Sven Kessler

Listen. Think. Deliver. Our geot­ech­ni­cal expert Sven Kessler embraces this motto with total conviction. As an inter­na­tion­ally acting Project Director he knows to pay attention to the client’s needs and provide them with customized solutions for any geot­ech­ni­cal challenge. Within his area of expertise of special heavy construc­tion, Sven supports his clients along the whole process of planning of object and structural frameworks including construc­tion supervision. One core area of his expertise is the method of artificial ground freezing – with Sven also sharing his know-how as assistant lecturer at the Ruhr-University at Bochum, Germany. Addi­tion­ally, Sven is frequently consulted regarding any construc­tion ground and foundation issues, and has been acting as authorised expert in matters of dispute.

Some of his profes­sional highlights include the Palm Islands in Dubai, restoration of the Cologne Stages as well as the new construc­tion of the „Texti­lakademie“ (Academy for Textiles) in Mönchenglad­bach, latter both located in Germany. Even when he was a child, Sven dreamt of becoming a civil engineer, so he could build tunnels. Currently, he is fulfilling his childhood dream by construct­ing several road tunnels underneath the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Why are you working at CDM Smith? CDM Smith offers thrilling projects in a cooperative and friendly environment which is lots of fun. Addi­tion­ally, CDM Smith enables a healthy work life balance.

What aspect of your job inspires you the most? Whenever my job is not concerning standard solutions but gets tricky and demands for unique/customized approaches, that’s what really gets me going.

What’s the single one project that will forever stick in your memory? The excavation pit for the new development of govern­men­tal buildings in Berlin – this is where I learnt everything from scratch. From initial planning via statistical evaluations through to construc­tion supervision. I still do benefit nowadays from that experience.

What’s your advice to young engineers? As a fresh graduate I felt, like many others do, like I knew it all – after all I had been studying it for years. But trust me, client relations as well as project management is something that will only be acquired over time in the engineering firm.