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CONFERENCE SPONSORS

throughout the United States and abroad and that comes with opportunities and challenges of another kind. With such talented experts so geographically dispersed, we want to make sure that any engineer can support any project, no matter where it is, and having cutting edge technology is key to that ability. Eliminating sub-consultant fees where possible is a big focus of ours and we do this through cross- selling our services among our verticals. Technology is one thing we can do to make this initiative easy and intuitive for our team. TZL: What’s the best way to recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market? DW: We drive stock very deep into our organization and that is one key reason we are a public company. It ensures that our employees own the same shares as our manage- ment team, as our investors, and that everyone has an op- portunity to share in the company’s success, which can be measured objectively through public disclosures and our stock performance. Each of our verticals is run by an en- trepreneurial leader who has a particular interest and ex- pertise in his or her specific practice. They have an oppor- tunity to grow those verticals and shape the business, but they also get the support needed to spur growth from the other verticals and the corporate organization. For this rea- son, we tend to attract employees who are interested in a fast-growing, flexible organization with clear opportunities for autonomy and leadership. Our company is flat and ver- tically structured, so there are also many points of access to leadership and our management team is constantly acces- sible to our employees. “Our company is flat and vertically structured, so there are also many points of access to leadership and our management team is constantly accessible to our employees.”

CONFERENCE CALL, from page 6

board brings a different point of view to the table. They feel very comfortable voicing their opinions if they disagree with a particular deal or potential decision, but they all un- derstand NV5’s goals and our business philosophy. Many of our board members also come from very large success- ful firms, so their input comes from a standpoint of growth and looking to the future, which is what we always want to remain focused on. TZL: Is there a secret to effective ownership transition? DW: Culture, culture, culture. Our definition of culture is very specific at NV5. We are a public company because we want partners, not key employees. We are a company fo- cused on growth. The companies we acquire must agree to be integrated into our shared services platform so we know everyone’s progress is being measured the same, so we are all working toward the same goals, and so everyone has the same protections and resources that will allow them to do the best work possible. By being a public company and put- ting stock into our deals, we also eliminate the polarization of company owners who are seeking an exit strategy, and their employees who have been growing the business and the client base and are seeking ownership. “We tend to attract employees who are interested in a fast-growing, flexible organization with clear opportunities for autonomy and leadership.” TZL: What has your firm done recently to upgrade its IT system? DW: Great question because this is something we have been giving a lot of attention to lately. In addition to mak- ing sure we are maintaining the highest standards of safety and protection of our information, we now have 104 offices

THE ZWEIG LETTER August 21, 2017, ISSUE 1213

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