Wanqiu Chen, MBA - Senior Associate - Construction Consulting

Academic Credentials

M.B.A., Business Administration, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2021
M.Sc., Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021
B.S., Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2019

Professional Honors

Honor Societie
Life-time Member, Beta Gamma Sigma, The International Business Honor Society
Goldie Scholar, The Goldie Initiative: Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders in Real Estate, 2019-2021

Professional Affiliations

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
AACE International San Francisco Section

Ms. Chen has experience working on construction and utility projects as a program manager and project control analyst. As a program manager, she has experience managing and executing large capital portfolios consisting of over 1100 electric distribution cable projects for a large utility client. She specializes in financial reporting, risk mitigation, client communications, and budget controls. In the project control analyst role, her expertise includes estimate review, forecasting and business case development.

Prior to Exponent, Ms. Chen had diverse international work experience at a general contractor, a design and construction firm, and a commercial real estate firm.

Ms. Chen received her dual MBA and Master's in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a specialization in Construction Management. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Harbin Institute of Technology where she specialized in Structural Engineering.

Electric Distribution Capital Program — Cable
Managing and executing a $110M capital portfolio consisting of over 1100 electric distribution cable projects. Developing and presenting monthly financial forecasts to the client's senior leadership and signaling risks to the yearly budget and opportunities to the organization.
Mitigating program-level risks by driving timely escalations, developing short-term containment plans and long-term resolutions. Monitoring resources assigned to projects by developing data-driven processes and initiating communications with multiple stakeholders (i.e. construction, permitting, asset management, etc.) to ensure the client meets project delivery commitments on time and within budget. Report to senior leadership on program statuses, operation challenges, and team accomplishments.
Reliability and Capacity Program Support
Supported reliability and capacity program management by tracking electric distribution projects progress, material order/shipping status, pre-commissioning and commissioning. Drove stakeholder coordination and communication to facilitate work between the different dependency groups to expedite task release for successful execution and completion of work. Managed, reconciled, and synchronized data to improve data accuracy and help management make data-driven decisions. Identified and seek opportunities for continuous improvement to drive efficient program performance reporting and monitoring.
System Hardening Business Case Support
Accelerated urgent construction projects for a large utility client by reviewing estimate packages, forecasting budgets, and communicating business cases to key stakeholders and decision-makers.
Commercial Project
Managed RFI's and submittals for a 13-story office-residential mixed-use building ($75 million) to keep all stakeholders updated on design changes and their financial impacts. Solicited bids from local subcontractors and accelerated bid evaluation and contract-awarding process. Conducted site walks, developed tracking sheets, and coordinated with the superintendent to ensure the project meets the schedule and specifications. Expedited procurement process by performing quantity takeoffs, contacting suppliers for delivering and pricing information

Wanqiu Chen

Project Experience