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Rowing together: Jim Walsh President of Universal Engineering Sciences (Orlando, FL), a firm that has provided essential engineering services throughout the United States for nearly six decades.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
P rior to being named president of UES in February 2021, Walsh served as COO at Degree-One, a provider of HVAC, refrigeration, and food equipment services, where he significantly improved EBITDA and integrated several acquisitions. He’s also led WBG Consulting as president, focusing on management consulting and angel investments, and held many other executive-level positions. “UES is recognized as an industry pioneer, with a sound business strategy and nearly six decades of success,” Walsh says. “I’m focused on maintaining and accelerating our commitment to our growth, as well as continuing the legacy values and culture which have made UES so unique, while incorporating new talent and new ideas into our family of businesses.” A CONVERSATION WITH JIM WALSH. The Zweig Letter: I understand that UES is moving into an exciting time where BDT Capital Partners will
take a majority stake in UES. How will this change the dynamics of the firm? What are the major benefits? Jim Walsh: BDT Capital Partners’ approach is to invest in well-run businesses for the long-term. We see their partnership as an endorsement of our growth strategy at UES, which focuses on organic growth in key areas of the country and adding new partners through acquisition. Day-to-day, our operations are unchanged. Our board of directors will remain chaired by former AECOM CEO Michael Burke, and continued involvement from BDT and Palm Beach Capital. TZL: What role does your family play in your career? Are work and family separate, or is there overlap? JW: Life is a journey. You need balance to be an effective executive. It’s a personal choice whether to integrate those parts of your life or keep them separate. You need to create the right balance for yourself. I enjoy fixing things. I do my own electrical and plumbing work. I brought a 1954 Ford
THE ZWEIG LETTER NOVEM
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