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July 2015
Vice President Sales and Business Development Rocla Concrete Tie Inc.
— by Julie Sneider, senior associate editor
Brett Urquhart was still studying business administration at Regis University when he went to work part time in 2006 for Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. as a project manager for transit and industrial jobs. At the time, he thought the position would be a temporary gig, the type of work experience that might lead to a full-time job somewhere else after college.
He grew up familiar with Rocla. His father, Peter, helped start up the company's U.S. operations in 1987 after the family moved to the Denver area from Australia when Brett was a toddler. Today, Peter is Rocla's president and chief executive officer.
"I never thought it would become a career path," Brett Urquhart says of the part-time work. "But through the project management role, I created some good relationships that turned into good sales opportunities, and things blossomed from there."
After he completed his studies at Regis in 2008, he went to work for the company full time. Since then, Urquhart has progressed to sales manager, and last year was promoted to vice president of business development. In his current role, he oversees commercial contracts and sales-related matters for the company, which supplies concrete ties to the Class Is, passenger- and industrial-rail markets.
Rocla Executive Vice President Eliseo Bandala says Urquhart has "added great value" to the company.
"Brett has been instrumental in structuring Rocla’s contracts and agreements with clients in order to meet and exceed customers' expectations and deliver quality and timely products to the market," Bandala wrote in his nomination of Urquhart as a Rising Star.
Urquhart has helped expand Rocla's business in recent years, including the company’s new subsidiary in Mexico. In addition, he’s in charge of developing a team of sales and project personnel, according to Bandala.
"He continues to develop new employees and educate them on how to improve the supply chain for our clients," Bandala says.
Educating employees and clients is what Urquhart enjoys most about his job. He also appreciates the lasting business relationships and friendships he's gained from serving as a rail-industry supplier.
"The railroad industry in particular offers people the ability to create long-term relationships, and my philosophy toward showing up to work every day is very much in line with that," Urquhart says. "I really enjoy being able to do something that gives a financial benefit to people personally and professionally."
His five-year goal is to continue helping Rocla find new growth opportunities.
"I hope my growth coincides with that," he says. "Continuing to gain an understanding of the investment and financial side of the business is a personal goal of mine, as well."
His sales pitch to young professionals who might consider railroading as a career field would be this: "It's a multibillion-dollar industry. Once you're in it, you get the opportunity to advance [early on]. It offers people a lot of long-term success."
Rising Stars 2015 Award Winners:
Francois Belanger, CN
Todd Blaylock, HNTB Corp.
Jonathan Chastek, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.
Oliver Dolder, Railtech Welding & Equipment
John Riley Edwards, RailTEC, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stefan Loeb, Watco Cos. LLC
Jessica Moore, Union Pacific Railroad
Amanda Nightingale, King County Metro Transit
Celia Ann Pfleckl, Amtrak
Charles Rennick, Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.
Kaleigh Reyes, GE Transportation
Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, Federal Railroad Administration
Bruno Riendeau, VIA Rail Canada Inc.
Curtis Shogren, CSX Transportation
Alanna Strohecker, AECOM
Keith Tarkalson, Stacy & Witbeck
Brett Urquhart, Rocla Concrete Tie Inc.
Tara Vesey, Dakota Gasification Co.
Lexie Walker, Metra
Adam Weiskittel, BNSF Railway Co.
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