We spoke with Shaun Sevigny about his new role as Vice President of Engineering and Testing within the Northern Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas geographies and his advice to people entering the profession. Read more to learn about Shaun’s professional background, why he loves working at Braun Intertec, and his favorite part of his role.
What is your professional background?
After spending four years in the military, I earned my Civil Engineering degree from the University of Kansas. After graduation, I obtained a staff engineering position with PSI in Milwaukee and started in their manager-in-training program. I completed the program in nine months and was then transferred to their St. Paul office to start their geotechnical and CMT departments.
After about a year and a half of growing PSI’s St. Paul office, I took an opportunity to join Mayes Testing Engineers, a special inspection and testing firm in the Pacific Northwest, as the Branch Manager for Mayes’ Tacoma office. While on the West Coast, my career followed a path of operational leadership, as well as managing large-scale special inspection and materials testing projects. I spent four years on the West Coast before my career brought me back to Minnesota and an opportunity with Braun Intertec!
What interested you about your profession?
My dad was a technician for Terracon in the mid-1990s. One of my jobs in high school was doing Saturday cylinder pickups and breaks in their lab. I then worked as a materials testing technician while I was going to college for the City of Topeka, Kansas. My previous experience within materials testing led me to my first opportunity within our industry.
What is your favorite aspect of your role or the most rewarding part of what you do at Braun Intertec?
Internally, there’s nothing more rewarding than building a team of great people and watching them succeed. Whether it’s navigating friction amongst a team, or being successful on a challenging project, being part of a team that accepts a challenge and works together toward a common goal is extremely gratifying.
Externally, building consultant of choice relationships with clients that evolve into friendships is one of the more rewarding aspects of our industry. I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to develop many personal friendships that started as a client relationship.
What is your favorite thing about working at Braun Intertec? What do you feel makes it unique?
The people I get to work with on a daily basis is my favorite part of working at Braun Intertec, but what makes Braun Intertec unique is the passion and ownership our teams have working for an ESOP company. Our employee-owners take pride in their work every day knowing that their efficiency and work ethic are a differentiator to both our clients and our success.
What is your approach to client problem-solving?
Listen – your clients call you because they have trust in your ability to help them with their problems. Oftentimes, they may not know what they truly need, even if they have a specific request. Your ability to listen and provide solutions that will solve their problem is key to becoming their consultant of choice.
What qualities do you look for in your team members?
The most critical qualities a team needs to be successful are driven individuals with high integrity and a strong work ethic. The technical, operational, and professional aspects of our industry can be learned.
What should new Braun Intertec employees know about working here? Do you have a piece of advice for someone entering your profession?
I’ve had the opportunity to work at a few different consulting firms in my career and the Braun Intertec vision to become both the employer and consultant of choice makes it a very rewarding place to work. We are always looking for ways to grow and opportunities to improve, and both provide our employee-owners significant opportunities for growth.
In regard to advice, take every opportunity possible to gain experience. Whether it requires moving to a new location, or working on a difficult project, every opportunity will add to your experience, assist in growing your career and ultimately make you become a better professional.
What fuels your passions outside of work?
My family. My wife and I have four kids that are all involved in different sports and activities, and over the years I’ve had the opportunity to be very involved in their activities. Whether it’s coaching youth hockey, baseball, softball, or football (my youngest girls don’t appreciate my coaching in dance), I enjoy being a part of their activities. We also enjoy being outside camping, hunting, and fishing.