2026’s 30 Under 30 EC&M Electrical All Stars: Andrew Ladner

Meet this year's group of up-and-coming innovative electrical professionals.

Amy Fischbach

July 16, 2026

2 min read

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Andrew Ladner

Job Title: Lead VDC Engineer

Company: Cannon & Wendt Electric Co., Inc.

Location: Phoenix

Age: 29

Years on the Job: 4

Interests: Playing video games, paddleboarding at Lake Pleasant, and camping

Andrew Ladner is providing VDC support for the east expansion for the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center but will soon be moving on to a large and challenging build at the Mayo Clinic campus.

Andrew Ladner discovered the opportunities for a career in virtual design construction while attending the Manhattan Area Technical College in the “Little Apple” of Manhattan, Kan. While in trade school for drafting, he learned the importance of accuracy during the modeling process — a lesson that still sticks with him today.

“My teacher compared the process of setting up projects in the software to the real life build itself,” he said. “You can’t have a building with a shoddy foundation, and you can’t have a modeled project if you just hope things line up. Take your time and make sure you understand what is needed or what approach will best suit the project.”

In his role as a lead virtual construction designer for Cannon & Wendt Electric Co., Inc., he arrives at the office at 6 a.m. and contacts his field team. He then makes a field visit to confirm an install or provide extra drawing information to help to “paint the picture for them as clearly as possible.” He also focuses on model maintenance and testing out new ideas and workflows.

“When I first started, I was just being given a task, but that quickly evolved once I proved my knowledge base,” he said.

Today, he loves discovering the “odd happenings” that take place within the models and deciphering what happened and why. He found that there are many ways to arrive at the same goal within a project. When others are stumped, and he helps them, he feels the most accomplished.

To reach his goals in the future, he plans to invest in communication and trust in his team by following the three pillars of Cannon & Wendt: being company, client, and community.

“I’d love to be able to say that I helped play a role in the growth and success of my company and have all my fellow employee owners achieve a level of prosperity and comfort,” he said.