Continuing a legacy of leadership
President Chris Smith, right, and past President Tim Seibert, P.E., both got their start with Carl A. Nelson & Company as project managers. Every president of the firm since the 1950s has been promoted from within. (CANCO)
1 month, 4 weeks ago
Every Carl A. Nelson & Company president since 1953 has been promoted from within.
By Craig Neises | cneises@carlanelsonco.com
In a note of thanks for being invited to Carl A. Nelson & Company’s 75th anniversary celebration, the daughter of the firm’s namesake closed by reflecting on remarks made by the company’s president at the time about the role luck must have played in such a long run of success.
Rejecting that take, Carol Nelson Cane wrote 50 years after her father’s death, “I know that what really made it possible is that you did something right — a lot of things.”
“You have much to be very proud of,” she continued. “I hope Dad in some way knows about these fine developments. I know he would be grateful to all of you for remembering him, for keeping the name of the company, and — most of all — for maintaining the standards that meant so much to him.”
Maintaining those standards has now seen the company into its 111th year. And just as Nelson Cane declared in her August 1988 letter, Carl A. Nelson & Company’s ongoing success as a provider of construction services still can be traced to the dedication of generations of employees, officers and shareholders.
Carl Nelson, who started the company in 1913, incorporated as Carl A. Nelson & Company (CANCO) in 1946, and took on the title of president. Since the company was purchased following Nelson’s death in 1948, it has survived and thrived through the leadership of seven others who have served in the role and passed it from one to the next, promoting from inside the company from 1953 on. That tradition continued through the firm’s most recent leadership change, as President Chris Smith picked up where his predecessor, Tim Seibert, P.E., left off in 2023 following 16 years at the head of the company. A year later, Seibert remains on the company’s board, and is working to wrap up his own projects while still providing valuable insights to others, before eventually taking on the new adventures of retirement. Looking at the future, Seibert believes Smith is the right person to keep the company focused on its goals and its mission.
“I am certain that the company will continue to be a value adding, trustworthy partner for our clients,” said Seibert, who has spent 30 of his 43 years in construction with CANCO, arriving in 1994.
“Chris is an excellent leader who cares about the company and its employees,” Seibert said. “Under his leadership I expect the company to continue to get better and continue to be a successful company.”
Looking back on Seibert’s leadership, meanwhile, Smith says he inherited a standard that built on the company’s long history of success, and that left it well-positioned for the future.
In large measure, Smith said, the firm today is a reflection of its longest-serving president.
“Our managers and supervisors possess many of the same characteristics that Tim has instilled,” said Smith, who was recruited to the firm by Seibert during a career fair at Iowa State University in 1998. “We lead our projects and our team by example, we approach our clients’ projects as if they were our own. We manage with humility and always striving to improve and be our best. We operate with honesty and integrity and do not try to hide our mistakes – we fix them.”
CANCO's history of leadership
Carl A. Nelson founded the firm in 1913, reorganized it as an employee-owned corporation in 1946 and ran it until his death in 1948. Presidents since that time are:
• Harry Murray (1948-1953)
• Hugh Kneisley (1953-1965)
• Henry “Bud” Frietzsche (1965-1977)
• Louis Kuepper (1977-1981)
• Steve Leavitt (1981-1995)
• Tim Ballard (1995-2007)
• Tim Seibert (2007-2023)
• Chris Smith (2023-Present)
Clients reflect on Tim Seibert's leadership
• Rob Scott, superintendent of the Burlington Community School District, who has been working with Seibert on a major renovation of Burlington High School, said the district is “so lucky that we re able to get his leadership on this multi-year project.”
• “His legacy reflects a commitment to quality, customer service and value,” retired longtime Great River Health CEO Mark Richardson said of Seibert.
• Doug Hankes, chief product officer at Western Smokehouse Partners, credits Seibert’s unique perspective for helping to complete a plant retrofit project on-time, said his “legacy of leadership has been stamped on the great team of people (at CANCO) as they share the same focus on quality and safety, at the site or on the phone.”
Clients show support for Smith's leadership
• Fort Madison Community School District Superintendent, Dr. Erin Slater, said after a recent K-12 project, “Chris being at the helm of CANCO assures the company of positive outcomes, not only on the bricks and mortar of a project, but also the building and establishment of collegial relationships and trust with the company and its clients.”
• “I find a lot of value in what Carl A. Nelson brings to the project,” said John Mercer, Great River Health’s vice president of facilities. “Whether it be financially, or collaborating to find the best outcome for the long-term benefit of the project. I appreciate Chris and the dedication he has to always trying to do the best possible job for our organization.”
Our Leadership Team
Carl A. Nelson & Company clients benefit from the experienced construction and financial management leadership found in the team of vice presidents who manage different aspects of our business. All are employee-owners and members of the Board of Directors. Those leaders are:
Dan Culp, VP of Operations (Burlington)
Dan joined Carl A. Nelson & Company almost 30 years ago after spending the first six years of his career putting his construction engineering degree from Iowa State University to use for two of the nation’s largest construction firms.
He is responsible for project management supervision in our Burlington, Iowa, office; manages our in-house estimating and design efforts; and serves as a project executive on architectural projects for K-12, healthcare and other clients.
Jamie Stanley, VP of Operations (Cedar Falls)
Jamie started with the firm 22 years ago after first completing a pair of summer internships at CANCO prior to grduating from Iowa State in construction engineering.
Following a brief departure from the firm, he returned in 2008 to establish a presence for the company in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Today he leads the project management team in our north office while also providing executive oversight and expert leadership of industrial and related projects.
Julie Totten, VP of Administration
Julie came to CANCO in 2021 after previously gaining more than 20 years of experience in corporate accounting, payroll and finance, and company financial management in the livestock industry.
As Vice President of Administration, she leads all business operations at CANCO, including accounting, payroll and benefits, human resources, information technology, our team of project management assistants, reception and more.