Carlisle & Bray Enterprises has hired David A. Orme, a former executive with Dayton Power & Light Co. and Ranger Steel, Inc., as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer.
In his role as COO, Orme will manage all operations at Carlisle & Bray, which includes C&B Marine, C&B Energy Services, and C&B Repair & Maintenance. These companies provide a multitude of inland-marine services to utility, aggregate, and marine-related customers in the Midwest and the South, including towing, fleeting, shifting, dredging, construction, repairing and maintaining vessels, and other services.
“I am excited to bring my background and experience of working for a large utility company and in the construction industry to the C&B team,” Orme said. “The company already has a strong team in place and I think I can leverage my past experience to facilitate teamwork, allow us to focus on safety, and help our company experience scalable growth.”
Orme, 56, a native of Maysville, Ky., has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering Technology from Morehead State University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Xavier University. He spent 27 years with the Dayton Power & Light and AES Corporation, working his way up from plant maintenance, operations, and engineering positions to plant manager, then to Managing Director of Asset Management, Engineering, and Construction, and ultimately serving as Vice President for Generation.
In the vice president position, he was responsible for managing 625 employees, a $250 million budget, and overseeing operations at the utility’s Stuart and Killen coal-operated power plants and its Tait and Montpeiler natural gas/CT-operated stations. For the past four and one-half years, Orme has served as vice president of operations for Ranger Steel, Inc., an industrial construction and steel fabrication company based in Maysville, Ky.
“I know the utility business very well, which an important industry sector that C&B serves,” Orme said. “With my past background in utilities and my later work in the construction industry, I think I will be able to work with our team to improve and expand the services we currently provide to both utilities and other customers.”
“I see opportunities for further growth in the work we provide to utility companies and the services we provide to other river-based businesses, especially aggregate companies, because the need and desire for infrastructure improvements in our region and our country continues to grow every day.”
Orme said he was familiar with both C&B partners Bill Bray and Rob Carlisle from his past work with Dayton Power & Light Co. The Carlisle and Bray families merged their respective marine companies in 2011 to create Carlisle & Bray Enterprises.
“Coming from a large corporation at DP&L, I bring a lot experience in terms of corporate procedures, policies, and safety practices, which I think will serve C&B well,” he said. “At the same time, I appreciate the nimbleness of a privately owned company like this one because we can move quickly to service our clients in new and innovative ways.”
Orme said that his strengths as a leader are his ability to listen, communicate, and facilitate with employees. He also said he is effective in creating and implementing proactive, rather than reactive, business strategies.
“I see myself spending 70 percent of my energy improving our company’s human capital and 30 percent on the more technical issues of the business,” he said. “This organization has a lot of moving parts. My primary job here is to improve communication, knock down barriers, and bring our people together as a cohesive team, which helps improve both our service offerings and customer service.”