“From the very first engagements, I was impressed with Kishan’s energy, initiative, and drive to be the best at what he did.” – Ben Henson, referee.

 

Striking the judges with clearly evidenced leadership and influence as a trusted and popular mentor in his organisation, Kishan Seger exemplifies ethical obligations to safeguard the public. He balances this with a strong passion for innovation and excellence in sustainability.  

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It started with a rumble. Suddenly, there was a sharp jolt that shook the house and toppled the furniture. It kept going, shaking, rolling, like it wasn’t going to stop. This was what Kishan experienced in November 2017, in Wellington as the Kaikōura earthquake struck. It is events like this, the trauma, the anxiety, the fear, the unknown, that reinforce to Kishan that his day job goes beyond a day job, that he, as a chartered structural engineer has an ethical obligation to safeguard the public. Fast-forward 5 years later in the early hours of the morning of January 4th 2023, he quickly sprung out of bed following a strong, shallow M5.1 earthquake near Te Aroha to lead a co-ordinated post-earthquake response. Committed to his clients, quick to react in all circumstances, thrives in challenges and determined to do the right thing. 

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Structural engineering is in Kishan‘s DNA. He loves looking at buildings wherever he goes – the restaurant, the gym, even on holidays. His genuine passion combined with the care to do the best he can for his clients and the community are what drives him. His expertise in seismic advisory is one of the many hats Kishan wears at Beca – amongst being a bid lead, job manager, client relationship manager, structural design lead, and sustainability champion. However, seismic advisory is what he has thrived in to shape him into the exceptional engineer he is today. Great communication skills, his ability to effectively convey the technical aspects of complicated seismic risk in layman’s terms, as well as to empathise and reconcile differences with other engineers, are key strengths of Kishan’s. These skills and experiences have resulted in Kishan becoming a trusted advisor and Beca’s key client relationship manager for ANZ Bank and Vodafone (Vodafone who he acquired as a new Beca client). 

Aside from caring for his clients, Kishan also cares about his peers. At Beca, Kishan is seen as the ‘go-to’ person for junior engineers. With a lot to juggle on his plate, he always takes the time to help junior engineers around him. He enjoys guiding them not just through their day-to-day projects, but also encouraging their career growth by giving them opportunities to grow and take ownership on his projects. He recognises the importance of feedback and passes on recognition for hard work, commitment and excellence to drive positive morale and culture. 

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Passionate about climate change and committed to lowering carbon emissions, Kishan has been integral in leading and growing Beca’s buildings’ sustainability carbon service offering, from delivering the first commission in 2020, to now a core part of Beca’s consulting service. A rewarding moment was when an opportunity in Japan stemmed from word of mouth of the great work the client had heard we were doing in New Zealand. 

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In summary, Kishan is well deserving to be the next Young Engineer of the Year. He has had many successes and achievements evident in his young career thus far and is hungry for many more. 

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