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Employee Spotlight: Eric Overby, Managing Associate
Meet Eric Overby, Managing Associate. His extensive technical knowledge, experience, understanding of project management issues, and friendly demeanor aides him in fostering meaningful client relationships. Born and raised on the Northwest side of Chicago, he grew up an active kid playing sports. He was also in a Scandinavian Children’s Club, called Vårblomman, that travelled locally and even abroad once to Copenhagen, Norway, and Sweden; where he met and performed for the King and Queen of Sweden (how cool is that?!) As an adult he’s not slowed down and his passion for driving cars, boats, snowmobiles, or really anything to feel the rush of speed, has given him his self-proclaimed warning label of ‘Speed Advisory’. In his off-time, if he’s not tinkering around the house or running errands, he’s tuning up his Mustang.
Even though he’s known since the 7th grade that he wanted to be an Architect, his career has taken him to some interesting places, one of which was at Nabisco being a merchandise and vacation sales representative, even dressing in costume for in-store Oreo Anniversary events and a corporate event in a Teddy Graham costume. See if you can find him in costume in the photos! What quick-thinking and funny story brought about his high school nickname? Find out this story and more in the questions we asked him below. We also invite you to get to know him further through his staff bio.
We took some time to get to know Eric, and here’s what we learned:
If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
“’Speed Advisory’, ask anyone who’s had the pleasure of driving with me on an open road.”
What’s a trip that changed you, and why?
“Prague, Czech Republic, in 2003. Seeing a city that managed to come through wars unscathed and how it’s citizens embrace their history. For example, they left exposed bullet holes in the façade of their National Museum, that are the result of the Russian occupation of 1968.”
What led you to this career?
“My interest in how things go together, my father’s stories about building homes when moving to Chicago, and from a suggestion by my 7th grade teacher (who knew my freehand drawing abilities) about becoming an Architect.”
How do you prefer to start and/or end your day?
“I like to end my day watching the 10pm news with a bowl
of ice cream.”
Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?
“When I was young my mother called me ‘skeets’, which phonetically came from the Swedish word ‘skit’, meaning sh*t, because I was being a pain in her behind. In high school it was ‘overdose’, not because of a drug habit, but because during geometry class the teacher was working through an equation that included 1/b (one overby.) When he asked the class what ‘b’ equaled, a fellow heavy metal fan shouted out, while pointing at me, “b=2, therefore 1 over b would become one over dos (Spanish for the number 2)”, word got out and it stuck.”
If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would you choose?
“Ken Block, professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, co-owner of Hoonigan Industries, and driver in ‘Ken Block’s Gymkhana’ viral video series.”
What trend do you hope makes a comeback?
“80’s clothing like Z. Cavaricci, IOU sweatshirts, ripped jeans, and large slogan/logo t-shirts.”
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard a child say?
“Recently, my niece told her kindergarten class teacher that her Dad has no ‘Christmas spirit’. He had just come home from work and wanted to relax a few minutes before helping her set up inside decorations, and that is why she said he had lost his Christmas spirit.”
What’s your favorite family tradition?
“Having a Scandinavian breakfast on Christmas Day morning.”
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
“Take more chances in life and purchase stock in Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon (hahaha).”
