FAB 50:
LIFE’S A DANCE,
Business Journal
CHERI DURYEA MCPHERSON LENDS MULTIFACETED SKILL SET TO CAREER IN MARKETING
Page 30
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY ACROSS NEBRASKA & BEYOND
MBJ.COM
VOLUME 52 No.8
$2.00
FEBRUARY 20, 2026
The People Builder ROB BRIGHAM’S UNCONVENTIONAL PATH BUILT JEO BY DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN
BRAIN GAIN PLAN UNVEILED INITIATIVE AIMS TO REVERSE TALENT LOSS, GROW POPULATION BY DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN The Greater Omaha Chamber and the City of Omaha announced a joint brain gain initiative at the chamber’s annual meeting on Feb. 5 at CHI Health Center Omaha, a coordinated effort to reverse talent loss and drive sustained population growth over the next decade. CHAMBER, SEE PAGE 28
JEO Consulting CEO Rob Brigham sat in a well-lit conference room in the company’s Omaha offices, where large windows let in the view of West Dodge Road to the north as well as the TD Ameritrade building to the east. Brigham himself added to this light. The executive who has been with JEO for nearly 30 years spoke with enthusiasm about his company and the work they do. “Unless you are literally in the middle of nowhere and you can’t see a single cell tower, you can’t see a power line, you can’t look up and see an airplane, everything’s touched by engineering,” Brigham said. That enthusiasm isn’t what you’d expect from someone who never set out to lead an engineering firm. His path began by growing up across the street from JEO principal Ron Bottorff, who offered him summer work on a survey crew when Brigham was graduating high school. “It’s a good thing there was a dumb end of the tape for me to hold,” Brigham said, recalling his early days. Those summers proved formative. While pursuing his finance degree, Brigham worked on crews doing preliminary surveys for construction projects and staking. After law school, he clerked for an attorney. Both the attorney’s office and JEO made him job offers nearly 30 years ago and he chose the engineering firm, saying what drew him back were the people. It was also an opportunity to bring business acumen to an excellent firm that had engineers handling IT, accounting and HR. From business manager, Brigham moved into a chief financial officer position and in 2007, at age 36, he became CEO of what was then a 70-year-old firm. He said his degrees helped as he rose through the ranks, especially law school that helped him how to think. BRIGHAM CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
2025 ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Page 17