Joe Cusick joined Soben earlier this year to head up the newly launched Soben Americas office. Here we catch up with Joe on the day to day running of the business, and his future aspirations for Soben in the US.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I usually get to the office around 8 am and have a lot of emails to catch up on due to the time difference with the UK. Any internal meetings with the team in the UK also happen in the morning as we overlap with the end of their day.
Right now, we’re in growth mode so we are interviewing a lot of potential candidates and preparing for and attending introduction and business development meetings with potential clients. Other BD activities also take up a lot of time
On the operations side of the business, we are getting into the typical monthly flow of invoicing, payroll etc. Finance, HR and admin activities take up a fair bit of time too as we set up and manage business activities. Our delivery team manages interaction with client teams on a day-to-day basis but I also check in with our Ops team weekly.
What first attracted you to the construction industry?
I always had an interest in construction (I loved Legos as a kid!) and enjoy seeing things come together on site. Being a QS was interesting as it could get me involved in projects and out on building sites…without all the hard work of actually doing the building.
What are your predictions for the construction industry over the next 12-18 months?
Things look great for the Americas over the next couple of years with huge investment coming across the board in key sectors we are engaged in – Data Centers, Infrastructure, Hi-Tech Manufacturing, Renewable Energy and Life Sciences. These sectors have all demonstrated a resilience even during the pandemic and, certainly in the US, benefited from huge government support. Key indicators are already showing the US economy has rebounded very strongly from the turn of the year.
What are your goals for Soben in that time?
We have some pretty high hopes for the team in the Americas and have got off to a great start already. I would like to see us with around 100 technical staff in the next two years.
What have been your defining career moments?
Coming to the US is probably the biggest career moment for me. I decided to leave Scotland and come over to the US in 1998. I have had the opportunity to live all over the US in that time and experience a life I would never have thought possible before that. I am a US citizen now, met my wife here and our kids were all born here. I miss Scotland and my family and friends – especially over the last 18 months when we haven’t been able to get back, but I love living in the US.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Get as much different experience as you can – move to different countries, work on as many different types of projects as possible and never stop learning.
To find out more about Soben’s activities in the US, get in touch with Joe at [email protected]
