Satterfield & Pontikes Construction has launched Prolégo to provide predictive analytics to its clients. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, a provider of preconstruction, construction and consulting services, has launched an analytics-driven platform for project and program management.

The new platform, Prolégo, relies on predictive analytics to help ensure resources and expectations are in sync throughout three key phases of a construction project: consultation, planning, and management.

“By applying proprietary technology to monitor project progress and track changes tied to real-time cost data, the company offers a means to accurately predict outcomes so they can be planned for and measured accurately,” Satterfield & Pontikes explains in a news release.

Among the components of a project that Prolégo measures and tracks are materials, labor, and productivity.

George Pontikes, founder, chairman, and CEO of Satterfield & Pontikes, says Prolégo can serve as a “client’s advocate” for a single project or an entire building program. Clients of Prolégo include the Houston Airport System, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Klein ISD, and Spring Branch ISD.

Russ Wallace, former chief facilities officer for facilities planning and construction at the Texas A&M University System, leads Prolégo as senior program executive.

“As the building process has become increasingly sophisticated, there are an incredible number of puzzle pieces that have to fit together seamlessly,” Wallace says. “What we know is that when we monitor work in place versus plan in place, we can address any possible issues early in the process and work more efficiently via quantifiable data. If we can predict outcomes, we can plan for them.”

Other members of the Prolégo leadership team are John Marshall, senior vice president for education; Matt Daniel, corporate vice president; Matt Russel, vice president and program manager; Mark Dinius, director of technology; and Amanda Graham, director of business development.

Satterfield & Pontikes, founded in 1989, provides services for several sectors, such as including K-12 education, transportation, healthcare, government, distribution, and manufacturing.

Aside from its Houston headquarters, the firm has offices in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. In addition to Prolégo, its subsidiaries are Rollcon, Westway Construction, Greco Structures, Pontikes Development, Rocket Concrete Pumping, and Eagle Contracting. Satterfield & Pontikes purchased Keller-based Eagle Contracting late last year.

In 2021, Engineering News-Record listed Satterfield & Pontikes at No. 148 among the country’s 400 largest U.S.-based general contractors as measured by revenue from construction contracting.

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Mark Cuban calls AI ‘the greater democratizer’ for young entrepreneurs

eyes on AI

Texas billionaire Mark Cuban—whose investment portfolio includes Houston-based Holliball, a startup that makes and sells large inflatable holiday ornaments—believes AI is leveling the playing field for budding low-income entrepreneurs.

At the recent Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas, the Shark Tank alum called AI “the greater democratizer.”

Cuban told Axios that free and low-cost AI tools enable disadvantaged teenagers to compete with seasoned professionals.

“Right now, if you’re a 14- to 18-year-old and you’re in not-so-good circumstances, you have access to the best professors and the best consultants,” Cuban said. “It allows people who otherwise would not have access to any resources to have access to the best resources in real time. You can compete with anybody.”

While Cuban believes AI is “the great democratizer” for low-income young people, low-income workers still face hurdles in navigating the AI landscape, according to Public Works Partners, an urban planning and consulting firm. The firm says access to AI among low-income workers may be limited due to cost, insufficient digital literacy and infrastructure gaps.

“Without adequate resources and training, these workers may struggle to adapt to AI-driven workplaces or access the educational opportunities necessary to acquire new skills,” Public Works Partners said.

Texas 2036, a public policy organization focused on the state’s future, reported in January AI jobs in Texas are projected to grow 27 percent over the next decade. The number 2036 refers to the year when Texas will celebrate its bicentennial.

As for the current state of AI, Cuban said he doesn’t think the economy is witnessing an AI bubble comparable to the dot-com bubble, which lasted from 1998 to 2000.

“The difference is, the improvement in technology basically slowed to a trickle,” Cuban said of the dot-com era. “We’re nowhere near the improvement in technology slowing to a trickle in AI.”

CPRIT hires MD Anderson official as chief cancer prevention officer

new hire

The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which provides funding for cancer research across the state, has hired Ruth Rechis as its chief prevention officer. She comes to CPRIT from Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.

Before joining MD Anderson, Rechis was a member of the executive leadership team at the Livestrong Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit that supports people affected by cancer.

“Ruth has widespread connections throughout the cancer prevention community, both in Texas and across the nation,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in a news release. “She is a long-term passionate supporter of CPRIT, and she is very familiar with our process, programs, and commitment to transparency. Ruth is a terrific addition to the team here at CPRIT.”

Rechis said that by collaborating with researchers, policymakers, public health leaders and community partners, CPRIT “can continue to drive forward proven prevention strategies that improve health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and create healthier futures for all.”

At MD Anderson, Rechis and her team worked with more than 100 organizations in Texas to bolster cancer prevention initiatives at clinics and community-based organizations.

Rechis is a longtime survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes, which are part of a person’s immune system.