FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chantilly, VA (September 16, 2026) — ECS Group of Companies (ECS) is pleased to announce that Shaughn J. Simmons, CPA, CIA, has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective September 14, 2026. Mr. Simmons will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team, overseeing financial planning and reporting, accounting, tax strategy, ESOP administration, enterprise risk management, and financial systems governance across ECS’ multi-entity organization.
Mr. Simmons brings more than 30 years of financial leadership experience to ECS, most recently serving as Executive Vice President and CFO of Arlington Holdings. Prior to that, he served as Chief Accounting Officer of Lincoln Property Company, an $800M commercial real estate firm, where he led the transition from cash to GAAP accounting, guided the company’s first consolidation across 58 legal entities, and helped the organization pass its first Big 4 audit with an unqualified opinion. He also previously served as Executive Vice President and CFO of Overhaul Group and held senior finance and audit leadership roles at Ribbon Communications, GENBAND, Dell, and Navistar, including as Global VP of Corporate Finance and Chief Audit Executive. Mr. Simmons holds an MBA in International Finance/MIS from Loyola University Chicago and a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University. He is a licensed CPA and a Certified Internal Auditor.
Over his career, Mr. Simmons has led post-merger integration on numerous acquisitions, negotiated large-scale financing arrangements, and directed multiple ERP system implementations and global finance transformations. His experience includes negotiating a fully syndicated $500 million loan with 10 lenders, generating $2.5 million in annual interest savings, as well as directing the integration of nine major acquisitions ranging from $5 million to $450 million across systems, processes and people.
In this role, Mr. Simmons will partner closely with President & CEO Tony Fiorillo, PE, SI, the Board of Directors, ESOP trustees, and senior leadership, working in direct alignment with the EVP of Corporate Development & Operations to drive sustainable growth, operational excellence, and employee-owner value across the enterprise. He will also lead the company’s finance, accounting, tax, ESOP, risk, and audit functions, and will play a central role in ECS’ continued M&A activity and ERP modernization initiatives.
Shaughn brings a rare combination of deep finance and audit expertise, hands-on M&A integration experience, and a track record of building strong financial controls at growing companies. That’s exactly the leadership we need as ECS continues to expand nationally while protecting what makes us different — our employee ownership and our long-term commitment to our people. I’m excited to have him join our executive team,” said Tony Fiorillo, PE, SI, President & CEO of the ECS Group of Companies.
“I’m thrilled to join the ECS team as we step into this next chapter of growth. The AEC industry is moving fast and evolving rapidly, and I see an incredible opportunity for the finance team to serve as a true strategic partner,” said new Chief Financial Officer, Shaughn Simmons, CPA, CIA. “Finance is uniquely positioned to fuel sustainable growth, optimize our operations and reinvest in our greatest asset: our people. I am incredibly excited to work alongside this talented team to build on ECS’ strong legacy and deliver meaningful returns to our employee-owners. By intentionally investing in new technologies and supporting our geographic expansion, we can scale strategically while building long-term wealth for our employee-owners. I look forward to collaborating across the firm to help fuel our collective success.”
Please join us in welcoming Shaughn to the ECS team.
###
About ECS:
ECS Group of Companies (ECS) was founded in 1988 with the goal to raise the standards of professional engineering consulting. Today, we are a leader in geotechnical, construction materials, environmental and building science + infrastructure consulting services. We are employee-owned with more than 3,200 employees in 125+ offices and testing facilities coast to coast. ECS is currently ranked #60 in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms (April 2026), #148 in Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms (October 2025) and #38 in Zweig Group’s Hot Firm List (May 2026). For additional information about ECS, visit: www.ecslimited.com.
Contact
ECS Marketing Team