John Gustafson

A real estate investment corporation whose mission statement is "To work with nonprofit organizations in Detroit, MI to provide clean, safe and affordable housing to low income families."  Worked with Habitat for Humanity to build new homes and Blight Busters to restore dilapidated properties.

Business Development:  Utilizing existing contacts and by creating new ones, doubled the client base within 2 years with a diversified portfolio.  Assisted in the update of the Statement of Qualifications with Clark County and City of Las Vegas.  Initiated the installation of a computer network to centralize location of all files.  Analyzed current engineering software and led the purchase of the appropriate software and computers to improve efficiency.  Initiated a new format for improvement plans to make production easier and approval quicker.

Project Management:  Notable clients include the City of Las Vegas, Jackson-Shaw, MBA Associates. Panatonni Construction, Desert Cove Homes

Leadership/Team Building:  Analyzed the effectiveness of the current staff and working conditions and made the necessary adjustments to ensure profitability.  Developed, trained and led three design teams.  As the sole licensed engineer, reviewed and signed off on all technical studies and improvement plans.  Fostered a favorable working environment that led to low turnover. 

Business Development:  Diversified the client portfolio to include residential, commercial and industrial developers.  Initiated a new format for contracts that gave a clear indication of services provided and increased profitability.  Maintained timely payment of receivables from clients by involvement in the billing process.

Project Management:Notable clients included Lake Las Vegas, Lewis Homes, United Construction, Safari Properties, Newmark-Merrill, PHD Properties.

Leadership/Team Building:Analyzed existing personnel and made the hard decisions necessary to improve team unity and increase efficiency.Hired and trained new personnel and established a standard of excellence required for all team members. Held weekly team meetings to discuss project issues, schedules and budgets.Solicited input from team members on improving working conditions and efficiency.

Technical Expertise:  Proficient in the preparation of hydrology and traffic studies and creating improvement plans including grading plans, water/sewer plans, street plan and profiles, traffic control and streetlight/signal plans, horizontal control plans.

Initiative:Developed drafting standards and trained designers and interns in the creation of improvement plans.

Responsible for quality control and surveying for a contract to upgrade of Observatoria de Arecibo at Arecibo, Puerto Rico.  Held weekly safety meetings as required by OSHA.

I am very pleased to write a reference letter on behalf of John R. Gustafson. I have had the pleasure of knowing John for the past twelve years. I have worked with John at two separate companies. John has mentored me early in my career and helped provide me with many of the necessary skills that I have utilized throughout my career.

John is a diligent, detail oriented individual who is focused at any task that he undertakes. He is reliable, trustworthy, and has an excellent work ethic which is a reflection of his abilities and hard work. Throughout the years, he has successfully managed groups of individuals through a variety of different tasks within the engineering industry. John characteristically goes above and beyond what is needed in order to support the efforts of co-workers and successfully complete projects within schedule and budget.

Because of his background in engineering, John would be an asset to any company. In addition to the aforementioned qualities, John Gustafson displays great initiative and leadership skills. I am certain that John will be a dedicated and capable asset to anything that he pursues. If any other information is required, please feel free to contact me.

John Gustafson was with Baughman & Turner, Inc. as a staff engineer, Director of Engineering and then Vice President from January 2003 to May 2007. For personal reasons, but on a good note, John left Baughman & Turner to move to Detroit. While John was with Baughman & Turner, I found him to be a hard worker, a good engineer and a conscientious employee. He often worked late when a deadline was coming up. He was a tremendous mentor for our younger engineers and designers. He always made time to work out a problem with them. John was also responsible for bringing a lot of work to the firm. His networking skills allowed him to meet many people and their trust in him ensured that their business stayed with Baughman & Turner. During his tenure, our work load nearly doubled as did our revenues. We have missed having John as a part of our team, but know that he will be a fine addition to any firm.

John Gustafson is one of the most knowledgeable engineers and managers that I have ever worked with. He uses a motivational management style that in conjunction with his wide breadth of experience, made working for him very productive and rewarding.

John is an excellent technician in Civil Engineering, but what sets John Gustafson apart from other Civil Engineering professionals is his EXCEPTIONAL relationship building skills. John has demonstrated his leadership and commitment to the community in organizing the first Las Vegas Pink Slip Party (www.pinkslipmixers.com) Any firm looking to solidify loyalty from its existing clients and to EXPAND and grow the business acquiring NEW CLIENTS should talk to John Gustafson.

I have worked with many engineers over the years, John was one of the best. Not only is he well versed in all phases of Civil Engineering projects, he is also great in marketing and handling the people under him. In this economy you need someone who can bring in work and is not afraid to use whatever is needed to accomplish any and all tasks.

John worked for me at DEA and Associates for 6 years from 1992 to 1998.  His position was Sr. Project Engineer.  He was responsible for the complete design of various land development projects.

I have continued contact with John since that time and found him to be dependable and knowledgable in land development engineering.  He left for a different position and we were sorry to see him leave.