By Amelia Levin
April 01, 2014, FE&S Magazine (PDF)
A strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit helped Kristin Sedej forge her own path.
That’s been Sedej’s style from the start. Even when flying solo on a project for the first time, Sedej quickly wowed Soldier Field’s general contractor by fending off a fee-seeking health inspector with a simple hand sink switch-a-roo. Truth be told, she was shaking at the knees.
“I was a suburban girl and here I was having to travel through Chicago to get to the stadium — I didn’t even know where to park or how to find the trailer,” she says. At just 34 years old at the time, “I had barely started my career in consulting and was feeling like a little kid.”
Still, while under pressure a wave of confidence came over Sedej. It’s the story of her career. “Because I didn’t have anyone around me saying, ‘this is how we do it,’ or ‘we’ve always done it this way,’ I’ve been able to try new things,” Sedej says. “That’s kind of representative of how I’ve stumbled through this career. My whole life I’ve been told I’m bullheaded and independent and sometimes it was seen as a bad thing.”
Not anymore. In fact, business partner Harry Schildkraut says these are Sedej’s best qualities. “We share the same do-what-you-have-to-do-to-get-it-done-and-meet-the-deadline mentality,” he says. “She has a vision for S2O Consultants that goes far into the future and wants to be the best consultant she can be.”
