The Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award is given each year to an AEC professional who has had tremendous impact on the company overcoming obstacles to achieve success through their courageous leadership. Congratulations to the 2022 award recipient, CMTA’s Former President, Ken Siebert!
Ken started his career at CMTA in 1983 as a graduate engineer from the University of Kentucky. He worked his way up to become a managing partner and founder of the CMTA Louisville office in 1990 and ultimately became company president in 2006. Ken recently retired from CMTA in 2020.
Under Ken’s leadership, CMTA grew from 45 employees and $9.8 million in revenue in 2006 to approximately 400 employees and $135M in revenue in 2020. In 2007, Ken also spearheaded the first educational Net Zero Energy building in the US, Richardsville Elementary School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This project became a landmark in sustainable design, proving zero energy was attainable with minimal increases in first costs and affordable public funding. Through Ken’s leadership, courage, and tenacity to be the best, CMTA has become the leader in energy-efficient design, designing more than 9.5M SF of Net Zero Buildings to date.
In 2012, Ken also was the driving force behind CMTA’s Energy Service Performance Contracting division (Energy Solutions) which guaranteed energy savings to owners or paid the difference if they didn’t deliver. Before that period, CMTA provided energy audit services, design services, and commissioning to other ESCOs serving the market. While Ken had always been discouraged by other energy performance project results in the industry, he was immediately receptive to the idea that CMTA could be different. He worked closely with Energy Solutions team leaders to develop a model that would allow CMTA to deliver projects with the same quality installation and data-driven results that CMTA requires from the projects we design. Ken believed these projects would be successful and would once again distinguish CMTA in the industry.
Ken was often quoted: "You cannot manage what you do not measure." The CMTA method Ken created is based on obtaining true data, diving into the details to enhance operation, and learning from each project to improve future designs.
Throughout his 37-year career tenure, Ken built CMTA from a small, local engineering practice to one of the largest and most accomplished engineering and performance contracting firms operating in the United States today. He created a collaborative and innovative culture that allowed CMTA to recruit and retain talented engineers, and he mentored exceptional leaders that later became partners in the firm, establishing new offices and leading CMTA practices around the country today. Due to his vision, Ken established himself and CMTA as national experts in energy-efficient, sustainable building design and has created long-lasting value for CMTA's clients and prosperity for employees and their families.
Ken Seibert’s Career Highlights include:
- The First Zero Energy Public School in the US
- Commonwealth of Kentucky, Governor’s Energy Leadership Award
- University of Kentucky College of Engineering’s Hall of Distinction
- ASHRAE 90.1 2016 Standards Committee
- University of Kentucky College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Committee
- Kentucky Workgroup to Develop New Guidelines for Kentucky Health Care Regulations
- Kentucky Green & Healthy Schools Subcommittee
- Kentucky House Bill 2 High Performance Building Committee Workgroup
Read the Zweig Group's press release for Ken's award or learn more about the Zweig Group awards here.