Russ Sykes

Russ, managing partner and part of a three-person leadership team for SmithGroup, leading with a focus on improving their project delivery process and efficiencies working across the firm. He's a recognized authority in technically complex projects and says he's learned to "anticipate change. Things change more often than they tend to expect." One of these changes has been SmithGroup's expansion into Shanghai, China, where Russ was responsible for starting their China operations. Lucky for them, Russ didn't follow his second career choice. "At one time, I thought seriously about becoming an oceanographer," he reveals. He would still like to learn to scuba dive, something he might be able to combine with another interest: traveling. "Australia and Antarctica are the two remaining continents that I need to check off from my bucket list," he notes.