As scheduled, Bob Pragada formally became the new big boss at Jacobs last week, as the former president and chief operating officer succeeded retiring CEO Steve Demetriou, the company announced in a press release.
Also last week Jacobs announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer effective in August.
The Dallas-based international engineering and construction company, which is a major player in the nuclear industry, first announced the succession plan in September 2022.
Pragada has a total of 17 years of experience with Jacobs, compiled over two stints. The second started in 2019 when he rejoined the company as president of the global Industrial and buildings and infrastructure lines, according to a June 24 press release. In that role he led the successful integration of CH2M into Jacobs, the company said.
Altogether, Pragada has more than 30 years of management experience in business and the military, Jacobs said in the release. A former facilities director at Camp David during President Bill Clinton’s administration, Pragada was the second Indian American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and now is the first person of color appointed as CEO of Jacobs, the company said.
Jacobs is a leading or minority partner on several major contractors around the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex. It also works with Tokyo Electric Power on cleanup efforts for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and has interest in the developing small modular reactor market.
As for Demetriou, he remains as a member of Jacobs board of directors.
In other personnel matters, Jacobs said Thursday Claudia Jaramillo will succeed Kevin Berryman as chief financial officer on Aug. 14. At the same time, Berryman will become a special advisor to Pragada. That is according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Jaramillo joined Jacobs in July 2022 as executive vice President, strategy and corporate development. Prior to that, Jaramillo spent more than 20 years at Schlumberger, a global energy company, where she served in multiple management and finance posts.
