Minnetonka, Minn.-based Opus Corp. has hired corporate turnaround specialist Tim Becker of Maplewood, Minn.-based Lighthouse Management Group Inc. as its new CEO. Becker replaces Mark Rauenhorst, who transitioned from the Opus CEO post last November as part of a change in the organizational structure at the Opus companies to strengthen operations at the remaining Opus North and Opus Northwest divisions.
Company spokesperson Winston Hewett confirmed the hiring of Becker with MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE but said that further details of the Opus restructuring/recovery plan would not be available for several weeks. Becker was not made available for comment. According to a bio on the Lighthouse Management corporate Web site, Becker is a certified turnaround professional who has specialized in the restructuring, interim corporate management, and asset liquidation of mostly distressed real estate firms.
Options may be limited for Opus. Last week the Opus Northwest division announced it would layoff an additional 13 persons from its Portland and Seattle offices. Opus Northwest senior vice president and general manager Tom Parsons told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that the division would reduce staffs in the Portland and Seattle offices from six to four and from 24 to 13, respectively, with most job losses in the company’s construction management group.
Danny Queenan, president and CEO of Opus North, and John Solberg, president and CEO of Opus Northwest, continue to lead their respective operating companies. When he vacated the CEO post in October, Rauenhorst expressed high hopes for the turnaround of the remaining Opus operating platforms. “Both Opus North and Opus Northwest have loyal customer bases,” Rauenhorst said. “We are strategically using this opportunity to streamline and strengthen their operations and bottom lines."
