Employee Spotlight – Ethan Hatcher
Ethan Hatcher joins Nexus PMG as a project engineer after three years of experience in chemical manufacturing environments. This has included capital project development in a refinery, stints in production in ammonia and ammonium nitrate production plants, and maintenance engineering and scheduling.
What sparked your interest in Nexus PMG?
When I decided to study chemical engineering before college, my stated purpose for choosing that major was to help tackle the problem of being energy efficient and environmentally responsible. I discovered Nexus PMG and its focus on addressing this problem drew me to learn more. I followed Nexus for a year before starting work here and I am excited to use my technical skills to work on forward-looking projects.
What’s the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?
Make a plan and expect it to change. If you walk into any task without a plan, whether a whole project or your morning to-do list, you are setting yourself up to be led by external circumstances and not lead them. However, if you lack the ability to be flexible when facing obstacles, you risk delivering a work product that doesn’t address your stated goal. Finding a balance between flexibility and structure is important to getting things done.
If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
I would write a short book exploring the idea and importance of “daily bread” from the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible.
People would be surprised if they knew:
I was the lead in my high school musical in my senior year. We sold over 4000 tickets! I feel very lucky to have had that experience.
What is your favorite meal?
My family is from Louisiana and we make chicken and sausage gumbo (“land” gumbo) every Christmas. I started making it myself last year to practice and my family trusted me enough to lead the Christmas pot! But it is always a team effort, and every pot has its own character. We cook by feel, not by recipe.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I would love to be an expert sportsman. I already love hiking and camping and being outdoors, and the thrill and payoff (and sometimes heartache) of a hunt would bring me even more knowledge of nature. Besides this, the idea of harvesting my own meat from my local environment and only eating what you can fairly take has grown more attractive to me over the past several years. While all fish and game would be rewarding, turkey hunting and fly fishing I would love to learn especially.
What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership is a balance of ownership and humility. Ownership is what allows you to be decisive when faced with alternatives (even doing nothing is a decision!). Humility is the way to learn and allow others the space to learn as well.
If you could implement one sustainable swap in the world right now, what would it be?
A robust transportation system of high-speed electric trains.
Meet the rest of the Nexus PMG team.
