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Target Field, a 39,504-seat open-air ballpark, was constructed from the inside out due to space constraints. Braun Intertec provided construction materials testing and special inspections for the site.
Plan B Powerhouse CEO was not able to become a Navy pilot due to health issues, but his career at Braun Intertec sure did take flight.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
demand. So, with a bachelor’s in geophysics and a bachelor’s in geology from the University of Min- nesota, he started out with the firm as an environ- mental technician and was quickly recognized for his dedication to the company’s ongoing develop- ment. In 2000, he became a principal and vice pres- ident of the Environmental Consulting Group . In 2007, he was appointed president of Braun Inter- tec, and in 2009, was made CEO. In 2015, Carlson was named the winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award for the upper Mid- west. The award program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial per- formance, and personal commitment to their busi- nesses and communities. A CONVERSATION WITH CARLSON. The Zweig Letter: What are the key strengths for an effective leader? Jon Carlson:
J on Carlson, CEO of Minneapolis-based Braun Intertec (Hot Firm #40 and Best Firm-Multi- discipline #40 for 2015) – a 1,000-plus person, em- ployee-owned, geotechnical engineering and envi- ronmental consulting firm – says his initial plans to become a Navy pilot after college were thwarted by health issues, but he says that may have been the best thing. “I learned that due to a less than perfect kidney that my plans to fly with the Navy post-college were not going to be a reality, so I had to find a plan B,” he says. Well, plan B kicked in soon after college and that plan has remained a work in progress ever since. And, while he may not have had a chance to rise through the military ranks, he certainly seized the opportunity to do so as a civilian. Carlson started with Braun Intertec in 1988, a time when environmental consulting was be- coming a hot field and geoscientists were in
Jon Carlson, CEO, Braun Intertec
See Q&A, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER April 4, 2016, ISSUE 1146
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