Nikola Kravik is a member of the Sales and Business Development Team at Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) as a full-time Director of Business Development – West Coast. His main responsibilities focus on client relationships, partnerships, management, strategy, project delivery and leadership, while providing business support for our other modules of Green Building Holdings (GBH): GBES, Blue Ocean Sustainability and Aetos Imaging special projects. As our presence on the West Coast increases, and sustainability demand rises pushed by decarbonization and carbon focus, he hopes to strengthen existing AEC+RE relationships and open new avenues for collaboration.   Education Nikola studied at the Mechanical University in Skopje, Republic of Northern Macedonia and got his AA in Motor Vehicle Design in 1998 and graduated from the San Francisco State University School of Mechanical Engineering with BS, major in Thermo & Fluids, 2007. His is a LEED AP and has a BEMP certificate provided by ASHRAE. He is past President of the ASHRAE Golden Gate Chapter and AIA Board of Directors in San Francisco.   Experience Nikola started as a Mechanical Designer after college using software modeling tools to predict energy use in the high rise residential and commercial market in San Francisco and worked for several Bay Area/US based renowned MEP companies. His roles included building and leading energy modeling teams, working with architects, contractors, and owners by designing ZNE pioneer buildings and managing large scale projects involving multidisciplinary consultants for a variety of industries and delivery methods. The projects range from small 10k Softball stadium at CAL Berkeley to 11M sf Vallco Town Center project in Cupertino-that had highest Sustainability and Low-Energy targets. He is an expert in codes and standards and has worked on the design of over 25 ZNE Buildings. Nikola’s focus the past several years have been team building, client management, engineering excellence and sustainable business operations.   Interests Nikola enjoys spending free time mostly with his wife Tiffany and 3 children Alexandra, Kian, and Kyle-taking them outdoors (when there are no fires around sunny California or crossing state lines), swimming up in the Russian River, kayaking and skiing in Lake Tahoe, camping in Big Sur or going down to Muir Beach near our house to read a book. He is a proud 5th/7th grade basketball coach now for Alexandra and Kyle. Nikola loves languages and meeting new people, and cultures on different continents!   Fun Fact Nikola was a professional basketball player and played for the Northern Macedonian National Junior basketball team in the mid ’90s. ​​ Show Highlights Tune in to the changes happening around the world in terms of crisis and policies because it will directly impact your projects.  Client service roles to bridge sales, business development and marketing to ensure clients get services in a timely manner and exactly the thing you promised. Understanding decarbonization and LEED won’t be enough if you don’t build relationships to connect those programs.  It’s imperative to get closer to the communities you are building for when trying to revitalize their town. Accelerate public and private partnerships by investing your time in key areas.  Nikola shares why California is a leader when embracing new eco technology in buildings.  Bridge in the gap of knowledge by using AI tools to help progress faster and innovate better. “People can talk about what it’s going to look like in 2050. But if we don't take care of some of the emergencies, visible things that are happening with climate change and some of the initiatives from the government or the local governments, then we're gonna be behind. I encourage everybody to be alert and be aware of what's going on around the world.” -Nikola Kravik  Get the episode transcript here!!   Show Resource and Information Linkedin Can’t Hurt Me by David G