Dianoush Emami is a seasoned leader with over 40 years of experience in engineering and construction within the utility energy sector, specializing in electrical distribution and transmission systems. Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Emami has held pivotal roles across nuclear, industrial, and commercial industries, consistently delivering innovative solutions and technical excellence. His expertise includes developing electrical standards and specifications for municipalities and investor-owned utilities, as well as leading complex technical, contractual, and commercial evaluations to ensure the selection of qualified and competitive partners.
Since 2014, Mr. Emami has served as Chief Executive Officer of Parkia, Inc., where he oversees all aspects of operations, strategy, and resource management. Under his leadership, Parkia has successfully engineered and constructed numerous underground transmission projects—ranging from 69kV to 230kV—for major utilities including LADWP, SCE, PG&E, SDG&E, and APS. His deep technical acumen and business insight have established Parkia as a trusted partner known for delivering projects with uncompromising safety, quality, and performance standards across the western United States. As executive sponsor, Mr. Emami continues to guide major engineering, construction, and EPC initiatives from concept to completion.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Emami served as Director of Business Development for Henkels & McCoy, Inc. from 1997 to 2014. In this capacity, he managed business operations across the western U.S., overseeing budgets, proposals, human resources, and client relationships for more than 35 utility clients. His strategic vision drove expansion into new lines of business, strengthened client partnerships, and significantly increased regional revenue.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Emami served as Contract Administrator at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where he developed and evaluated technical specifications, RFPs, and contract recommendations for electrical distribution projects. He began his career at Bechtel Power Corporation as an Electrical Engineer supporting nuclear power plant projects, including Arizona Nuclear Power and San Onofre Generating Station, where he contributed to design, startup, and operations phases.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My day starts early, usually around 5 a.m., reviewing safety reports, project updates, and financial dashboards before the rest of the organization is in motion. Once I’m in the office or on a job site, my focus shifts to problem-solving with our teams, supporting project managers, meeting with clients, and ensuring our crews have what they need to work safely and efficiently.
I make the day productive by setting three mission-critical priorities every morning and delegating everything else. I stay close enough to the details to identify risks early but far enough away to allow my teams to lead their areas confidently.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I start by grounding every idea in practicality: safety, constructability, cost, and schedule. Once an idea proves feasible, I build a small cross-functional team around it — engineering, field operations, and financial controls. We stress-test the idea, refine it with real-world inputs from our crews, and pilot it on a limited scale.
Ideas come to life when they’re not just theoretical but executable in the field under real-world conditions.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The modernization of America’s electrical infrastructure — from undergrounding to grid hardening to renewable integration — excites me. Utilities are finally addressing decades of deferred investment. We’re entering a long-term cycle where safety, resiliency, and reliability will drive major capital spending, and companies with deep technical expertise and strong field labor capabilities will play a vital role.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
I maintain extreme clarity. Every week I define the top objectives for the business and communicate them to my leadership team. It keeps everyone aligned, reduces noise, and ensures our energy is focused on high-value work.
Clarity eliminates confusion — and confusion is the enemy of productivity.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be patient with growth, but impatient with discipline.
In engineering and construction, nothing replaces experience, repetition, and learning from mistakes. I would tell my younger self to keep investing in people, relationships, and safety culture and to understand that success compounds over decades, not years.
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on.
I believe the construction industry undervalues long-term stability over short-term pricing. Lowest-bid wins are often the most expensive decisions a client can make. A contractor’s integrity, financial strength, and safety culture matter more than a few percentage points on a bid sheet.
Many disagree — until they experience the consequences firsthand.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Walk the job sites. There is no substitute for seeing the work, observing crew morale, evaluating hazards, and talking directly with the people doing the job. Leadership happens in the field, not behind a desk.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I step away from the noise and go back to fundamentals: safety, schedule, cost, and people. I identify the single biggest risk or opportunity in front of us and focus on that first.
When everything feels important, nothing actually is. Prioritization restores clarity.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Investing in people before projects. I put tremendous effort into developing foremen, project managers, engineers, and safety leaders. When you build strong people, they build strong projects.
This strategy allowed us to scale from a small operation into a major utility contractor serving one of the largest public power utilities in the country.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early in my career, I underestimated the importance of financial infrastructure — bonding capacity, cash flow forecasting, and disciplined cost controls. Even great technical teams can struggle without strong financial systems.
I overcame it by surrounding myself with experts, embracing rigorous financial transparency, and treating financial health as a core part of operational excellence.
It taught me that great companies are built on both engineering execution and financial strength.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Create a specialized training academy for underground and overhead utility workers. There is a national shortage of qualified linemen, electricians, cable splicers, and civil crews. A dedicated, accredited training pipeline would meet enormous demand and create a competitive advantage for any company willing to invest in it.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I rely heavily on project management dashboards that combine scheduling, cost tracking, field progress, and safety metrics. These tools allow me to see real-time trends across dozens of active projects and make proactive decisions instead of reactive ones.
The ability to visualize information clearly is one of the strongest productivity multipliers a CEO can have.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
A dinner with one of my senior project managers. Investing in people — especially those who carry tremendous responsibility — always yields a return. These conversations build trust, alignment, and long-term loyalty that no software or tool can replace.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Book: The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker.
It’s a timeless guide on focusing energy where it matters most and managing complex organizations through clarity, discipline, and decision-making.
Podcast: The Infrastructure Show.
It dives deep into the modernization of America’s critical infrastructure, which aligns closely with the challenges and opportunities our industry faces.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I enjoyed The Bear. It’s a masterclass in leadership, pressure management, operational excellence, and building a high-performing team under chaotic conditions — something every construction leader can relate to.
Key learnings
- Long-term success in utility construction comes from disciplined leadership, investment in people, and a strong safety culture.
- Infrastructure modernization and grid resiliency are creating unprecedented opportunities for companies with deep technical and operational expertise.
- Clear priorities, strong financial systems, and field-focused leadership are essential for scaling complex engineering and construction operations.
- Experience, patience, and continuous learning are irreplaceable assets in building a sustainable career in engineering and construction.
- Walking job sites and engaging directly with frontline employees remains one of the most valuable leadership practices.