GLENN ADAMS
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SARGENT CORPORATION
Business development can encompass many different responsibilities. What does it mean for you at Sargent?
I look at it like a wagon wheel with 10 different spokes. At any one time, you could be working on one or two things or you could be working on everything. Overall, the intent is to do whatever you can to help your company grow. Relationships are a very big part of it—maintaining and growing existing relationships, building new relationships and reaching new markets. Our company’s almost 100 years old, so we have some relationships that go back 50 or more years.
What did you study in college?
When I graduated high school and it came time to choose a major, civil engineering was the most appealing because of the outdoor element. I went to the University of Maine for the civil engineering program, but then quickly learned that they had a construction engineering program, which was more hands-on. So, in my second year I transitioned to that program.
Did you plan to climb the ladder to business development when you first started at Sargent?
Through a couple connections I made when I was getting ready to graduate, I found out about the company which, at the time, was called Sargent and Sargent. Today, it’s the same company but it’s grown quite a bit. My first 10 years, I worked outside as a field engineer, foreman, surveyor—you name it—running crews, doing construction layout, and then I transitioned to a project management role. I did that for about four years then got into operations.
Following another stint in project management, I was asked to take over for our retiring business development director. So no, it wasn’t something I was aware of when starting out, but I think my various roles in the company helped prepare me for the role.
Any family and/or holiday traditions?
Getting together with family; my kids spending time with their cousins. We go camping several times each summer and try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. We do a lot of family time.
Apple or pumpkin pie?
I have to say neither. We have a pretty good-sized garden at home and we have a big raspberry patch. Maine gets about three good weeks of raspberry picking, usually sometime after July 4th. So, my favorite is raspberry pie made with handpicked raspberries.
How do you plan to develop the future of your own career at Sargent while continuing to develop the business?
It’s definitely all about the people in the company. We subscribe to the school of thought: Take care of your people and then the work takes care of itself. You know, I think sometimes companies can get blinders on and forget that it really is just all about the employees. I try to keep that in mind when I make business-development decisions. I think about how it’s going to impact our employees, not just tomorrow, but in five, 10, 50 years. We are a 100-year-old company. We want to be a 200-year-old company.
