September 9, 2026
People Who Build: Chip Hauser
For Chip Hauser, the best builders are the ones who know where to look for value in others.
Chip Hauser has spent most of his career around bridges, transit projects and complex infrastructure work. Over the years, he's worked as a field engineer, project engineer, superintendent, structures manager and estimator, gaining perspective from nearly every angle of a project.
Here are three experiences that shape how he approaches construction today.
"You've got to recognize where other people add value.”
MAX Red Line Extension and Reliability Improvements Project in 2022
The idea became especially clear through alternative delivery projects. Working alongside owners, designers and contractors gave him a front-row seat to the collaborative side of construction, where progress depends on people with different expertise working toward the same outcome.
On these projects, Stacy Witbeck's role often extends past construction, helping owners work through scope, negotiate price and support design decisions early enough to matter.
Chip has seen that kind of early, trusted involvement set the company apart, at a point in the industry where many competitors are still working out how to deliver that same value.
It's one of the reasons he's remained drawn to challenging work.
"I enjoy figuring things out. I prefer being in the heat of the battle and having challenges."
On complex projects, the best solutions usually draw from more than one discipline. A schedule issue, design challenge or field condition often requires input from multiple teams. Understanding who can contribute, and when, becomes just as important as understanding the problem itself.
It's a mindset that extends beyond problem-solving into how he evaluates people.
"I look for people who aren't self-promotional. I look for people who can bring out the best in others."
Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project in 2011
The same approach guides his leadership in the field. Whether joining a new crew or leading an established team, Chip looks for people who are able to recognize strengths beyond their own. That means looking past the friction of someone's usual habits to find where they contribute best, and understanding the crew's role as clearly as they understand his, then working to give them what they need to succeed.
It is an approach Chip learned early himself. John Bollier, who hired him, became one of the biggest influences on his decision to join Stacy Witbeck. In the field, people like Larry Goben and Robert Peacock showed him the value of experience, technical ability and enjoying the work along the way.
When asked what advice he would give someone entering the industry, his answer is straightforward: Find something bigger than yourself.
Looking back, the relationships built along the way with clients, subcontractors and joint venture partners are what stayed with him longest.
For Chip, a career in construction isn't only about what you build, but about who you build it with.