Peter (2nd from right) with other staff in the Kitchener office

Growing up, Peter Lejcar had dreams of flying the skies as a commercial airline pilot. However, he had an early exposure to engineering and a role model at home--his father was a mechanical engineer. Peter recalls, “My father was a very practical, technically strong engineer. He would complete his tasks quietly, letting his successes speak for themselves. He was my example of what an engineer should be.”

From a young age, Peter was inspired to commit to his studies and work hard--lessons his father taught him to achieve his goals. Upon entering university, Peter decided to study engineering, which coincidentally had the identical first year course load required to become a pilot.  

Very early in his career, Peter was given opportunities to employ his entrepreneurial skills. In his first job, Peter created an entire engineering services division and hired some of his own staff. Inspired by a mentor, Peter soon established his own consultancy, where he learned valuable lessons on flexibility, and how to generate work and manage a business.

In his career, Peter continuously strives for improvement and advancement by assessing opportunities. It’s this philosophy that led him to Associated Engineering.

“Coming to Associated offered the opportunity to work with an industry colleague who I knew would make me a better engineer. Also, working with a growing, employee-owned company resonated with my entrepreneurial spirit.”

Peter joined Associated in 2013 as a Senior Project Manager, and now manages our infrastructure team in Kitchener and is a shareholder of the company. He works on and leads a variety of infrastructure projects, from roads and roundabouts to bridges, drainage plans, and water, wastewater, and waste management facilities. He tells us that since joining Associated, the Homer Watson Boulevard, Fischer-Hallman Road, and the Waterloo Landfill Transfer Area Master Plan have been memorable projects, because of the strong relationships developed with clients and the project team.

“Part of a project’s success is open and honest communication with our clients. We’ve certainly based our success on providing a ‘Better Client Experience’ on every project we work on. My mantra is, your clients should feel like they are your only client.”

As a Project Manager, Peter shares that he has been able to flourish by working with an inspiring team. As a manager, Peter finds it very rewarding to lead the team and grow the Kitchener operation. Peter strives to lead by example and not worry too much about the ‘small stuff’. With his team, he enjoys having fun and getting to know each person’s potential. 

He advises younger staff to learn as much as possible from mentors, and to never stop learning and improving. He understands that young professionals will experience a variety of challenges in their career, but it’s how they apply the ‘lesson learned’ in their future endeavours that matters.

Outside of the office, Peter enjoys staying fit, playing the guitar, listening to music, and spending time with his family. He also likes making stained glass windows, when he has time.  And one day, Peter still hopes to fulfill his dream of becoming a licensed pilot.