Sri Kumar, P.E., has been awarded the New Professional Engineer of the Year Award by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and was recently recognized at the 2023 Professional Engineers Conference in Louisville. This award recognizes a young NSPE member who has made outstanding contributions to the Engineering Profession and the community during the early years of one's career.

“I want to say what an honor it is to be receiving this award, as it shows that this profession believes in our future engineers and our future leaders,” said Kumar as he received the award. “I want to thank my mentors in the industry, as well as my mentors, friends, and colleagues at Connico who have had my back every step of the way. I would also like to thank NSPE – as I said this award is a prestigious and humbling honor, and I hope to well bear the torch of inspiring other engineers along the road, because engineers are the doers of great things.”

Kumar is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Connico, a national consultancy serving the aviation, civil, and transportation markets. In his current role, he is responsible for outlining the company’s strategy for the future, ensuring the company continues to execute its goals, and delivering excellence to clients across the country. He is also committed to building Connico’s employee-focused culture and is passionate about developing a strong, diverse, and uniquely talented team who work each day on solving some of the nation’s most complex infrastructure challenges.

Kumar started his career at Connico over a decade ago after receiving his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University. His first role with the firm was doing boots-on-the-ground engineering and construction project work, including tackling complex challenges at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, one of the world’s busiest commercial airports. There, he developed a deep understanding of local soil conditions, concrete mix design specifications, and airfield electrical lighting requirements.

He later moved to Connico’s Hebron, Kentucky office, beginning work on a nearby greenfield roadway construction project, and at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport where he led projects involving the design and construction of roadways and parking lots, demolition of old terminal buildings, and runway pavement condition studies. He has also led the execution of projects at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson, Mississippi, and the Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia, including a runway rehabilitation that required recurring 5-hour nighttime closures of the airport’s single runway—accomplishing a small piece of the project each night and then restoring the runway to operational use each day.

In addition to his career and technical achievements, Kumar is active in the engineering profession. Since joining the NSPE Northern Kentucky Chapter in 2014, he has increased his involvement and recently served as chapter president. In 2015, he was selected to participate in Kentucky’s Leadership PE program and is also a graduate of Nashville’s CEO Connect, a leadership program for budding CEOs. In 2021, he was named a 40 Under 40 award recipient by Airport Business magazine.

Kumar has presented and moderated numerous times at various technical and non-technical conferences. He is the past chair of the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) Young Professionals Forum, served as chair of the 2022 ACC Annual Conference, and currently serves on the ACC Board of Directors, as well as a director on the ACC Foundation.

Giving back to his community is also something Kumar is passionate about, volunteering annually with his local Future City competition and as a judge, scorer, and proctor for Kentucky MATHCOUNTS. Additionally, he is involved with Amigos, a group supporting young people from significantly underdeveloped countries through music and education. His work has involved fundraising and traveling to other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, to put on educational events for students. Music was foundational in Kumar’s childhood and remains a huge part of his life through his guitars and ukuleles.