London Inc. Winter 2025 - 30

Sarhan Abu-Kwiek
Vice-President, Civil Infrastructure Group, J-AAR | 36 | BIRTHPLACE: Kuwait City, Kuwait
As vice president of the Civil Infrastructure Group at J-AAR, Sarhan Abu-Kwiek leads four divisions
specializing in public infrastructure, site development, road building and electrical utilities. Overseeing
230 team members, he drives strategic growth, operational excellence and high-quality solutions that
help shape our communities. His journey - from immigrating to Canada at 14 and overcoming language
barriers to managing London's largest civil construction company - reflects resilience, hard work and
respectful gratitude for those who have helped him along the way.
What has been your biggest business achievement, and
why? Having the privilege to lead the best civil construction
group in Southwestern Ontario, where I was given the
opportunity to support the growth of the group
to twice the size it was when I first joined.
,g
e grow
of t e group
n I first joine
What about your biggest business
obstacle, and how did you face it?
Having less white hair and technical
t business
ou face it?
technical
knowledge than the people I was entrusted
to lead. I have learned to embrace that,
admit when I don't know something and
lean on those around me to learn from them.
e I was entrusted
mbrace that,
omething and
o learn from them.
Overall, it helps make everyone feel more
engaged in the decision-making.
What's left for you to do,
professionally or personally?
There are lots of things
I want to accomplish with
to
ryone feel more
aking.
,
nngs
J-AAR.
I'd like to continue to
help J-AAR advance in differfferf
civil
al
y, so
ng a
,
d
An old friend is coming to town, where are
you taking them to eat? Depends on the friend,
but a couple of great options would be Ironwood
Kitchen & Bar or Sagi of Wortley. My wife would
likely just convince me to invite them over for
dinner, where she would cook something
fancy - she's the good cook
An old
you t
d i
ng
em to
but a couple of great options
Kitchen & Bar or Sagi of Wor
likely just convince me t
dinner, where she
thing fancy -
in the hou
And fi
in the house.
And finally, what's your
guilty pleasure? Riding
a motorcycle. I am a
a mo
resp
ent markets and sectors of civil
construction. On a personal
level, I have a young family, so
I need to work on becoming a
better husband to my wife,
Nada, and better father and
role model for our kids -
Mira, Essam and Yaseen
- who are all still under six
years of age. I would also
like to get more involved
with the community
outside of work, so I am
looking for opportunities
where I can volunteer
some of my time back to
where it's needed.
ix
pr
responsible rider 99 per
cent of the time, but it's
probably not the best
activity to take part in,
especially when you
have a family that
e
depends on you. I try
to be very careful.
I have learned to admit when I don't know
something and lean on those around me to
learn from them
something and l
those
arn from them
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London Inc. Winter 2025

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