The Real Harris: Meet Dan Nygaard

Tell us about your background. What led you to this Industry?

“After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Mechanical Engineering degree, I served as an officer in the Civil Engineering Corp, which is responsible for the planning, construction, operations and maintenance of Navy facilities worldwide.

“After leaving the Navy in 1992, I worked for energy service companies performing mechanical services. We often partnered with Harris on these projects and I was always impressed by the value they provided to our customers and company.”

What drew you to Harris? What makes you stay?

“Two years ago, this opportunity with Harris surfaced. I was attracted by the continued progress and growth Harris made over the years and by the value they continue to provide customers. While they were a much larger organization than the company I first worked with, their values were the same and I knew their values aligned with my own.

“I have always been most engaged in my work when I am doing good work with good people. I have that combination at Harris.”

What are your main responsibilities and what is the best part of your position?

“I am responsible for regional construction across the country where we serve customers through eight of our 14 regional offices. Each office is led by a general manager and my main responsibility is to provide service and support to those leaders to ensure each location is successful. Also, while we are all responsible for our own safety and the safety of our coworkers, I’m the executive leader accountable for safety. Keeping our employees safe is our first obligation.

“The best part about my position is that I get to visit job sites and see the good work we are doing for our customers and the good people who are doing it.”

Focus is important. How do you handle external factors that affect the business? How do you prevent yourself from over or under reacting?

“Having good leaders and good teams is the key to any enterprise and we are no different. We all have a job to do and my job is much easier when everyone does theirs. I’m fortunate that I have remarkable people in my organization who take care of our customers and our employees.”

Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest opportunities for Harris? Business challenges?

“I believe Harris provides unmatched value, which means we become a trusted partner for our customers. The challenge is getting the opportunity to prove that to customers, when customers often select contractors on low price on bid day. We provide innovative and integrated solutions that offer much more value than meeting the minimum contractual obligations at the lowest price.”

 What keeps you up at night?

“I usually don’t have any difficulty sleeping. I know if we focus on the right things and give it our best, things work out.”

What do you wish the public knew about the company?
“That we deliver a comfortable, efficient and safe environment so customers who occupy our spaces don’t have to think about us or our work. We are great at what we do so our customers can do what they do.”