As I settle into my role as Curator of Innovation at Mead & Hunt—a position I started in 2024—I want to honor our company’s milestone anniversary by reflecting on what innovation truly means for a company with 125 years of history. Our version of innovation goes beyond chasing the latest technology trend. It upholds a tradition that began with our founder, Daniel W. Mead, who pioneered hydrologic engineering in 1900.
When I joined Mead & Hunt in 1999, I couldn’t have imagined the innovation journey ahead. I’ve witnessed firsthand how a company with deep engineering roots has consistently reinvented itself to stay relevant through more than a century of change.
The Birth of a Structured Approach to Innovation
My innovation story with Mead & Hunt began when our CEO, Andy Platz, introduced the “Innovation Café” in the early 2010s. I remember the excitement as employees gathered in these sessions, sharing ideas that would typically remain siloed within their departments. Andy would often say, “Innovation is not just about new ideas. We want to create an environment where those ideas can flourish.” This would turn into a philosophy that ultimately guided our future.
The Innovation Café created ripples throughout the company, eventually leading to the formation of the Innovation Lab in 2015. I was fortunate to witness its evolution from concept to reality—an important early part of our innovation was a dedicated grant request program to support employees to turn ideas into concrete solutions. These successes created momentum to embrace innovation even more in the years that followed.
From Roadmap to Reality
A pivotal moment came in 2019 when our COO, Amy Squitieri, developed the Foresight + Innovation + Technology (FIT) Program. I remember when Amy unveiled the FIT Roadmap, laying out a clear path for how we would continue to foster innovation, incorporate foresight, and continue to recognize the importance of technology. “Innovation is a journey, not a destination,” Amy would remind us, and that perspective fundamentally changed our approach.
“Innovation is a journey, not a destination.”
As one of several program managers supporting this initiative, I worked closely with teams across the company implementing the FIT Roadmap. When I was selected as the new Curator of Innovation last year, I was thrilled knowing I’d continue to help shape our future with innovation.
Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement
In 2020, as pandemic-related challenges forced us to rethink many aspects of our operations, we launched the FIT HUB, our online platform for idea sharing, ranking, and execution. It quickly expanded into an idea community that provides access to everyone across the company to engage in innovation.
During this time, we initiated innovation workshops led by FIT that generated nearly 100 ideas that identified emerging trends and technologies that could impact our business. As these ideas were added into the FIT HUB, participants developed business cases which led us to invest in visualization technologies, virtual reality, and data analytics—capabilities that distinguish us in the marketplace and increased our ability to innovate.
The impact of the FIT HUB lies in its ability to connect people across disciplines, geographies and departments. We designed and hosted another series of innovation workshops in 2022, I watched as over 125 employees collectively mapped the next decade of industry trends. Seeing the full range of professionals in our company collaborating to envision our future, strengthening our culture of continuous improvement.
FIT’s strong emphasis on continuous improvement is exemplified by the work of FIT program manager Candace Gosney, whose skills and leadership in integrating LEAN, Agile, and other principles into workflows and our processes have led to countless successful innovations. As Candace says, “When we listen to our employees and provide them with the resources and support they need to innovate, we enable continuous improvement and drive meaningful change.”
I’ve seen this truth in action countless times in the solutions developed to help our people, support growth, and adjust to change.
What makes me proudest are tangible results—the FIT HUB holds more than 475 ideas that have moved from concept to implementation, resulting in over 65 innovations through our grant process, with another dozen currently in development. I am excited to continue to support innovation by encouraging creativity, the generation of ideas, and even more innovations in the months and years to come.
Looking to the Next 125 Years
As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, I find myself looking at our history and noticing the common threads—technical excellence built upon the ability to anticipate and adapt to change.
Today, my focus is on creating more opportunities for creativity, moving ideas into action, strengthening strategic partnerships, and facilitating research and development to prepare us for tomorrow’s challenges.
When I walk through our offices and see our people using technologies that didn’t exist when I joined the company in 1999, I’m reminded that change and innovation go hand in hand. As Curator of Innovation, my greatest responsibility is to provide successful ways to inspire and foster an inquisitive spirit that can carry us forward for the next century.
The pioneering spirit that drove Daniel Mead to found this company in 1900 still drives us today. The tools may change, but our commitment to innovation as the cornerstone of our success remains unwavering. I’m honored to be part of this continuing story—one where we constantly ask not just “What’s next?” but “How can we create what’s next together?”
