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P R O F I L E
Water quality Independent environmental firms are increasingly rare, but out on the East Coast, CEO Eileen Pannetier has succeeded by sticking to her small-firm roots.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
Eileen Pannetier: In 1987, when I first did the in- corporation paperwork for CEI, I’m sure I did not suspect that so many consulting firms today would be on a consolidation binge and that small firms would be as rare as they are. My goal was to offer a great place to work where professionals of all types could make a difference while working on challeng- ing projects, but still have a life after-hours. What I did suspect was that many big firms had already lost sight of the client and their best interests in the struggle for utilization in the post-construction grants days. For younger folks, those days were full of 90-percent construction funding, by the govern- ment, for water and wastewater projects, and when that ended, life in all engineering/environmental firms likely got a lot harder. Enduring a couple of re- cessions since then, CEI has slowly and organically grown to about 30 professional staff who serve the northeast. Our services have grown and expanded from water supply and water quality projects for municipal clients to hazardous waste, stormwater engineering, water treatment facility design, sus- tainability, geotechnical, and wastewater for major federal and state agencies. TZL: Do you have advice for others who want to strike out on their own? See Q&A, page 4
P rior to founding Comprehensive Environmen- tal Inc. (Best Firm #3 Environmental for 2016), CEO Eileen Pannetier worked for a national A/E consulting firm. It was there that she first devel- oped her vision for CEI’s culture – an independent company where professionals could realize their ambitions without sacrificing their personals lives. “I wanted to remove the barriers that large busi- nesses can often create and provide our engineers and scientists with challenging work, professional support, and opportunities to grow technically and within the firm,” she says. CEI recently inked an important contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was featured in Stormwater magazine, and presented at the 27th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference in Hartford, Connecticut. The firm has five offices in four northeastern states, and has grown to about 30 people. Having struck out on her own in 1987, it’s apparent that Pannetier has achieved what she set out to do, even if there is still work to be done. A CONVERSATION WITH PANNETIER. The Zweig Letter: How have you seen CEI evolve since its founding?
Eileen Pannetier, Founder and CEO, Comprehen- sive Environ- mental Inc.
THE ZWEIG LETTER August 1, 2016, ISSUE 1162
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