New York, New York (Sept. 4, 2019 )—Dodge Data & Analytics, provider of North American construction analytics, has announced the appointments of Richard Branch as chief economist and Kim Kennedy as the director of forecasting. Branch will succeed Robert Murray, Dodge’s longstanding chief economist and vice president, who retired at the end of August.
An industry veteran with over 20 years of experience as an economist, Branch has served as senior economist at Dodge for 10 years. As chief economist, his primary focus will be to ensure Dodge’s continued preeminence in tracking, analyzing and forecasting North American construction activity, and to work closely with clients as well as national, regional and trade media to share this insight. This includes continued execution of the monthly Dodge Momentum Index, National Construction Starts research, and Dodge Construction Outlook—a seminal reference for the industry. Branch holds a master’s degree in economics from Boston College, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Ottawa in Canada.
“Throughout my years at Dodge, I’ve had the privilege of working directly with Murray and his team of expert economists that have their fingers firmly on the pulse of the construction industry,” said Branch. “As chief economist, I’m excited and eager to build upon an already strong foundation and further solidify Dodge as the premier, go-to resource for construction industry insight and authority on data, trends and market activity.”
To support these efforts, Kennedy, manager of forecasting, will also take on an expanded role as director of forecasting and will co-author the annual Outlook report and flagship quarterly Construction Market Forecasting Service publications. A member of Dodge for over 20 years, Kennedy has more than 30 years of professional experience in construction economics, macroeconomics, consumer and labor economics. Kennedy holds a master’s degree in economics from Northeastern University.
Both executives will be present at the 81st Annual Dodge Construction Outlook Conference to be held in Chicago, Oct. 31, 2019. There, Branch will keynote the event and present the 2020 Outlook report findings, which include a deep dive into current and future construction opportunities across the United States and beyond. The data explores trends, issues and the construction market forecast for the year ahead and plays a critical role in business strategy development for the industry.
For more information, visit dodgeoutlook2020.com.
