We sat down with our President, Mike Britt, to talk about his history with the firm—from intern to leader—and the culture he hopes to foster as the company continues to expand.
You started at M&M as an intern. What made you want to stick around, and what kept you inspired to grow here?
Believe it or not, I grew up right here in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, the proud home of Modjeski and Masters’ headquarters. My first job in the industry was as an M&M intern.
When I first started at M&M, coming out of my first year of engineering school, I knew next to nothing. It felt like everyone at the company knew so much more than I ever would. But M&M was full of such good and patient people who took the time to show me the ropes.
It was a place I took great pride in being a part of almost immediately. I remember flipping through my engineering textbook and realizing almost half of the pictures of bridges had been designed by M&M.
Coming out of school, you think you know everything. But then you join a place where you're surrounded by people who’ve been doing this for years, and suddenly you’re learning things that weren’t even mentioned in the textbooks. Learning how to forge relationships, how to build a business—nothing can prepare you for that except real world hands-on experience, and I was lucky to learn from the best here at M&M.
And that’s what kept me here. Everyone I met had so much wisdom and expertise, and I love being part of the grind and growing alongside them.
How would you describe M&M’s culture to someone just joining the team?
Modjeski and Masters has an outstanding legacy and a strong reputation in the industry, and it can be intimidating from the outside. But then you get here, and it’s a strong team of about 200 really welcoming people.
We’re a relatively small team with big-game results—tight-knit, focused, and delivering like the pros.
We have a culture of mentorship. You can ask anyone for five minutes, and they’ll happily sit down, listen to your questions, and get you up to speed. Everyone knows everyone. Everybody is valued. And even as we’re in this period of growth, we’re not going to lose that culture. I will always welcome people knocking on my door.
People sometimes ask me how I got to where I am today, but here’s the truth—I didn’t have a clear-cut plan. You just do the best you can, make friends along the way, be a good worker and things will start happening for you.
What's the best part of your job as CEO?
In our world, it can be a long, difficult road to secure a project. But watching our team come together and go above and beyond to secure new work that we can all be excited about? I take great pride in that.
Watching the team rake in awards, seeing them celebrated in the media, hearing them speak at conferences—these are the wins that keep us all excited to be in this industry and excited to be at this company.
I also love watching young engineers come into their own. I love watching them grow their confidence and start to play in the same space as other industry leaders, both at M&M and nationwide. That’s what we’re all about here, and I have the privilege to be a part of that, fostering the kind of top talent that will be setting the bar in our industry for decades to come.
What’s something outside of engineering that helps you be a better leader?
I coached my kids in their sports teams when they were younger, and I learned some truths about what it means to be a part of a team.
Everyone plays a crucial role. You need all hands on deck, it’s not just about the star player. And when you understand that, when you start really thinking about your role as it relates to the whole, it changes the way you think about the work.
Just like in engineering, a good team only functions if it has all the right components. We’re trying to build a culture of mutual support here. When we work together, that’s when things run smoothly. We’re able to tackle complex problems and come up with innovative solutions that no one person could have come up with on their own.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about M&M’s future?
When I took on this role, my main goal was to keep the torch lit. We have more than a century of legacy building and maintaining some of the most iconic structures in this country, and I want to build on that foundation.
We also take great pride in being an independent and employee-owned firm. That’s getting harder and harder to find in this day and age, and it’s more than just symbolic that everyone has a stake in the company—it’s part of our lifeblood.
We have a bigger workforce than ever before, with a mix of seasoned professionals and new talent with fresh ideas and a hunger to grow. I want everyone to feel like they’re in the same boat because we all play a part in shaping this company. We’re all responsible for carrying that torch into the future.