BOSTON— Suffolk has appointed Ken VanOverberghe as Senior Vice President, National Design-Build, further strengthening the company’s leadership bench as clients increasingly turn to design-build delivery for greater efficiency, collaboration, and certainty.
In his new role, VanOverberghe will oversee all aspects of Suffolk’s design-build projects nationwide. He will work closely with regional leadership teams to expand Suffolk’s integrated delivery services, elevate the client experience, and support the company’s long-term growth strategy as demand for design-build continues to surge across the industry.
Suffolk’s hiring of VanOverberghe comes at a pivotal time for the construction sector. According to the Design-Build Institute of America’s 2025 Utilization Study, design-build is projected to account for 47 percent of all U.S. construction spending by 2028, making it the most widely used project delivery method. As owners seek faster schedules, reduced risk, and greater accountability, Suffolk is making targeted investments in talent and innovation to meet this growing demand.
“The future of great buildings depends on great collaborators,” said Chris Lanzisera, Senior Vice President of Suffolk Design. “Ken has an exceptional ability to translate a client’s vision into a design-build strategy that unlocks its full potential. He brings teams together, challenges assumptions, and turns complexity into clarity. We’re confident he will be an extraordinary asset to our clients and to Suffolk Design.”
In 2020, Suffolk launched Suffolk Design, an in-house design management practice that has grown to include more than 90 licensed architects, engineers, and design technologists. The group focuses on reducing risk, streamlining traditionally fragmented handoffs between architects and builders, and accelerating delivery on large and complex projects—an approach that aligns closely with VanOverberghe’s experience and leadership style.
VanOverberghe joins Suffolk from Jacobs, where he spent more than a decade in senior design-build leadership roles. Most recently serving as Vice President of Operations for Design-Build, he oversaw more than $250 million in design delivery and led a portfolio of complex infrastructure and transit projects across the Eastern United States and Canada. He earned a reputation for successfully turning around high-risk, schedule-challenged megaprojects, restoring on-time and on-budget performance on commuter rail and transit programs in Indiana, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
His blend of strategic planning and hands-on execution positions him as a key leader in Suffolk’s national design-build expansion.
Suffolk is currently delivering several major design-build projects across the country, including the Rebuild USVI initiative, which includes four new public schools and a curriculum center on St. Croix, as well as the St. Thomas Educational Facilities Bundle 2, modernizing and expanding multiple campuses on the island. Additional projects include the University of California San Francisco Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements and the Lightspeed Integrated Command & Communications Center in Miami.
With VanOverberghe’s appointment, Suffolk continues to reinforce its commitment to innovation, collaboration, and excellence in design-build delivery—positioning the firm to lead as the industry evolves toward more integrated and efficient project models.
