH Global. He acted as MWH’s chief business visionary for over 20 years through a variety of corporate leadership positions. Bob led the MWH business platform from one country to 36; and from $100M in total revenues to over $1.7B through a disciplined sequential approach of geographical and client set expansion, widening the service offering and finally automating the delivery system.
He has been a pioneer in advocating the use of augmenting artificial intelligence and intellectual property, to create synergy differentiation and competitive advantage as far back as 2000. MWH’s operations included a 24-hours-a-day use of its Indian Intellectual Property Development Center, used to reinvent the method of solution delivery through repeatable templates and animated visualization. MWH’s integrated work staffing concept allows multi-shift teams on the same project across four continents. MWH’s Knowledge Management (KM) system was awarded the “World Class Solutions Award” by Data Management Review, for the best business intelligence system for U.S. Corporations in 2003. In 2012, MWH IP templated systems were awarded the “Best Integrated Use of IT in the Work Flow” by the American Productivity and Quality Council. MWH’s KM approach has been documented in several university business school case studies.
In 2012, the year of Bob’s retirement, UK, South Pacific and U.S. industry journals ranked MWH as the world market share leader in global water infrastructure engineering. MWH was a unique global single sector, ‘pure play’ water/environmental corporation. Over 60% of MWH’s 8,000 employees resided outside of the U.S. Bob’s knowledge of international business, multi-cultural teams, global knowledge management and infrastructure challenges was gained from some four million miles of travel to visit all continents.
Bob was raised the son of a West Point army officer and attended numerous primary and secondary schools following his dad’s rotational tours of duty. He chose to follow in the footsteps of the family’s trade, military service, by attending the U.S. Military Academy. At West Point Bob played four years of NCAA soccer and in 1967 went to the Final Four National Championship. Graduating from West Point in the top 25% of his 1968 class, he entered a wartime army. He was trained as an Airborne Ranger commander and served with decorated distinction in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. Upon returning from the war, he decided to resign from the military. From 1972 to 1974, he attended the University of Florida, graduating in 1973 with a Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering degree. This degree has the academic requirements of a PhD without a dissertation.
Today Bob is the sole owner of The Uhler Group, LLC. The Uhler Group provides consulting mentorship to CEOs and executive teams to maximize efficient and differentiation. He also sits on numerous corporate boards, which included the Chairmanship of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (NASDAC: GLDD). Bob is very active in philanthropy sitting on the non-profit boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the American Battlefield Trust. He is obtained the distinguished level of Leadership Fellow in the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Bob resides in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. He is married and has two grown children. His hobbies include the significant collections of historical signatures, portrait miniature art, antique wood duck decoys, Civil War memorabilia and Greek/medieval coins.
About the Founder
- 22+ years as COO/President /CEO of a $1.6B global engineering/construction corporation
- Experienced operating partner for private equity companies
- Board member or board consultant with numerous companies
- Sustainability, knowledge management and cyber security training
- Over 25 global acquisitions completed and integrated
- Professional engineer with Harvard and INSEAD business education
- Digital technology and automation strategy advocate
- Expertise in succession, organizational design, strategy development and coaching
Additional highlights
- Former: Executive Chairman, Chairman and Director, MHW Global Inc.
- Former: Chairman and Director, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (NASDAQ: GLDD)
- Non-Executive and Lead Director, Stanley Consultants, Inc.
- Non-Executive Director, TRC Inc.
- Board Director, Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of American History
- Trustee and Board Director, American Battlefield Trust
- Board Director, One Earth Future
- MHW Global Inc., Montgomery Watson Inc., James M. Montgomery
(22 Years on Board) - Executive Chairman of the Board (1 year)
- Chairman of the Board (6 years)
- Governance & Nominating Committee, Chairman (10 years)
- Capitalization Committee, Chairman (8 years)
- Attended all Audit and Compensation Committees (12 years)
- Prepared MWH Global to be “IPO-Sarbanes Oxley ready” (2007)
- B.S.C.E., Engineering, United States Military Academy
- Master of Engineering, Environmental Engineering, University of Florida
- Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School
- Knowledge Management and Business Intelligent Systems Program, INSEAD
- Board Effectiveness Training Program, Harvard Business School
- Registered Professional Engineer (14 states)
- National Association of Corporate Directors (pursuing Fellows program)
- Diplomat, American Academy of Environmental Engineers
- Certified Value Engineer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Certified Total Quality Management Executive, Crosby Quality College
- Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Scholastic Honor Society)
- NCAA soccer athlete, Team finished #3 in nation in NCAA rankings
- Top quartile ranking of class at West Point
- 2 Bronze Stars, 6 Air Medals and 2 Army Commendation Medals for valor in Viet Nam service
- Finalist CEO of the Year, Colorado Business Magazine (2011)