Our Leadership Team
W. Carlton Finch, PE
Carlton is a principal and founding member of Finch & Associates, specializing in structural, geostructural and construction engineering fields. Apart from his technical focus, Carlton is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic goals of Finch & Associates and its various service lines. A Raleigh native, Carlton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University. He has led projects ranging from single or multi-story office and mixed-use buildings to historic preservation and adaptive reuse projects up to 300,000 square feet in size. Carlton has designed excavation shoring structures of all sizes to depths exceeding 55 feet, and has designed thousands of linear feet of tunnel, microtunnel, and other trenchless crossings. Throughout his career, Carlton has had the pleasure of working with a variety of clients including architects and developers on building projects, contractors on deferred designs or temporary structures facilitating construction, municipalities on design-build contracts, and other engineering firms as a consultant on specialized aspects of a project. Drawing on his decades of diverse expertise, Carlton has established a reputation for producing creative solutions to unique problems to ensure the success of the projects he is involved in. In his free time, Carlton enjoys spending time outdoors hunting, fishing, or simply being at the coast with his family. He and his wife, Frances, have two sons.
George Finch, RLA
George is a landscape architect with more than 40 years of experience leading master planning, site planning and infrastructure projects for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal clients. A graduate of North Carolina State University’s School of Design, George has spent most of his career leading his own engineering and landscape architecture firm – and his expertise has helped shape many notable campuses and projects throughout our community and state, including the corporate headquarters of SAS Institute Inc. and many facilities for the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. Serving as the leader of the Finch & Associates executive team, George draws on his decades of experience to guide both clients and our staff through the implementation of our client’s diverse projects. In his free time, George enjoys spending time with family and keeping up with his grandchildren, as well as traveling to the North Carolina mountains or coast.
James “Jay” Ditenhafer, PLS
Jay is a founding partner and professional land surveyor with more than 25 years of experience in commercial and residential surveying. He has responsibility over all Finch & Associates geomatics offerings, keeping the firm’s offerings current with the latest survey technology to efficiently deliver for our clients.
Jay began his career as a survey rodman working in the field, and has been managing skilled field crews for much of his career. His expertise includes performing land title research, control surveys, boundary and topographic mapping, computations for construction layout, project coordination and administration, and supervising land survey field crews. From horizontal and vertical control surveys, boundary and topographic surveys, construction site layout, structural deformation monitoring, hydrographic, and ALTA land title surveys, Jay’s clients appreciate he and his team’s attention to detail, accuracy and reliability. Outside of work, Jay enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. He loves to be outdoors, whether it is hiking, gardening, or gazing into the night sky with his telescope.
John F. “Jay” Watson, PE
Jay is a professional engineer and founding partner, focusing in the civil engineering field. In addition to leading the civil engineering service line, Jay serves in business development and operational roles. He leverages the experience and talent of the Finch & Associates staff to deliver successful projects for the firm’s clients every day.
After spending the beginning of his career focusing on land development, including working on one of the largest planned developments in Wake County, he transitioned to working in the field of hydraulics. First, as a consultant in support of FEMA’s map modernization program and then performing hydraulic analysis and design associated with transportation projects throughout North Carolina. During a decade-long engagement consulting for NCDOT projects, Jay led the hydraulic design efforts for some of the largest roadway projects in the state’s history. Now as a principal at Finch & Associates, Jay brings his broad range of experience and expertise to ensure each client’s project is a success, from inception to completion. Born and raised in Raleigh, Jay earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from North Carolina State University. Outside of work, Jay enjoys getting outside and away from the computer with his wife and young daughter. You can find him hiking in the mountains, boating or paddleboarding at the coast, or simply knocking around his yard.