expresso: mentorship

THE HERITAGE OF MENTORSHIP THAT LEADS OUR WAY

The Italian-style dinner that started it all Pietro was 13 when he first met Claude, whom his father had invited home for a traditional Italian dinner. “Claude was talking to my dad about his work as an engineer and I thought to myself that it was the career for me,” says Pietro. When Claude later learned that Pietro had earned his degree in engineering, he contacted him and told him, “I can help you find a job if you’re interested.” From that moment on, Pietro always knew Claude would be there for him. “He quickly took me under his wing. He always told me that if there was something he could help me with, he’d help me. For me, Claude is much more than a mentor – he’s a friend and confidant,” says Pietro. Il consigliere Pietro worked alongside Claude for the first three years of his career. Claude taught him about the working methodology used by engineers in the consulting industry, something rarely taught in school. Shortly after his appointment to a management position at EXP, Pietro asked Claude to join his team. “I needed his experience to help build a team and support the development of a strategy. Claude has often told me it’s important to surround myself with good people, which is what I did by asking him to come work on my team,” he explains. To this day, Claude serves as a point of reference for Pietro. “When I have important decisions to make, I consult him for a second opinion. I call him il consigliere , which means the consultant in Italian.” Making time to take her time Manuelle says she first met Claude when he joined EXP. She had already met her colleague on a number of occasions while working as a LEED coordinator, but it wasn’t until a few years later that she really turned to him for help.

CLAUDE HUDON, P.ENG. Building System Engineer Montreal, QC

MENTOR |

There are people we meet in the course of our lives that have an impact on the decisions we make, sometimes without us even realizing. One casual conversation can spark a new passion and lead us on a different trajectory. This is exactly what happened to two engineers at our Montreal office – Pietro Guerra and Manuelle Croft. For both, meeting their mentor, Claude Hudon, an engineer with 46 years of experience in consulting engineering, was something that changed the course of their lives. MANUELLE CROFT, P.ENG., LEED AP O+M, RCx, BCxP Project Manager, Green Buildings Montreal, QC PIETRO GUERRA, P.ENG. Vice President, Strategy Development, Buildings + Industry Montreal, QC

MENTEES |

24 | EXPRESSO