St. Paul, Minnesota-based engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. named David Ott as the company’s next chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board. Ott joined SEH on April 1 and officially assumes the position May 1, 2019.
SEH, a professional services firm owned by its employees is comprised of more than 800 engineers, architects, planners and scientists. The company serves its clients from 31 offices located in nine states across the Midwest, Colorado and Wyoming.
After a thorough succession process and national search of qualified candidates, the board of directors selected Ott based on his executive and leadership experiences with a global engineering firm of more than 70,000 employees. Ott has a long career in the engineering industry spanning more than 30 years of leading people and delivering complex projects nationally as well as internationally. Ott’s background includes serving as a senior vice president working with both public and private sectors – government, mining, industrial, transportation and power. He has led civil and environmental projects ranging from small projects like geotechnical investigations to $100-million-plus design-build infrastructure projects.
Most recently Ott led a global team responsible for developing new business areas and leading complex projects. He is also a former officer of the U.S. Navy. His service included the responsibilities of Officer of the Deck and Engineering Officer.
Current Chairman of the Board/CEO/President Sam Claassen has served in the role for nine years and has been employed with SEH for 40-plus years. Claassen will continue to lead SEH until May 1, 2019, at which time Ott will assume the Chairman of the Board/CEO/President position and Claassen will serve as CEO-Emeritus through June 30, 2019, when he retires.
