Stacy Bartoletti
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Degenkolb Engineers
BSCE ’91
For his longstanding contributions to the field of civil engineering and for his role as a seismic engineering expert who has helped ensure the safety of existing buildings and has designed new structures to withstand earthquakes
Growing up in Wisconsin in the 1970s and ’80s, Stacy Bartoletti likely learned much about hard work and overcoming obstacles from the words of Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers. Yet Bartoletti’s career as a successful structural engineer started simply enough, working on building projects with his father.
“I was interested in construction and seeing things built,” Bartoletti says. “My father, who worked for a public utility, and I built a little cabin, and I think that hands-on aspect drove me to civil engineering.”
Bartoletti’s hands-on hard work continued at Purdue, where he balanced classroom studies with industry experience as a co-op student, alternating between campus and work at CH2M Hill, a global engineering firm in Milwaukee. “I was able to manage my co-op program to graduate in four and a half years,” he says. “It was great experience; the company gave me real responsibility as a young student, and several friends and supervisors at the company provided me with mentorship that helped guide my career.”
Many of those friends and mentors advised Bartoletti to enroll in a graduate program if he wanted to make it as a structural engineer. Soon after earning his master’s degree from the University of Texas, he landed a job with Degenkolb Engineers — a company he’s never left.
From his first days at Degenkolb to the opening of branch offices in Portland and Seattle and to his current position as chief executive officer and chairman of the board, Bartoletti says what attracted him to the San Francisco-based firm is the same thing that excites him on his way to work every day. In a phrase, it’s the “company culture” that has built its reputation on seismic engineering for more than 75 years.
“Degenkolb has always been heavily involved in earthquake engineering, which is constantly evolving,” says Bartoletti, who now leads a largely West Coast force of around 150 employees. “We learn something new every time there’s an earthquake. That’s who we are as a company, and that’s what keeps me here.”
Throughout his nearly 25 years at Degenkolb, Bartoletti has led teams studying, designing and constructing hundreds of millions of dollars in seismic upgrades and new critical facilities for major clients on the West Coast. As an industry expert in seismic engineering, he also has done much work on seismic upgrades for historic buildings, including Architecture Hall at the University of Washington, and several facilities for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.
As a boss, Bartoletti likens his leadership style to a collaborator, perhaps something he learned as president of his Purdue fraternity for a year. “Aside from the technical work of becoming a structural engineer, the role of leading a fraternity probably gave me more leadership experience than anything else to that point in my life,” he says.
Bartoletti has testified before Congress on seismic safety, and he continues to build upon Degenkolb’s world-class reputation as an industry leader. The company has won more than 100 national and local awards for engineering excellence. In 2012, it also was named Best Structural Engineering Firm to Work For by Civil + Structural Engineer magazine, which regularly includes Degenkolb in its top-10 list.
Career Highlights
| 2015-present | Chairman, Degenkolb Engineers |
|---|---|
| 2011-present | Chief Executive Officer, Degenkolb Engineers |
| 2008-2011 | President, Degenkolb Engineers |
| 2007-2008 | Chief Operating Officer, Degenkolb Engineers |
| 2001-2007 | Principal and Office Director, Degenkolb Engineers |
| 1993-2001 | Various Titles, Degenkolb Engineers |
| 1991 | BSCE, PURDUE UNIVERSITY |
| 1993 | MSCE, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN |