At Entuitive, one of the career development opportunities we provide our team is the chance to relocate to another office, on both short- and long-term work assignments. We call these mobility assignments – a great way to grow their career through diversity of experience, meeting new people, and, of course, seeing new places.  

Matt Clemente is a Contract Administrator currently with our Restoration group. He recently moved from Toronto to our growing Ottawa office, helping lead the Centre Block Construction team. 

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Matt. Can you tell us more about when you first joined Entuitive?  

I joined Entuitive as a Contract Administrator in June 2020. Being a pandemic hire, it was an interesting and challenging time to join since for the most part, we were working remotely. I was excited that eventually I was going to be working downtown as I’ve always wanted to be a part of a big Toronto office. Now we’re back to in-person work and it’s great. 

My first project was the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation, where I was working closely with Andrea Green, Stephen Brown, and other team members who were a part of Brown & Company Engineering Ltd. before the firm joined Entuitive. I worked with some of them on previous projects before when I was at a different company, so it was nice to reconnect, and it helped make my transition smoother. 

Once the project finished up, I was working on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. It was an amazing experience to be exposed to four of the stations on that network: Cedarvale, Fairbank, Oakwood, and Yonge/Eglinton. I was able to work closely with Chongsong Yu and other members of the Transportation team.

Photo taken by Matt of the underpinning at Cedarvale Station.

I also got to work on on interesting project with Mike Hillcoat. We were tasked with providing Engineering and Contract Administration Services to restore the Heritage Signal Towers within the Union Station Rail Corridor. The three historic buildings control all the train traffic in and out of Union Station, one of North Americas busiest rail terminals. I was also able to work closely with Matt Duffy and the rest of the Restoration team. 

Those are three very exciting, large projects! What brought upon your transition to our new Ottawa office?  

A few months ago, I started working on Centre Block‘s massive renovation in Ottawa, where Entuitive is providing Construction Engineering services for the temporary steel shoring.   

When Mike Meschino and some of the senior leaders were speaking to me about moving to Ottawa to help lead the Centre Block construction team, I was excited and ready to play a key role in the renovation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime project since a renovation like this might come around every 100 years. Another neat thing about Centre Block is that it blends my love of construction, engineering, politics, architecture, and history into one big project! 

My decision was also made easier knowing that Megan Rhind is leading our Ottawa office. I’ve known Megan for a few years now, and it has always been awesome to work with her. 

Matt capturing a snowy day in front of Centre Block.

That’s amazing you took the initiative to make the big move. How has Ottawa been so far?  

It’s been great! I’m still settling in and exploring the city more and more. The city is beautiful and if there’s people who are considering a relocation, Ottawa is definitely an option worth looking into. I’ve discovered that our nation’s capital has a big city feel with a small town charm. Our downtown office is also nice, and I like how close the team is. 

Also, I do want to make clear that although I’ll embrace the Senators and wish them well, I will always be a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs! 

This move really sounds great for your personal and professional career development. What are some of your future plans and goals at Entuitive?    

I’m excited to continue working on other structural and restoration projects aside from Centre Block and getting more of a foothold into the construction engineering market here. I plan to become the go-to-person for site work in the city! Overall, I’m looking forward to seeing the continued growth of our Ottawa office.

If you would like to reach out to Matt, you can do so here.