Ecmweb 24674 Electrical All Stars 2019 Holmes Pr
Ecmweb 24674 Electrical All Stars 2019 Holmes Pr
Ecmweb 24674 Electrical All Stars 2019 Holmes Pr
Ecmweb 24674 Electrical All Stars 2019 Holmes Pr
Ecmweb 24674 Electrical All Stars 2019 Holmes Pr

2019’s Under 30 EC&M Electrical All Stars: Chris Holmes

May 16, 2019
Chris Holmes of Altimate Electric quickly proved himself and moved into a project manager role.

CHRIS HOLMES
Title: Project Manager
Company: Altimate Electric, Inc.
Location: Mount Airy, Md. 
Age: 27
Years on the Job: Five
Outside Interests: Spending time with family and friends at the beach, on the slopes, or on the golf course

Chris Holmes, who was born and raised in Germantown, Md., comes from a long line of experienced electricians. His father and grandfather both worked as master electricians, and his father owns his own company.

“I became fascinated with the electrical industry when I was younger, and my father took me to visit one of his job sites,” Holmes says. “It was at that moment that I really started to understand what electricians can accomplish firsthand. Since then, I knew I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps.”

To learn the trade, he attended the Project Management Institute at Purdue University in 2016, which widened his view on personally handling a successful project as an electrical subcontractor.

Every day, Chris Holmes tries to visit each project he is running. 

For the last five years, he has been employed at Altimate Electric, starting his career as an entry-level assistant project manager. In this role, Mike Bateman of Altimate Electric says Holmes quickly exhibited an eagerness to learn along with dedication to his assigned projects. He was very enthusiastic about developing himself along with sharpening his skills to earn a project manager position.

“In addition to the normal day-to-day training he received, he accepted every additional learning opportunity presented to him, many of which were on his own time,” Bateman says.

Holmes has also taken hands-on courses at Frederick Community College for residential and commercial work and completed continuing education training sessions in construction law and software.

“I believe the classes I attended for residential and commercial work have been the biggest benefit as they gave me further knowledge into the technical aspects of the trade,” he says.

Currently, he is managing three projects, which equates to $4 million of work. Some of his key responsibilities include keeping in constant communication with his foremen, general contractors, vendors, and contractors. In addition, he writes RFIs and reviews and adjusts the manpower schedule with the superintendent.

“Having enough manpower on the site is crucial for project completion,” Holmes says.

Holmes organizes EMT conduit on site. 

As a project manager, his favorite part is being able to independently manage his projects, and he says the executive leadership trusts him to solve any problems and manage all aspects of the projects. Their door, however, is always open if any questions arise, he says.

“The most challenging part for me is managing the schedule and manpower of each project, but it’s nice to know that I always have an experienced professional to turn to,” he says.

Holmes has been instrumental in teaming up with IT resources to ensure every foreman and project manager has a laptop with the latest software.

“At Altimate Electric, we try to stay ahead of the curve as technology is always advancing,” he says. “As a young professional, I know how crucial technology is in our industry.”

In five years, he plans to manage multiple electrical projects in the $10 million range, and in 10 years, he expects to have a diverse commercial electrical portfolio and be a key player of Altimate Electric’s leadership board.

“I plan to reach my goals through hard work and attention to detail,” Holmes says.

Altimate Electric promoted Holmes to a project manager in December 2018, and Bateman says he is now managing multiple single projects in the $300,000 to $3 million range.

“He remains focused, exhibits integrity and customer service skills, and cares about his assigned projects along with the end results,” Bateman says.

About the Author

Amy Fischbach | Amy Fischbach, EUO Contributing Editor

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