Eric Cone

Eric is the global director of Transit based in our Mississauga, Canada office.

Having worked at Hatch for more than 20 years, Eric has earned a respected reputation for his dedication to diversity and inclusion. He actively mentors and sponsors his colleagues, offering insights on career development, facilitating network opportunities, and advocating for the advancement to leadership roles. He makes a point to seek out opportunities and provide guidance for the women at Hatch, equipping them with the tools and confidence needed to navigate the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry.

In recognition of his efforts, Eric was honored with a 2024 Positive Change Award, which celebrates individuals who have significantly contributed to our journey of becoming a fully diverse and inclusive company.

Why do you believe in diversity and inclusion?

Promoting equity and equality within our organization is very important to me. I believe that we provide the best solutions for our clients when we have diverse and inclusive conversations that are represented across all our teams.

What do you think we need to do as individuals to improve inclusivity?

Individually, we need to check our biases and ask ourselves if we are really being inclusive. It’s one thing to say that we are, but unconsciously we might act differently. I think it’s important to be open and honest with our communications and encourage others to challenge us when they see or hear something that isn’t aligned with our company values.

What does positive change mean to you?

To me, positive change means always challenging the norm and looking for new and better ways of doing something.

What do you think are the toughest challenges facing our clients?

In the transit space, our clients are facing unprecedented levels of competition in the market with both projects and people. Project competition results in the increase of construction costs, and our clients look to us to help find more efficient and cheaper ways of delivering their projects. On the other hand, people competition means that individuals have more choice of where they work, therefore, we must find ways to entice and keep staff by providing challenging and rewarding opportunities.

What are you most proud of?

Professionally, I am most proud of my involvement in some of the largest global wins over the past 10 years within the Transit business unit. We focused on bringing our best teams and experience forward, conveying it in a way that resonated with our clients. Our owner-side Metrolinx RER 1 and 2 TA contracts along with our PDD OnCOrr project wins are some of my biggest accomplishments.

On a more personal level, I am most proud of my twin daughters. After lots of hard work, they have started studying engineering, all the while competing at competitive hockey, baseball, and field hockey levels.

What do you like most about working at Hatch? How do you think the Hatch culture is different from other companies?

I like that Hatch provides its employees with the opportunity to try different things. We are exposed to a variety of work and are allowed to change our specialities as our interests change. The company truly lives its manifesto by “engaging great people who make a difference” and “nurturing long-term relationships.”