“Daniel “Dan” Ferst is serving a dual role at Vanir as Chief Operating Officer to support the area operations and sales, and Area Manager for the Bay Area. In these positions, Dan focuses on business development, marketing, contracts, project operations, training, safety, staffing, and administration of Vanir’s various areas nationwide.
Dan has more than 30 years of experience in program, project, and construction management (PMCM) services, where he has provided professional leadership in design and construction management, cost controls/estimating, quality controls, and scheduling. Dan is versed in multiple project delivery methods, including design-build, progressive design-build, lease-leaseback, CM/GC or CMAR, and design-bid-build. Dan has experience in both private and public sector projects.
Prior to Vanir, Dan worked for a general contractor on several private projects around the San Francisco Bay Area. He managed commercial office, semi-conductor, bio-pharmaceutical, high-density residential, and healthcare projects. His experience includes large ground-up campus shell/core projects through all the tenant improvement stages.
He joined Vanir in 2006 as a Senior Project Manager and successfully managed multiple K-12 and county projects. After earning his Certified Construction Manager (CCM) credential and becoming a Project Director in 2009, Dan continued to expand into existing and new markets, including justice and essential services, healthcare, K-12 and higher education, state & local government, and private technology projects. In 2012, Dan was promoted to an Area Manager for the Bay Area, and he continued to lead the business efforts with a creative and analytical style of management. Later, in 2015, Dan was given the title of Vice President and sole Area Manger for the Bay Area after the region was consolidated. In addition to developing staff that delivers high quality services to Vanir’s clients, Dan has been active in identifying new marketing opportunities and leads for new projects.
In October of 2025, Dan was promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations and he has been supporting Vanir’s areas with operational and sales goals needs. In his current role as Chief Operating Officer since May 2026, Dan works closely with the CEO, President, General Counsel, CFO/Finance, HR, BD/Marketing, Tech Services Group, Executive Directors, IT, Area Managers, Deputy Area Managers, Project Directors, and Corporate and Area staff at Vanir. With a background in PMCM Agency, general contracting and key alternative delivery methods, Dan is devoted to providing premier services for Vanir’s clients across the United States and abroad.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and is a CCM.