James Phaneuf
Senior Vice President
Meet James
James has served as Senior Vice President at Mortenson since 2025, overseeing the Energy Storage, Structured Cabling, and Nor-Cal Controls businesses. His focus on team member experience and culture, strategic thinking, and curiosity to understand complex markets continues to drive the company's success.
Professional Experience
James joined Mortenson in 2014 as Director of Strategy focused on new business opportunities. Prior to joining Mortenson, James worked for McKinsey & Company as well as several OEMs in the construction equipment and utility space.
In 2016, James led the startup and expansion of our Mortenson Engineering Services business, significantly expanding our capabilities in the energy space and our integration of design into construction operations for our renewable energy businesses. In 2019, James began leading Energy Storage, another startup venture that has consistently been the industry leading engineer, procure, and construct business in the battery energy storage space.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Finance and Economics
University of Minnesota
Master of Business Administration
University of Chicago
Board Positions
Energy Storage Council of American Clean Power Association
Member
Do cool work. Do it with good people. And solve problems that make an impact.
Blazing new trails
Transformational leadership is rooted in the pursuit of a better future. When I joined Mortenson, my goal was to deeply understand our customers’ businesses and help revolutionize what and how we deliver to meet their needs.
This hands-on approach has guided our entry into new, uncharted markets like Engineering Services and Energy Storage. We saw a customer need and knew we had the team capable of redefining what’s possible.
Unlocking great leaders
At Mortenson, we hire great people who truly care about the work at hand – which stands out to me every day. Their commitment to solving our customers’ problems is through the roof and it’s reflected in our unique project approaches.
We focus on empowering great people to become exceptional leaders by providing leadership opportunities and complex work through apprentice-style training. I would put our people against the best people in any other industry.
Investing to progress
In the next 20 years, our country needs to convert most of its energy to independent, renewable sources. The only way to achieve this is by equipping our teams with the skills they need to drive progress and bring this concept to reality.
The success we've had in delivering our customers' projects on time and online from day one is a direct result of the investments we've made to expand our capabilities.
Personal Passions
At a macro level, I believe we need to create more equitable opportunities for women in the workforce. As a member of Mortenson’s Women’s Business Resource Group (BRG), which includes over 900 women and allies across the company, I’ve gained insights into the challenges women face in our industry and beyond. This experience has made me a better ally and advocate. I want to create a workforce where both my son and daughter can thrive.
Interests
- Family time and kids’ activities
- NCAA Tournament
- Video games
- Running
- Biking
- Golf