KAI has expanded the engineering team at its Atlanta office with the addition of Horatiu Penescu, PE as Electrical Group Leader.
With 32 years of senior electrical engineering and project management experience, Romanian-born Penescu started his career in Giurgiu, Romania, for public electrical energy distribution company Fre Giurgiu.
Immigrating to the United States in 1997, he went on to work as a Senior Electrical Engineer for several Georgia-based firms including Rosser International, Heery International, Arora Engineers and most recently for Spencer Bristol Engineering in Atlanta.
In his new role at KAI, Penescu will utilize his comprehensive aviation background to oversee KAI’s electrical engineering work associated with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s (HJAIA) expansion and renovation project. His extensive aviation project portfolio includes a new hangar for US Airways at Philadelphia International Airport, a new parking deck for Delta TechOps at HJAIA, the Concourse C North Renovation at HJAIA, and a new concourse connecting two terminals at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“We are privileged to have another experienced industry talent like Horatiu Penescu join our engineering team,” said KAI Managing Partner Brad Simmons, FAIA. “Horatiu brings a proven portfolio and diverse expertise to our Atlanta operation. He has quickly established an impactful presence internally with our MEP teams and showcased his technical leadership with our clients. It’s great having him at KAI.”
Penescu has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Politehnica University of Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania, and did post-graduate studies in illumination techniques at the Technical University of Construction also in Bucharest, Romania.
In addition to the Atlanta airport project, Penescu will also be responsible for supervising personnel onboarding and coordinating office updates and maintenance in KAI’s growing Atlanta office. St. Louis-based KAI acquired Atlanta-based Dorsey Engineering, Inc. in October 2018 with a focus on expanding its engineering service reach into the Atlanta area and the southeastern United States and relocated to its new location just east of Downtown Atlanta last year.
Since the acquisition, KAI’s Atlanta office has continued to grow, with greater opportunities to serve as the prime engineering consultant and designer on multiple high-profile projects in the region, including the award-winning Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation and Aquatic Center in the City of Atlanta; the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System’s new East Roswell Branch Library; and the HJAIA expansion and renovation.