Two teams from ESD now Stantec and Stantec join a total of 600 Women Build volunteers in this year’s effort by Habitat for Humanity to construct houses for Chicago women who might not otherwise be able to afford a new home. (Learn more about Habitat for Humanity Chicago’s Women Build.)
ESD has been blessed with many long-term employees, who are valuable to companies in many ways. They possess vast expertise in their field and strong knowledge of a firm’s culture while being able to guide new hires to the best possible outcomes.
And once they decide to retire, it’s always sad to say farewell.
Mohsen Aghai has been a key member of the High Performance Buildings (HPB) group at ESD. His passion for high-level power distribution, combined with his superior organizational skills, has led to more than 30 years of successful work in the electrical field nationally and internationally.
“Whether envisioning the distribution for the world’s tallest mixed-use high rise, organizing our team for the Las Vegas Convention Center, or providing last-minute expertise for an urgent field issue, Mohsen was always up to the challenge,” said Andrew Lehrer, Practice Leader for the HPB group. He is a selfless teacher, always willing to lend his insights and time to help develop our younger staff to meet our obligations.”
Lehrer cited Mohsen’s dedication. He moved halfway around the world to Abu Dhabi to help with projects in ESD’s fledgling office there and was instrumental in its success. Lehrer could count on Mohsen in a pinch.
“On a project for a financial services client, the assigned electrical engineer got bogged down with another client and was unable to address an urgent field issue,” Lehrer recalled. “Mohsen jumped in to assist at the last minute, got on a call with me and helped us solve the issue.”
When he joined ESD in the 1990s after working for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Illinois Institute of Technology graduate started with its Health Care Group. Once he moved over to HPB, his expertise helped him quickly determine which engineering discipline would have the biggest impact on a new project so the team could figure out what to focus on. When a challenge arose on a project, Mohsen always sketched out three solutions to offer options to the team and clients alike.
ESD wishes Mohsen the absolute best in his retirement. All of us will miss, as Lehrer noted, “his thoughtful presence, his deep experience and his kind laugh.”
