KURT FRAESE, L.G.

Chairman of the Board, BSK Associates

Director, YK Holdings, Inc. (Yogi Kwong Engineers LLC; YK Drilling)

Director/Past President (2014-2017), Mountains To Sound Greenway Trust

Director, Humboldt State University Foundation Board

Past CEO/President (2007-2017) GeoEngineers, Inc.

Past President (2013-2014),
Geoprofessional Business Association

American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Senior Executives Institute (SEI) Graduate, 2008

About

Hello I am Kurt Fraese.  After a 35-year career as a professional geologist, and the privilege of being an executive leader of a geoprofessional firm, I am dedicating myself to assisting for-profit and non-profit organizations strengthen and advance their endeavours, utilizing my passions for consulting, teaching and writing.  My business experience spans a broad range that includes strategic planning, mergers/acquisitions, market intelligence, client feedback/engagement, ownership/leadership transition, executive coaching, change management, conflict resolution, professional development and peer review.   As a geoprofessional, I have provided consulting services to clients in the Energy, Development, Transportation, Federal Government and Water and Natural Resource markets; serving as project manager and/or principal in charge of over 1,200 site studies with a primary technical focus on the assessment and remediation of hazardous substances in various media.  My career began with Woodward-Clyde Consultants in 1983, serving in their geophysics division and later in their dams and tunnels group. I joined GeoEngineers, Inc. in 1988 and became the firm’s chief executive in March of 2007. I retired from the firm in April 2017.  

My former firm, GeoEngineers is a premier earth science and technology firm of 350 people with headquarters Seattle, Washington and fourteen offices around the U.S.  GeoEngineers' projects have spanned over 30 countries.
I offer fresh perspectives on: 

·         Communication Paths – impactful connections with the firm you lead
·         Leadership and Ownership Transitions from Within – from tsunami to ripple
·         “Ours” is the Second Most Important Profession on Earth – recognizing and believing in the value of what you do
·         The Third Dimension of Value - community involvement
·         Avoiding the Bookshelf - living the firm’s strategic plan
·         Contingency Planning – expect the unexpected
·         Leadership in a Crisis – you and your firm shall live
·         Healthy Relationships – the executive and the Board of Directors
·         A Path to Sanity – personal strategic plans
·         Graceful Integration of Work and Life – a leader’s guide to having fun

Each of these topics formed much of the fabric of my personal experience as a CEO and growth as a leader.  Additionally, the themes were the basis for a lot of dialog with other executives in my leadership roles at the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) and with the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.