
TEAM

Dustin Darrah
President, Midwest
Dustin serves as President of Revive's Midwest division, Excel Utility Contractors, where he is responsible for the management and strategic direction of Excel.
Dustin has been in the utility contracting industry since the early 1990s. Dustin joined Ditch Witch in 1996 where he quickly progressed through the ranks and attained Top 10 National Salesperson of the Year. In 2000, Dustin took his previous field experience and customer relationships and started Darrah Contracting Inc. Dustin grew Darrah Contracting from a handful of operators to over 45 professionals managing a range of customer projects for AT&T and Ameren and partnering with some of the largest underground utility contractors in St. Louis. In December 2021, Dustin sold Darrah Contracting to Revive Holdings. Dustin holds a BA in Marketing Management from Missouri State University.

Keith Record
Senior Advisor
Keith serves as Senior Advisor where he is responsible for business development, subcontractor relationships, and training management. Keith founded Excel in 2008 after 30+ years of working in the telecommunications industry. Leveraging his many customer contacts and vast utility knowledge, Keith executed a plan that resulted in Excel growing at more than 25% per year for more than a decade.
Keith began his telecommunications career with Wright Tree Service as a laborer in 1978 before transitioning to Schatz Underground Cable in 1982. During his 20 years of employment with Schatz, he advanced to Vice President and under his leadership grew the company to 500+ employees and worked on projects totaling nearly $1 billion in revenue. Following the purchase of Schatz Underground by Orius Corporation in 1999, Keith was promoted to Vice President of the East Region. The region consisted of the legacy operations of Schatz Underground as well as eight other companies installing telecommunications and broadband utilities which were also purchased by Orius Corporation. Before beginning his career in the utilities industry, Keith proudly served in the Navy for four years and since then has overseen and worked projects at over 75 military bases.

Clayton Payne
Executive Vice President
Clayton serves as Executive Vice President where he is responsible for all out of state projects.
Clayton brings nearly 10 years of experience in the underground utility installation industry. Prior to joining Excel, Clayton was both an owner and senior manager for an independent utility contractor for more than seven years. Clayton’s area of expertise covers a broad scope of underground installation of fiber networks, both long haul backbone and fiber to the home. Clayton also has experience in underground gas, electrical, and water installation having supervised and led several significant projects in the space over the last half decade. Clayton has served in every position available in the field including laborer, operator, locator, Construction Manager, Project Manager, company owner, and Vice President. While serving in the United States Air Force, Clayton gained a unique and effective work ethic that he applies every day in managing the projects he leads.

Jean Howell
Controller and Senior Operations Manager
Jean serves as Controller and Senior Operations Manager where she is responsible for leading all finance and accounting functions, as well as assisting with overall operations, including bidding, bonding, insurance, licensing, permitting, subcontractor compliance, and procurement.
Jean began her career in the telecommunications industry in the early 1990s in a variety of roles within the financial and administrative teams of emerging and established utility construction companies. Jean established herself as a highly dependable and proficient team member and quickly rose through the ranks progressing from such roles as locate specialist, payroll clerk/lead and cost-to-complete lead. Early in her career, Jean learned how to analyze blueprints and engineering specs firsthand from owners and senior operators in the field which has enabled her to focus on project profitability analysis and to drive work-in-progress and job costing efforts across Excel. Jean is a proud U.S. Navy veteran having served honorably for four years abroad and within the U.S. She was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and a Letter of Commendation for her service.