Thomas J. (TJ) Poole
Job Title: Project Manager
Company: Henkels & McCoy
Location: Blue Bell, Pa.
Age: 27
Years on the Job: 3
Interests: Playing ice hockey, going hiking with his fiancé, reading books, and enjoying video games
TJ Poole, who grew up in Havertown, Pa., became inspired to work in the electrical field by his father, who spent 22 years at the PECO and a decade as an electrical and mechanical engineer for the University of Pennsylvania.
“He’s a huge inspiration for my interest in the industry and yearning to learn more,” Poole says. “I also have a lot of family members in local unions who have made an impact as well.”
Poole, who now lives in Conshohocken, Pa., with his fiancé, earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Temple University, has taken PMM courses, and has plans to obtain his PMP soon. He has joined the Delaware County Chapter for Project Management and hopes to join local project management groups.
“Henkels & McCoy is filled with people willing to share their vast knowledge of the industry, and I never feel like I’m alone in trying to solve a problem,” Poole says.
He says he has an eagerness to consistently challenge himself and always finds a way to do more.
“I understand that as a younger individual, I won’t always have the answers to life’s questions or the job,” he says. “Regardless, I feel as though the best way to learn is to get involved in the challenging scenarios and work my way through them.”
As a project manager overseeing a large-scale distribution project on a government facility in Maryland, he must handle the coordination among everyone involved — the government, customer, subcontractors, employees, and staff. His company also recently made sweeping changes to the way progress is tracked in the field.
“I’d like to continue to make an impact so that one day, I find myself on the top floor of the company’s corporate building,” Poole says. “That may be beyond 10 years from now, but I think that with continued leadership development through those around me, I can make it happen.”
