Five professionals at HEI have recently been named shareholders: Bjorn Berg, Trent Berg, Kelby Laxdal, Jacob Wognum, and Bret Zimmerman.

“These outstanding employees have earned their position as shareholders through their commitment to the company, work performance, and service to our clients as well as demonstrating HEI’s values of the ideal team player by being humble, hungry, and smart,” states Gregg Thielman, President/CEO. “Please help me welcome Bjorn Berg, Trent Berg, Kelby Laxdal, Jacob Wognum, and Bret Zimmerman as our newest shareholders. We’re proud of their accomplishments and look forward to their continued contribution to the growth and success of our firm.” 

Bjorn Berg

Bjorn Berg is a Civil Engineer with HEI’s Fargo team. Bjorn has more than 10 years of experience focusing on water resources and flood mitigation projects in the Fargo-Moorhead and Minot areas of North Dakota. Most notably, he has worked extensively on the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project. Outside of work, Bjorn enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, fishing, and cooking on the smoker. He is married to his wife, Brittni, and has a 4-year-old son (Joren) and a 2-year-old daughter (Kaisa). Bjorn likes to explore new places and plans to travel with his children as they get older. 

You can learn more about Bjorn in a past newsletter article.

Trent Berg

Trent Berg is a Civil Engineer and the Office Manager of HEI’s Grand Forks team. Throughout his 18-year career, he has performed design, project management, and construction management for highways, railroads, and other transportation projects. Trent has spent much of his career gaining a strong understanding of the region’s railroad industry and forging lines of communication with the area’s railway companies. Outside of work, Trent enjoys hunting, fishing, going to the lake and attending his children’s hockey events. Trent is married to his wife, Jennifer, and they have three children, Barron (7), Rocco (5), and Mila (3).

Kelby Laxdal

Kelby Laxdal is a Civil Engineer with HEI’s Grand Forks team. Kelby has more than a decade of experience providing transportation and municipal services across the region. He specializes in design services for urban settings, creating multi-modal transportation corridors that serve an array of users. Outside of work, Kelby enjoys spending time with his wife, Angie; their three daughters, Annistyn (11), Eisley (7), and Leona (6 months); and mini goldendoodle Ragnar. In his free time, Kelby enjoys working on home improvement projects, working in his shop, and building LEGOs with his girls.

You can learn more about Kelby in a past newsletter article.

Jacob Wognum

Jacob Wognum is a Civil Engineer with HEI’s Fargo team. Jacob enjoys helping clients find solutions to their water resource challenges, both large and small. He has primarily supported water resource districts and watershed districts by providing services such as watershed management, rural drainage, flood protection, construction administration, and more. Outside of work, Jacob enjoys spending time outdoors, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and spending time with his wife, Kyah, and their two children, Kinlee and Bridger.

Bret Zimmerman

Bret Zimmerman is a Civil Engineer with HEI’s Maple Grove team. Bret focuses on urban and rural stormwater modeling projects and has been involved in numerous hydraulic and hydrologic analyses for small- and large-scale projects. Outside of work, Bret enjoys traveling, going to the lake, craft beer, cooking, and waking up in the middle of the night to a toddler somersaulting out of his crib. He is married to his wife, Lexy, and has a 2-year-old son named Oliver. Lately, he’s been reading The Cat in the Hat and Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.