Emerging Leaders program participants, Richard Smith, Chris Poublon and Courtney Mattson with CEO Bob Chaput.

Stephen W. Cole Emerging Leaders Program graduates fourth class

The 2023-2024 class of the Stephen W. Cole Emerging Leaders Program has officially graduated! This year’s graduates were Courtney Mattson, P.E., Senior Geotechnical Engineer; Chris Poublon, Construction Services Technician-Grade I; and Richard Smith, Construction Services Manager; all out of our Londonderry, New Hampshire office.

This internal leadership training program is offered yearly and open to team members interested in professional growth, future leadership opportunities and contributing to our team’s success. The participants are given opportunities to learn more about the different service areas of the company, and corporate functions including finance, accounting, human resources, and safety. The knowledge and skills gained during this program will prepare the participants to play a leading role in the future growth and development of S. W. Cole.

Participants completed individual and group projects as part of this program. For her individual project, Courtney Mattson researched how to use technology to improve business functions. Chris presented on employee retention, rewards and recognition. Richard evaluated the viability of a potential new office location. For their group project, they created flow charts related to risk management for some of our services. These charts will be helpful tools in decision making for all our locations.

At a celebratory luncheon, the graduates had the opportunity to speak about their experiences in the program. The graduation was also attended by members of the Leadership Development committee, the mentors assigned to each graduate, and CEO Bob Chaput.

Congratulations to Courtney, Chris and Richard on completing this program! We appreciate all the work that you put in.

Courtney Mattson with a plaque commemorating her graduation from the Emerging Leaders program accompanied by CEO Bob Chaput.
Courtney Mattson with Bob Chaput
Chris Poublon with a plaque commemorating his graduation from the Emerging Leaders program accompanied by CEO Bob Chaput.
Chris Poublon with Bob Chaput
Richard Smith with a plaque commemorating his graduation from the Emerging Leaders program accompanied by CEO Bob Chaput.
Richard Smith with Bob Chaput
Four employees wearing safety gear at the site of a geotechnical engineering project.
As part of the program, participants completed a geotechnical engineering job shadow.
Emerging Leaders program participants, Richard Smith, Chris Poublon and Courtney Mattson with their mentors.
Each participant was assigned a mentor to guide them and help them get the most benefit out of the program. Left to right: Dave Dunning (mentor), Richard Smith (graduate), Chris Poublon (graduate), Derek Mello (mentor), Courtney Mattson (graduate), Roger Domingo (mentor)