Meet the Team

Leadership Council

Jason Latiolais

President / CEO

Heath D. Wahden

Executive VP

Justin White

VP, Asphalt Operations

Alicia Breazeale

Human Resources Manager

Matthew D. Woods

VP, Construction Operations

Kevin Ervin

VP of Asphalt Plants and Materials

Ben Tucker

VP of Equipment and Facilities

Ricky Quigley

Asphalt Operations Manager

Mike Seal

Operations Manager Northshore Asphalt Group

Joseph Kennedy

Asphalt Plants and Materials Group Manager

Jerome Bettinelli

Construction Group Manager - Industrial

Michael Ryan

Construction Group Manager - Heavy Civil

Lynn Meades

Safety Manager

Kasey Arabie

Assistant Controller

Justin Taylor

Northshore Asphalt Group Manager

Josh Munna

Resources Operation Center Manager

Jeff Romig

Baton Rouge Asphalt Group Manager

Ben Perrin

Business Development Manager

JOIN THE
BARRIERE TEAM

Barriere is a place where people come to build a career.

31% of our workforce has been with the company over 10 years.

Jason Latiolais

President / CEO

Jason became Barriere’s President/CEO at the beginning of 2022, representing a new era of leadership for the company. He was promoted from VP, Asphalt Operations after being responsible for leading all three asphalt groups – Baton Rouge, Northshore, and Southshore – since 2019. Jason has also served as Northshore Asphalt’s Group Manager during his time at Barriere, which began in 2008. He holds a B.S. Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from Southeastern University.

Heath D. Wahden

Executive VP

Heath joined Barriere in 2002 as Assistant Controller then became Financial Controller before serving as Chief Financial Officer since 2012. Executive VP was added to his CFO title at the beginning of 2022. Heath has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2000, a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional since 2006, and has served as President, Secretary, and Board Director of the Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association. He holds a B.S. Business Administration and a M.S. Professional Accountancy from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Justin White

VP, Asphalt Operations

Justin succeeded current Barriere President/CEO Jason Latiolais as VP, Asphalt Operations. He interned with Barriere three times prior to being hired as a Field Engineer in 2010, and worked for the Southshore Asphalt and Construction Groups before being promoted to Project Manager with the Northshore Asphalt Group. Justin became NSA Group Manager in 2019. A year later, he also became Baton Rouge Asphalt’s Group Manager. Justin holds a B.S. Construction Engineering Technology from University of Southern Mississippi and an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Alicia Breazale

Human Resources Manager

A human resources professional with previous experience working in the academic arena and the manufacturing industry, Alicia Breazale joined Barriere as Human Resources Manager in November 2021. She holds a B.A. in communications from Southeastern Louisiana University and a Master of Business Administration in human resources management from Louisiana State University Shreveport. A member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Alicia is also certified as a Louisiana Notary Public.

Matthew D. Woods

VP, Construction Operations

Matthew joined Barriere in 1998 as a Project Manager after earning a B.S. Civil Engineering Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Orleans and was Barriere’s Southshore Asphalt Group Manager prior to leading the company’s Construction Group as VP, Construction, which he has been doing since 2015. Matthew is a past Board Director of the Association of Builders and Contractors Bayou Chapter and an active member of, and Barriere representative to, Louisiana Associated General Contractors.

Kevin Ervin

VP of Asphalt Plants and Materials

Kevin has been in the industry for four decades and joined Barriere in 1999. He started out as Asphalt Plant Maintenance Superintendent. In 2017, Kevin was promoted from Operations Manager to Barriere Asphalt Plants and Materials Group Manager, and in 2022 he was promoted to VP of his respective division. He has participated in many industry schools as well as continued education and NCAT training courses, specifically to gain expertise in Hotmix Quality and Performance. Kevin shares his expertise as a member of Louisiana Asphalt and Pavement Association Technical Committee.

Ben Tucker

VP of Equipment and Facilities

In 1984, Ben joined Barriere working as a craftsperson. After two years, he transferred to shop maintenance working as a Shop Helper, Mechanic, Foreman, and Equipment Manager. Ben has been the company’s Director of Equipment and Facilities since 2017 and was promoted to VP of his respective division in 2022. . In 2005, he became an Association of Equipment Managing Professionals Certified Equipment Manager, and he has three years of University of New Orleans Business Administration classes under his belt.

Ricky Quigley

Asphalt Operations Manager

Ricky worked with Barriere for two years in the 1990s and returned to us in 2016 as a Superintendent of the $55M French Branch Project. He has been the Superintendent to other major Barriere projects, including the $52M I-55 McComb Project that solidified our expansion into Mississippi. In 2019, Ricky was promoted to General Superintendent at Southshore Asphalt. In 2021, he was promoted to Barriere's new Asphalt Operations Manager and was the mentor to the company’s first Superintendent Intern.

Mike Seal

Operations Manager Northshore Asphalt Group

Mike brought his industrial and construction experience to Barriere three decades ago and has been growing with the company ever since. He worked as an exemplary Foreman for almost two decades then took on a Superintendent position in 2009. In 2018, Mike was promoted to Northshore General Superintendent. He was promoted to his current position of Operations Manager - Northshore in 2021.

Joseph Kennedy

Asphalt Plants and Materials Group Manager

Joe was an Intern for Barriere in 2011 while earning a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Southeastern Louisiana University. He was hired on as a Field Engineer in 2012, and has also served as a Sr. Field Engineer, Estimator/Project Manager, and Sr. Estimator/Project Manager for Southshore Asphalt. In the summer of 2020, Joe was promoted to Baton Rouge Asphalt Group Manager during company restructuring, then assumed the role of Southshore Asphalt Group Manager and is now Barriere’s Asphalt Plants and Materials Group Manager. He achieved an MBA from his alma mater in 2021.

Jerome Bettinelli

Construction Group Manager - Industrial

Jerome became a Project Manager for Barriere industrial projects in 2016 after joining the company as a Field Engineer in 2013. He has expertly managed evolving partnerships while guiding expansion of our civil and industrial offerings. Naturally, Jerome is now our BCG Group Manager - Industrial. He holds a M.S. Water Resources Management from University of Melbourne and a M.S. Civil Engineering from Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publics in Paris.

Michael Ryan

Construction Group Manager - Heavy Civil

Michael earned a B.S. in Construction Management from Louisiana State University and worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers before joining Barriere as a Field Engineer in 2010. He was promoted to Estimator then Project Manager then Sr. Estimator/Project Manager and was leading one of Barriere's largest projects to date when he was promoted to Barriere Construction Group’s Operation Manager. Michael has since progressed into his current position as Group Manager of Heavy Civil Construction.

Lynn Meades

Safety Manager

After working as a Barriere Field Engineer from 2007 to 2011, Lynn Meades built on that experience with subsequent positions in both the private and public sectors. In February 2022, he returned to Barriere as an Estimator and Project Manager. Proving himself as a hands-on manager who leads by example, Lynn was promoted to Safety Manager in January 2023. He holds a degree in industrial technology from Southeastern Louisiana University, attended Caterpillar paving school and completed a project planning and scheduling course through Associated Builders & Contractors.

Kasey Arabie

Assistant Controller

Kasey Arabie has been a Barriere team member since 2015, when she came on board as a Job Cost Accountant and later became an Assistant Plant Controller. Following her 2022 promotion to Assistant Controller, she now manages all aspects of accounting for the company. During her seven years at Barriere, Kasey played an important role through Barriere’s integration to CRH’s systems and has been instrumental in optimizing processes and implementing best practices in cost accounting for plant operations and equipment management. She holds a B.A. in accounting from Nicholls State University.

Justin Taylor

Northshore Asphalt Group Manager

Justin Taylor started his career at Barriere as a Field Engineer on the French Branch project in 2015, and worked his way up into a Senior Project Manager/Estimator position at Northshore Asphalt Group (NSA). Having demonstrated his leadership capabilities through the bidding and building of multiple large DOTD projects with Barriere asphalt groups, Justin recently took over as NSA’s new Group Manager.

Josh Munna

Resource Operation Center Manager

In 2015, Josh Munna joined the Barriere team as a Lowboy Dispatcher and was promoted to Regional Equipment Coordinator less than a year later. He started in his current role as Resource Operation Center Manager in 2019. Josh is certified as an Equipment Management Specialist with the Association of Equipment Management Professionals and is in the process of taking his Certified Equipment Manager exam.

Jeff Romig

Baton Rouge Asphalt Group Manager

Jeff Romig worked for three years as a Barriere Field Engineer after participating in the company’s 2010 internship program. He became a Barriere Senior Field Engineer in 2015, worked his way up to Estimator/Project Manager in 2016, and joined the Business Development team in 2018. Following two subsequent promotions, Jeff started a new role as Group Manager for Baton Rouge Asphalt Group (BRA) in January 2023. His leadership played a significant role in BRA’s acquisition and successful completion of several large DOTD projects. Jeff attended Louisiana State University where he earned a B.S. in construction management and a Master of Business Administration. Having previously served on the board of Associated Builders & Contractors New Orleans/Bayou Chapter, Jeff is currently a board member of the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance.

Ben Perrin

Business Development Manager

Bringing to the table previous work experience in construction management, contract negotiation and business development, Ben Perrin was hired as a Barriere Business Development Representative in 2021. He was promoted in January 2023 to be Barriere’s Business Development Manager. Ben holds a B.S. in construction management from Louisiana State University and is active in the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, the Associated General Contractors of America, Associated Builders & Contractors and the ECC Future Leaders Program.