Shiel Sexton is proud to announce Tim Marsh as Director of Preconstruction in the Carolinas. Tim has been with Shiel Sexton for 9 years and is an industry veteran with 19 years of construction experience. He has worked his way through the ranks from Assistant Project Manager to Senior Project Manager and now Director of Preconstruction for the Carolinas. As Senior Project Manager, he recently completed the Aspens at Bedford Falls project in Raleigh, NC, and the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University public spaces renovation in Tennessee.
Our clients, partners and fellow employees have gotten to know Tim well over the years, so we wanted to share a little bit more about Tim and things people may not know.
Tim, you have a Political Science major… how did you get into the construction industry? That is interesting. I went to a small liberal arts college that didn’t have specific schools. It was a more broad-based education, and I wanted to study something I enjoyed. I was interested in politics – thought that maybe I would go to law school. I did an internship in Washington DC at the Supreme Court. I saw that side of the world and decided it wasn’t for me. After a year out of college, the housing boom was going on and I got an opportunity with a homebuilder in DC and started from the ground up. I had zero construction experience. They took a chance and taught me the craft.
What career advice would you give to your 10-year-old self? Always try to learn and grow, push and challenge yourself into uncomfortable situations in your career. Once you are comfortable, be ready to move and change.
You grew up in Indy and are now raising your family in Charlotte. Tell us the truth… are you a Colts fan? Or Panthers fan? You don’t watch Peyton Manning win for 12 seasons and just forget about the Colts.
You were at Shiel Sexton for almost 5 years, left for 2 years, and have been now back for 4 years… Why did you come back? I came back, one because I wanted to come back, but I also missed the construction side. I had been in the development world for a while and I really enjoyed the challenge of construction. I came back to Shiel Sexton because I missed the organization and the people. The company has great values and I like that.
What did you learn while you were away? Working for a developer, I had a unique perspective of the owner’s side. I saw how we [contractors] were perceived and what makes owners tick. I learned how to manage GC’s a little better and that experience enhanced my ability to be more effective in what I do. I better understand the importance of how to make a client happy and how they approach a project.
You’ve held several positions in the company including Project Engineer, Project Manager and Sr PM. How does this help you as you step into your new role of Director of Precon? It gives me a well-rounded background – working all the way up and seeing all facets of the business. I have worked with precon for years working on proposals, bids and interviews for projects I was going to manage. It [director of preconstruction] is the next logical step for me to grow my career. It is my aspiration to help the company since I bring a different operations skill set to the role.
What’s a highlight about your career? Working with great people at Shiel Sexton and working on great projects. I have a diverse project background, I’ve constructed projects within the higher education, industrial and senior living markets. Being able to look back and reflect on accomplishments of not only great buildings, but great clients.