Peter Vigue, who has led The Cianbro Companies as chief executive officer for the past 17 years, stepped aside Jan. 1 in that role and will be succeeded by his son, Peter “Andi” Vigue, the company announced late Monday.
The board of directors made the change, along with appointing the younger Vigue to the board.
Peter Vigue, who is known as Pete, will continue as chairman of Cianbro, a role he has held since 2008, as well as work with the Cianbro Development Corp., a Brewer-based company that offers heavy industrial construction and fabrication services. In all, Pete Vigue has been at Cianbro for 48 years.
“I am 70 years old. In my role as chairman and CEO I have had two key responsibilities: to see the company is successful year-to-year, and to perpetuate the organization and see that it continues after I’m gone,” Pete Vigue told the Bangor Daily News.
“We are 100 percent employee-owned,” he said. “We take that role seriously, to look after their well-being.”
He added that Cianbro is in a very strong position, and his son Andi Vigue thrives in a dynamic environment.
“He has great vision, embraces technology and is constantly educating himself on the changing environment around us,” Pete Vigue said.
He added that his son understands every aspect of the Pittsfield-based company.
“His willingness to expand our geography and pursue new ventures with the speed required to capitalize on opportunities has already proven successful,” Pete Vigue said.
“Andi Vigue has great financial acumen and the strategic ability to connect vision, people, and ideas to drive sustainable growth,” said board member Jim Vamvakias.
Andi Vigue, 47, joined Cianbro in 1990 as a summer construction worker after graduating from Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield. He entered the civil engineering program at the University of Maine and received his bachelor’s degree in 1993. He also completed a master’s degree in business administration in 1997 at UMaine in Orono.
Cianbro has been adding projects lately, and Pete Vigue recently said the company plans to hire 300 people in 2018.
Among its projects is the new Portland headquarters for payment processing company WEX on which Cianbro broke ground last October.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have succeeded in picking up a lot of work,” Pete Vigue said at the time.
He admits he’ll have more than enough to do still being chairman of all the Cianbro companies and being involved with Cianbro Development.
“We just finished building Maine’s largest solar farm,” he said of Cianbro Development. The 10-megawatt solar farm in Pittsfield is double any existing farm in Maine, he said. It will supply electricity to connect to Central Maine Power’s electric system. Pete Vigue said there will be an announcement about the array this week and an open house next week.
Cianbro Development also is working on modules for a new refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and will expand its projects there, Pete Vigue said.
In addition to leading Cianbro, Pete Vigue has been a civic leader in Pittsfield and greater Bangor. He has played key roles in many Maine economic development initiatives and advocated for construction of an east-west highway as a way to boost Maine’s economy after the recession of 2007.
This story appears though a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.