Our Mission

Allana Buick & Bers (ABB) assists building owners, architects, contractors, and the construction industry with making buildings perform better. ABB has a holistic approach to building performance by improving building longevity, mitigating risk of defects, and lowering operational expenses with sound building sciences. Our world-class professional staff specializes in building envelope systems, roofing, waterproofing, building forensics, mechanical systems, and testing.

Allana Buick & Bers’ core values are:

ABB is nationally certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and from The Supplier Clearinghouse for the Utility Supplier Diversity Program of the California Public Utilities Commission.

Executive Leadership

Karim P. Allana

Karim Allana, PE, RWC, RRC
Chief Executive Officer, Senior Principal

Eugene Buick

Eugene Buick, PE
Chief Operations Officer, Senior Principal

Gerson Bers

Gerson Bers, LEED AP
Vice President, Senior Principal

Leadership

Jonathan Bell 
Business Development Officer & Associate Principal

James Engler

Jason Blinkhorn
Director of Fire Protection,
Hawaii Division Manager, Principal

Edward S. Breeze, PE
Principal

Daniel Buck
Associate Principal

James Engler

Bill Conley
Dallas Division Manager, Senior Principal

James Engler

Kelly Conley
Business Development Director, Associate Principal

James Engler

Silas Collier
LEED AP, Director of Construction Management, Principal

James Engler

Matt Dutrow
Principal

James Engler

James Engler, CSI, AIA, SCIP, BESI
Hawaii Building Envelope Manager, Principal

James Engler

Brett T. Fagan, PE
Principal

Roberto Hernandez
Principal

Joe Higgins

Joseph Higgins, PE
Hawaii Operations Manager, Principal

Jerome Jeffers

Jerome Jeffers II, RRC, RWC, RBEC, CCS, CCCA
Design Services Manager, Principal

James Engler

Michael Johns
Principal

John Kelleher

John Kelleher
Chief Financial Officer, Principal

Khatidja Khalfan

Khatidja Khalfan, CPSM
Marketing Director

Andrew Kistler
Hawaii Mechanical Division Manager, Associate Principal

Peterson Lambert

Petersen Lambert, PE, BECxP, CxA+BE
Seattle Division Manager, Principal

John Moellenhoff
Associate Principal

Gary Nassibian
Associate Principal

James Engler

David H. Nicastro, F.ASTM, PE
Senior Principal

James Engler

Ken Paar, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, BECxP, CxA+BE
Dallas Operations Manager, Senior Principal

James Engler

Ron Rapacz,  AIA, RA, NCARB
Associate Principal

James Engler

Cesar C. Rios
Associate Principal, Branch Manager

Neal Sledge
Associate Principal

James Engler

Doris E. Vales
Principal

Kasey Vowell
Associate Principal

James Engler

Danny Westerfield Jr., RRO
Principal

John Williams

John Williams
North Carolina Division Manager, Principal

Barbara Wong

Barbara Wong
Human Resources Director

2023:

Ranked 5th by Hawaii Engineering Billings
Zweig – Best Firm to Work #24 (200+ EES) 2023
Zweig – Best Firm to Work #47 Multidiscipline 2023
Zweig – Hot Firm #80 2023

2022: 2022 Hot Firms – Zweig Group
#53 out of 100 Fastest Growing AEC Firms in the US and Canada
37th Best Firm to work for under 200 employees

2021:

 

55th for Multi-Discipline Firms
Zweig Group – Hot Firms (#47) -2021
Hawaii Business Magazine – Hawai’i’s Best Places to Work – 2021

2020:

 

 

 

Zweig Group – Best Firm to Work For – (#21) 100 -199 Employees – 2020
Zweig Group – Best Firm to Work For – (#48) Multidiscipline – 2020
Hawaii Business Magazine – Hawai’I’s Best Places to Work – 2020
Zweig Group – Hot Firms – (#87) – 2020
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#18) Largest Engineering Firms in Silicon Valley – 2020
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#10) Largest Minority-Owned Businesses – 2020
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#24) Fastest Private Growing Companies – 2020

2019:

 

Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#11) Largest Minority-Owned Businesses – 2019
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#18) Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Silicon Valley – 2019
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#25) Largest Engineering Firms in Silicon Valley – 2019
Hawaii Business Magazine – Hawai’I’s Best Places to Work – 2019
Zweig Group – Best Firm to Work For – (#18) 100 -199 Employees – 2019
Zweig Group – Best Firm to Work For – (#48) Multidiscipline – 2019
2018: ZweigWhite – Best Firm to Work For – (#28) Multidiscipline – 2018
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#45) Fast Private Award – 2018
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#10) Largest Minority-Owned Businesses – 2018
2017: Zweig Group – Fast Growth Award – 2017
ZweigWhite – Best Firm to Work For – (#27) Multidicipline – 2017
ABBAE Project Malden Station named Multifamily Community of the Year at the 2017 Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) – 2017
Silicon Valley Business Journal – Largest Minority-Owned Businesses – 2017
Silicon Valley Business Journal – Largest Engineering Firms – 2017
2016: Silicon Valley Business Journal – 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies -2016
ZweigWhite – Best Firm to Work For (#25 in Multi-Discipline) -2016
2015: Statewide Educational Wrap-Up Program Joint Powers Authority – Safety Recognition Award – 2015
ZweigWhite – Best Firm to Work For – 2015
ZweigWhite – Marketing Excellence – 2015
Inc. 5000 – The 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America – (#3823) Overall Rank – 2015
Inc. 5000 – The 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America – (#59) Engineering Rank – 2015
2014: Archrecord.Construction.Com – Top 300 Architectural Firms – 2014
ENR California – California’s Top Design Firm – 2014
Pacific Business News – Hawaii’s Top Engineer Firm – 2014
ZweigWhite – Best Firm to Work For – 2014
Keenan – SEWUP – Outstanding Safety Performance on the Canada College Solar Photovoltaic System Design-Build Project – 2014
2013: ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firm to Work For – (#19) Multidiscipline A/E Services – 2013
Engineering News-Record – (#488) Top 500 Design Firm – 2013
Pacific Business News- Top Engineering Firm – 2013
Silicon Valley Business Journal – (#60) Top Minority Owned Business – 2013
Silicon Valley Business Journal – Top Engineering Firm 2013
CE News – Best Firms to Work For – Top-Ranked Civil Engineering, Multidiscipline, & Environmental Service Firms – 2013
2012: Hawaii Best Places to Work
Inc 5000 – Fastest Growing Firms
ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firms to Work For – (#11) Multidiscipline A/E Services -2012
Pacific Business News – Top Engineering Firms – 2012
2011: Hawaii Best Places to Work
Inc 5000 – Fastest Growing Firms
ZweigWhite – Pinnacle Award – 2011
ZweigWhite – HotFirm -#171 – 2011
ZweigWhite – Best Firms to Work For – (#10) Multidiscipline A/E Services -2011
2010: ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firm to Work For – (Top 14) Multidiscipline A/E Services – 2010
ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firm to Work For – (#3) Multidiscipline A/E Services – 2010
Hawaii Business Magazine – Best Places to Work – 2010
Hawaii Fastest 50 Firms – 2010
RCI – Document Awards 1st Place – 2010
ZweigWhite – HotFirm – Fastest Growing – 2010
Inc. 5000 – America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies – (#1954) Overall Rank – 2010
Inc. 5000 – America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies – (#26) Industry Rank – 2010
2009: ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firm to Work For – (#5) Multidiscipline A/E Services – 2009
ZweigWhite – CE News – Best Firm to Work For – (#2) Multidiscipline A/E Services – 2009
Hawaii Business Magazine – Best Places to Work – 2009
Hawaii Fastest 50 Firms – 2009
RCI – Document Awards 3rd Place – 2009
ZweigWhite – HotFirm – Fastest Growing – 2009
2008: CE News – Best Firm to Work For
Hawaii Best Places to Work
ZweigWhite Hot Firm – Fastest Growing
2017: Allana Buick & Bers opens twelfth office in Portland, Oregon.
2017: Allana Buick & Bers celebrates its 30 year anniversary. ABBAE is awarded “Best Firm to Work For” for the 9th year in a row. ABBAE achieves over 20% growth over the past 3 years.
2016: Allana Buick & Bers opens its eleventh office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
2015: Allana Buick & Bers opens its tenth office in Oakland, CA. The office is located in the heart of up-and-coming downtown Oakland and brings ABBAE closer to East Bay clients and job sites.
2013: Allana Buick & Bers promotes two of its employees to Associate Principal: Petersen Lambert of the Seattle office and Joseph Higgins in the Hawaii office. In addition, Allana Buick & Bers launches a new Construction Management division to complement its existing portfolio of construction services including: Construction Documents, Construction Administration, and Construction Monitoring.
2012: Allana Buick & Bers celebrates its 25th anniversary. A new branch office opens in Irvine, California.
2009: The firm continues to expand past one hundred (100) employees. A new branch office opens in Seattle, Washington. Additionally, the firm launches a new Energy and Solar Division in an effort to provide clients with energy efficiency and renewable/alternative energy consulting services. Jerome Jeffers is also promoted to the position of Associate Principal.
2007: The firm continues to expand past ninety (90) Employees. New office openings include a satellite branch on the Island of Maui, as well as Sacramento, California.
2006: The firm continues to see growth in staff expertise and client base in all offices. The firm moves its headquarters to a newly renovated 20,000 square foot office at 990 Commercial Street in Palo Alto, California. The new headquarters building was renovated specifically to accommodate our range of services. The new headquarters building has a large training facility and dedicated areas for accounting, IT facilities, and corporate marketing. The consulting staff is housed in an open studio with collaborative spaces and large personal work areas.
2005: Several milestones reached, including the firm doubling in size to more than forty employees and changing the name to Allana Buick & Bers, Inc. Our expertise expanded to include structural engineering and large-scale construction management. Additionally, ABBAE opens a third branch office in Los Angeles, California and a fourth branch office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2003: Hawaii is the second branch office to open, and provides roof design and construction management services for a substantial hotel renovation in Waikiki.
2002: The firm’s expertise greatly expands, with Gerson Bers and Eugene Buick joining the firm as partners. The firm has approximately fourteen full-time employees and adds a new mechanical engineering consulting specialty.
2001: Our first branch office opens in San Diego. The San Diego staff provide consulting services to Southern California ABBAE clients.
1994: The firm changes its name from Roofing Services and Consultants to Allana-Lippert, Inc. in recognition of the comprehensive list of architectural engineering services offered to its clients. Demand for the firm’s expertise grew rapidly during the early “internet bubble”.
1992: Steve Lippert, our first chief architect, joins the firm and adds expertise in building code compliance, steel fabrication, and construction.
1991: The firm moves to a larger facility in San Jose, California to accommodate the rapidly growing staff.
1989: Gerson Bers joins the firm. The firm grew to a staff of six employees and offers expertise in building facility assessments and consultation for multiple building envelope systems.
1987: Allana Buick & Bers’ predecessor firm (Roofing Services and Consultants) was founded in Sunnyvale, California by Karim Allana. The firm provides roofing design services, quality control services, and roofing repair services.

California

General Building Contractor (GBC): 1002553

Professional Engineer (PE): C 41693

Registered Architect (RA): C 12273

Colorado

Professional Engineer (PE): 0058196

Hawaii

General Building Contractor (GBC): -32103

Professional Engineer (PE): -11655

Registered Architect (RA): -10853

Illinois

Professional Engineering (PE): 062075779

Nevada

General Building Contractor (GBC): 77289

Professional Engineer (PE): 15686

Registered Architect (RA): 6593

North Carolina

Professional Engineer (PE): 043959

Oregon

Professional Engineering (PE): 83037PE

Washington

Professional Engineer (PE): 47311

Registered Architect (RA): 8834

Wisconsin

Professional Engineer (PE): 100605-6

ABB offers seminars and training classes. All of these courses provide AIA Continuing Education Learning Units.