GeoHeroes - Jesse Kropelnicki

GeoHeroes - Jesse Kropelnicki

About This Episode
In this episode Guy Marcozzi interviews Jesse Kropelnicki, PE, about his remarkable journey from humble beginnings to leading a 1,900-person engineering firm. After starting in civil engineering, he built a successful triathlon coaching business, working with 30+ professional IRONMAN champions before returning to engineering in 2018. Under his leadership, Verdantas grew from 415 to 1,900 employees in just 2.5 years. Jesse discusses the role of private equity in the geoprofessions, technology's evolutionary impact on the industry, and his people-first leadership philosophy. He emphasizes that culture and human characteristics—not just technical knowledge—will be the key differentiators for future engineering firms.

About Our Guest
Jesse Kropelnicki, PE, is the CEO of Verdantas, a private equity-backed professional services firm dedicated to addressing complex environmental, water, and energy transition challenges. Under his leadership, Verdantas has grown to over 90 offices with more than 1,860 staff, generating approximately $425M in revenue. Jesse is passionate about fostering a people-focused culture, driving collaboration and trust, advancing environmental stewardship, and being a champion of digital integration throughout the business. In 2002, Jesse founded what became one of the world's largest endurance sports coaching businesses, pioneering an engaging fully remote workforce model. Over 16 years, he published a nutrition book with Random House in 2017, completed two acquisitions, taught dozens of coaching clinics for USA Triathlon, and coached top professional IRONMAN athletes who achieved more than 30 wins.

Our Host
Guy Marcozzi, PE, D.GE, LEED AP BD+C, is a GBA past-president and an experienced CEO, President and Board Member with a demonstrated history of working in the engineering, science and data technology industries and in leadership for various boards of ESOP, non-profit, professional and business organizations.

Show Notes

 "If you want to grow, if you want to move up in your career, if you want to grow as a human being, you've got to be uncomfortable all the time. And if you find yourself in a position, in a scenario where you're not uncomfortable and you want to be growing, then you've got to find your way into a new position."

Introduction

• Jesse's journey from steel worker's son to CEO

Early Life and Education

• Grew up in New York with steel worker father and musician mother
• Worked with father from age 8-9 through college - learned work ethic
• Attended Northeastern University for civil engineering (structural focus)
• Completed co-ops at Kiewit Construction (Big Dig project) and Parsons Brinckerhoff
• Earned master's in structural engineering while working full-time

Career Path

• Started in hydropower structural engineering at Parsons Brinckerhoff
• Developed passion for triathlon racing
• Built coaching business as side hustle, eventually went full-time
• Grew coaching business to 85 staff, 100% remote (pre-COVID)
• Coached 30+ professional IRONMAN champions over 10 years
• Returned to engineering in 2018 at WSP power group
• Joined Verdantas as COO when company had 415 people
• Promoted to CEO after one year
• Led growth from 415 to 1,900 people in 2.5 years

Leadership

• Learned leadership through coaching world-class athletes under pressure
• Key qualities: authenticity, passion, energy - difficult to teach
• Focus on people-first, empathetic approach
• Athletes served as "reverse mentors"
• Importance of alignment between management and private equity partners
• Building trust and creating differentiated workplace culture
• Supporting staff holistically and emotionally

The Geoprofessional Landscape & Life Advice

• Private Equity Trends: A/E space attractive due to stable, dependable growth over decades
• Technology Disruption: Evolution, not revolution - been happening for 30 years
• Key Technologies: AI, digital twins, asset management
• Data Strategy: De-siloing data sources, creating data fabric with taxonomy
• Future Workforce: Same number of people but different composition - more programmers, data analysts
• Differentiators: Culture and human characteristics will replace knowledge as key differentiator
• Demographics: Challenges will work themselves out through technology and workforce composition changes

Speed Round

• Favorite Book: CEO Next Door by Elena Botelho, Kim Powell, Tahl Raz
• Optimism Index: 5/5 - must be chief optimist as CEO
• Biggest Impact: Coaching professional athletes through high-pressure situations
• Legacy: Wants to be remembered as authentic, fair, logical person who helps others be their best
• Regrets: No major regrets - uses framework of choosing paths that challenge and introduce you to amazing people
• Career Advice: Stay uncomfortable to keep growing - "no pain, no gain"

Final Thoughts

• Emphasized importance of authenticity and people-focused approach in professional services
• Open to connecting with listeners on LinkedIn
• Enjoyed sharing insights about leadership and industry trends

Calls-to-action:

• Visit the GBA Website at https://www.geoprofessional.org for other training resources and reference materials and/or to become a member.
• Visit https://www.gbapodcast.com for future podcast episodes
• Contact us at info@geoprofessional.org with any podcast-related questions or comments

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This episode was produced by the following GBA Members:

• Ryan White, PE, GE – Principal Geotechnical Engineer/Apex