Engineer of the Year

Sheth fosters growth in engineering field

Rajan Sheth CEO and president of Mead & Hunt Inc., Madison

As the leader of a successful engineering firm, Rajan Sheth could busy himself with all the details of running a business that is growing steadily in stature and scope.

And he does.

But The Daily Reporter’s and Wisconsin Builder’s Engineer of the Year also sees a need for involvement at a broader level, leveraging his skills to improve the engineering industry through legis-lative efforts and developing the future talent that will one day lead the profession.

“He’s effective and successful because he believes in people first,” said Jeffrey Russell, professor and chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “He believes in education and helping the water level rise for everyone, and he’s involved in service to the community.”

At the UW-Madison, Sheth, the president and CEO of Mead & Hunt Inc., was granted a Distinguished Citation Award recognizing his efforts. More to the point, he is known as a key business leader helping students translate seminars and textbooks into real-world experience.

“His senior people [from Mead & Hunt] are made available to work with students on a team-based project during their capstone course,” Russell said.

“Some businesses want to be paid for that, and he wouldn’t think of it.”

Freeing up employees’ time to mentor future engineers is just part of Sheth’s work with the university. He was the first to step up with a donation when the university wanted to create the Charles G. Salmon Professorship, and he is forming an alumni committee to draw together engineering graduates to advocate for the university.

“He’s not some geek engineer who’s afraid to get involved in the issues,” Russell said.

Sheth carries that ethic with him in his role with the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin, chairing the Business Practices Committee, which works on educational efforts. He also uses his position with the group to promote ACEC’s legislative agenda through fund raising, said Carol Godiksen, ACEC of Wisconsin executive director.

“He has served as a Wisconsin trustee to the ACEC PAC for two years,” she said. “He’s made certain Wisconsin meets its nationally assigned goal for that PAC.”

While most of his efforts outside of work center on fund raising, Sheth marries his love of education with his desire to see state and federal laws reflect the needs of the engineering and business worlds.

“Traditionally, engineers have been rather apolitical,” said John Mitby, a senior partner with Axley Brynelson LLP in Madison and consulting legal counsel for Mead & Hunt. “Raj figured out that before a bridge is built, there’s a political process that occurs. He works to educate the people who have something to say about whether funds should be spent on this project or that.”

To that end, Sheth’s guest list at Mead & Hunt reads like a political who’s who.

Everyone from U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold to former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has been invited to the facility.

“People understand why you build a hospital,” Mitby said. “But they don’t always understand the economic impact of building a road, a bridge or a dam.

“[Sheth’s] approach is, ‘We’ll show you what we do and why it’s important to the people of Wisconsin.’”

To Russell, Sheth’s most amazing quality is his commitment to doing what’s right. He said that Sheth has been involved in helping Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and always finds time to offer counsel to colleagues.

“You read a lot about big leaders and how selfish they are,” Russell said. “I see him as a model corporate citizen.”

By Jennifer Pfaff