Karen Bray

About Karen Bray

Since joining Burns & McDonnell in 2002, I’ve worked with clients in the chemical, midstream and refining industries to bring their projects to life from early concept through full EPC delivery. Currently, I am the General Manager of the South Central Region (Houston, Austin and San Antonio Offices). We specialize in projects in the energy space - whether that be power generation, storage, transmission, distribution, Oil, Gas and Chemicals, or more - and help our clients from initial studies through permitting, design, procurement, and construction.My background is in process engineering, project management, department management, and business development; that experience is beneficial to my clients as I tend to concern myself with overall project delivery.I have a passion for superior project execution, and I’m known for my relentless focus on value-added design concepts and project completion. Outside of work, I enjoy time with my husband and our two sons. I participated in the Central Exchange Emerging Leaders Program, the ECC Association Future Leaders Program and was an active supporter of the Kansas City Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) chapter. In 2021 I moved to Houston. I served on the ECC Board of Directors for a three-year term 20••••23, and now am on their Executive Advisory Committee. I currently am on the Greater Houston Partnership Board of Directors. As a 100% employee-owned firm ranking in the top 1% for safety, each professional at Burns & McDonnell brings an ownership mentality to our projects. That means we think like owners, working through each challenge until it’s resolved. If you’d like to chat about your business needs, send me an email at k••••@burnsmcd.com.

Experience

1. Senior Vice President - General Manager of South Central Region

   Burns & McDonnell

   Jan 2025 — Present · Houston, TX, US

   In the south central region, we have ~900 people who are primarily dedicated to serving the energy sector. This is in many facets, from high-voltage power, environmental services, refining, midstream & logistics, chemicals production, consulting studies and full EPC execution of projects.

Education

• The University of Kansas

  BS, Chemical Engineering

  1998 — 2002

Skills

• Refining
• Process Control
• Procurement
• Construction
• Petroleum
• Piping
• Energy
• Project Management
• Project Engineering
• Change Management
• P&Id Development
• Ngl Fractionation
• Gas Processing
• Technical Recruiting
• Chemical Engineering
• Petrochemical
• Sales
• Strategic Thinking
• Process Engineering
• Hazop
• Business Development
• Pump Sizing
• Project Planning
• P&Id
• Hazop Study
• Refinery
• Pumps
• Engineering
• Psv Calculations
• Engineering Design
• Epc
• Feed
• Process Simulation
• Gas
• Instrument Specification