Our new leader is ‘prime example of an individual with drive and desire’

By Keith Saltmarsh

I first joined Elm Electrical in the fall of 1986 through the STCC internship program, hired by Bob Bacon as an apprentice panel builder. After graduation, I transitioned to a full-time apprentice, and earned my licensure. As a Journeyman, I was introduced to the technologies Elm embraced, and I quickly took off learning about the industrial, aggregate, and water and wastewater industries.

By 1995, my role had grown to include estimating, project management, and building my own client base.  As I took on more responsibilities, I was fortunate to have opportunities that supported my path to leadership at Elm.  Along the way, I had the privilege of working with exceptional colleagues and benefiting from the invaluable mentorship of Bob Bacon. By 2000, I stepped into a senior leadership role as Vice President of Construction—a position that allowed me to grow further and continue learning every single day.

I began my current role as Senior Vice President in 2014, a position where I oversee nearly all of Elm’s electrical construction business units. And, let me tell you, I certainly didn’t get there alone. Elm applies smart growth principals, which includes setting ourselves up for success by surrounding our people with smart, self-driven leaders who embrace a strong work ethic. That allows us to keep evolving as a company and sets us up for continued, sustainable work.

I’m proud of the smart growth we have made at Elm and the role I’ve been able to play in that. Remarkably, in my 38 years at Elm we have grown from a company of roughly 25 employees to well over 200 today.

I wanted to share this snapshot of my journey with Elm as I feel it’s important to let you know how we have gotten here: from the ground, up. I am fortunate to have had great leaders to work with and mentor me and when I was given the opportunity to advance, I relished it. This opportunity is available to everyone if you chose to seize it.

So why the longwinded story? To demonstrate to you that we’ve made good decisions along the way to identify others at Elm who we felt had the same drive and desire to excel and move the company further than we ever have. The executive leadership team has the responsibility of the company’s sustainability. When Bob and I spoke about the next generation of Elm, it was clear to Bob and I that we needed to have leadership in place for the long term.

Early on, we identified Tim Rzeszutek as a rising star. Since joining Elm as an apprentice in 2000, Tim has been a standout.  As soon as we gave Tim the chance to learn, he took off like a rocket, learning everything we could show him and then some. Tim is self-driven, passionate in what he does, and always working toward making improvements and advancements in how we operate. He’s the prime example of an individual with drive and desire.  Tim is a forward thinker, applying himself to the job and everything we do at Elm.

When I finished talking with Bob about the future of Elm, it was clear that we already had the next generation of leadership in place. I am pleased to support Tim as our next executive leader at Elm. I am looking forward to my continued role and position at Elm and to support Tim and every employee at Elm.

Remember: Surround yourself with Great People, Learn something new every day, and if you have Drive and Desire, Elm is the right place for you to be!