COLORADO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2026
  • Registration
  • Supporters
  • Nomination Form
  • Junior Achievement
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • PBS Specials
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2026
  • Registration
  • Supporters
  • Nomination Form
  • Junior Achievement
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • PBS Specials

Ralph Peterson

​Ralph R. Peterson, former Chairman and CEO of CH2M HILL, began his engineering career with the company in 1965 as an Oregon State University student – the school that awarded him his Bachelor's degree. He went on to earn a Master's degree in engineering from Stanford University and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

CH2M – named for founders Cornell, Howland, Hayes, and Merryfield, with the HILL added after a merger with California-based Clair A. Hill – is one of the world's leading environmental engineering firms. The company has been named one of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2006 and Corporation of the Year at the 2005 Minority Enterprise Development Week.

Peterson helped shape the company's mission—"Build a Better World." He was a vocal advocate for sustainable development throughout his career, serving on the Clinton Administration’s “Technology for a Sustainable Future” initiative. He led CH2M HILL's environmental clean-up projects, such as the Rocky Flats project that was completed in 2005. The company also worked on Hurricane Katrina clean-up efforts and was awarded the contract to widen Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs. 

This Colorado business leader earned many honors in his career, including the Rocky Mountain News 2005 Businessperson of the Year award; an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines; the International Bridge Builders Award from the University of Denver; and the American Society of Civil Engineers President's Award.
The Colorado Business Hall of Fame is co-presented by
Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain Inc. and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Videos produced by Becky Holden of Biography Media, [email protected]