Fisher Associates names Schmid new CEO

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Rochester firm with a Syracuse office will have a new CEO as of Monday.

The board of directors of Fisher Associates has elected Roseann Schmid as the company’s next CEO, the Rochester–based firm said in a news release.

The board cited Schmid’s “reputation within the industry and her extraordinary vision for the firm as factors that make her uniquely qualified to lead.”

Fisher Associates is a company that provides consulting, engineering, and surveying services for the transportation, energy, and land-development sectors. It operates an office at 120 E. Washington St. in Syracuse.

Schmid is replacing Robert Goossen, the firm’s current CEO. He recently announced his retirement, but will stay with the company for another three years to “ensure a smooth transition.”

Goossen will serve as Fisher’s CFO, effective Monday, the company said. The CFO role is a new position at the firm, Shannon Short, the company’s marketing manager, said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.

Besides the new roles for Schmid and Goossen, the Fisher board also elected Chris Smith as COO, “effective immediately.” Smith has been with Fisher Associates since 1994 in “various roles.”

Founded in 1984, Fisher Associates now employs 120 workers in five offices in two states.

 

About the firm’s leaders

Schmid joined Fisher in 2007 as a part-time engineer, the company said. She has worked as a project manager in the transportation group, highway group manager, director of the transportation-market sector, and VP.

Schmid served on the company’s operations committee and was “closely involved” with the recent implementation of the company’s human-resources information system.

“Fisher Associates has provided me tremendous opportunity,” Schmid said in the news release. “I want to continue providing similar opportunities for our talented staff as we grow Fisher into a world-class professional consulting firm.”

As CEO, Schmid plans to focus on new markets and services.

“Growth is a priority for us, both geographically as well as services we offer. I’ll be looking for those next opportunities we should consider,” Schmid said.

In his more than two decades with the company, Smith has served in roles that include traffic engineer, traffic and highway-group manager, continuous-improvement manager, director of energy, business development manager for renewables and energy, and director of marketing and business development.

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

 

 (Photo provided by Fisher Associates)