Jason Sivils is resourceful enough to design his own corporate ladder to climb. And he has done just that.
Sivils, the head of government services at Great River Associates Inc., joined the firm in 2007 and two years and 100 projects later was named structural department manager. When Sivils earned the promotion prior to earning his professional engineering license, it was a significant accomplishment because he managed several senior professional engineers.
In 2011, he was entrusted with his current position, which is more of a marketing role, after expanding the structural department to its largest level.
Mel Eakins, principal of Great River Associates, says Sivils is a talented engineer, but the company transitioned him into the government services position because they felt it was right in his wheelhouse.
“His business-focused approach is always searching for methods to increase profits or deliver more to our clients in shorter time frames. One item that stands out is his ability to walk into a room of strangers and not be intimidated,” Eakins says. “Mr. Sivils does the cold calls, walks into large meetings without a team, and brings back positive results – things that most engineers fall short on.”
Sivils’ direct approach to business development has garnered results.
“As the head of GRA’s marketing, I have led the charge for the (Missouri Department of Transportation) local public agency team, which is how many cities and counties build sidewalks and bridges. GRA has 10 times the average number of projects for companies that work in this sector, and many more projects than our closest competitor,” Sivils says. “I have worked to add more than 16 new major clients and obtain about 50 of these projects in the past few years.”
Sivils demonstrates civic leadership by teaching classes with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Primarily attended by road maintenance crews, the classes teach the value of protecting local streams.
At Great River, his proudest professional accomplishment was when he led the team selected to carry out work on the city of Warrensburg’s five-year stormwater management plan.
“GRA was the smallest company in the running, as well as the only Springfield-based firm,” he says. “We were the underdog in every aspect. However, thanks to help from my team, I was able to pull off the largest victory GRA has ever had.”
In his spare time, Sivils drives race cars, traveling on a part-time basis with the Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association Series. He has 13 years of driving experience, spanning various levels of short-track racing.[[In-content Ad]]
