Spotlight: Hoos Ali
If you’ve worked with Hoos Ali, superintendent in Savannah, GA then you know this about him: he’s genuine, honest, energetic, and a great storyteller. He had an interesting analogy for his favorite fundamental (No. 1, Act with Integrity). “When I was in school, a professor gave us 20 items and asked which one was the most valuable. One of the things was electricity—and none of the other ‘very valuable’ objects would run without it. That’s how I think of integrity—nothing works without it.”
How did Hoos come to be in heavy civil construction? “In high school I learned about mechanical drafting and that sparked my interest in drawing. How I got where I am now, well, I wanted a car. My dad said to me, ‘The day you can tell me how a car works, is the day I’ll get you a car.’ What an engine is, etc. As I learned about cars, I realized I wanted to be an engineer.”
Not too long after that, Hoos was accepted to Manhattan college, a reputable New York engineering school. He spent 4 years in mechanical engineering, got an internship with a great company as a junior and came on as a full-time employee with that company his senior year. During college is when he met his future wife, Stephanie. “It was the first Monday of the football season—giants were playing the bears. Stephanie’s roommate wanted to watch the bears play. Restaurant was empty except for 12 people. I saw her and I thought, wow. I asked my roommate, ‘do I have a chance?’, went over and talked to her and that was it.”
Fast forward to 2019 and Hoos and Stephanie had moved to Georgia from NYC. Moving away from New York City was a crucial decision in Hoos’ and Stephanie’s life. It was proof that they are the type of people who make things happen for themselves—who go out and live. “The past two years has been a perfect example of making my life my own life,” Hoos reflected with pride. “When we decided we were going to move to Savannah, that was us making our life our own. My wife and I, we did it together.” In April of 2021 they made another big life leap when they bought a house. “Doing everything I can to make this house a home is what I like to do off work,” he says.
Why does Hoos stay at C.A. Murren? “Someone told me once that with work there are only two things that matter: how close you are to home and the people you work with. I like CA Murren because I like the people and I am close to home.” He says he also enjoys the freedom to be responsible over his own project. “We are directly responsible for the bottom line. Challenging but I like it. C3 will always back you up when you make a decision on your job because it’s your job.”
For words of wisdom, Hoos has this to say: “Don’t point the finger, point the thumb. You’ll get further than those who don’t.”
Hoos, we are grateful to have you as part of the team. Keep stretching outside of your comfort zone and keep that positive outlook on life.
