Stratus names Sunny Nandagiri as first chief growth officer

Stratus Team has appointed Sreekanth “Sunny” Nandagiri as its first chief growth officer and president of infrastructure as the firm looks to scale across its engineering and consulting business. The move puts growth strategy and infrastructure operations under one leader as Stratus expands its federal, transportation and water resources work nationwide.

Why it matters: - Stratus is adding a new executive role to focus on growth strategy, cross-market collaboration and firmwide performance. - The appointment also centralizes leadership of the company’s infrastructure business as Stratus pushes to expand nationwide. - The move signals that Stratus is formalizing how it plans to scale, manage risk and integrate its markets.

What happened: - Stratus Team appointed Sreekanth “Sunny” Nandagiri, PE, PMP, as chief growth officer and president of infrastructure. - The company said Nandagiri is the first person to hold the chief growth officer role. - The announcement was made Sept. 21, 2026, from Pittsburgh. - Nandagiri will work with Stratus executive leaders on growth strategy, organizational performance and execution of firmwide priorities. - Nandagiri will also lead Stratus’s Infrastructure division.

The details: - As chief growth officer, Nandagiri will focus on advancing growth strategies, strengthening cross-market collaboration, improving organizational performance and supporting consistent execution. - The role also includes identifying opportunities to improve key performance indicators, manage risk and support long-term success. - As president of infrastructure, Nandagiri will oversee Stratus’s Federal, Transportation and Water Resources markets. - His responsibilities include driving profitable growth, strengthening market position, supporting operational excellence and expanding infrastructure capabilities nationwide. - Nandagiri brings more than 30 years of experience in engineering, operations, business development, strategic planning and executive leadership. - His background includes senior leadership roles at large engineering and consulting firms. - His career has included oversight of multi-state business operations, large profit-and-loss centers, governance, business development and mergers and acquisitions. - He has also led post-acquisition integration efforts and turnaround work. - His project experience includes work for Fortune 500 companies and major state and federal clients on large infrastructure initiatives. - Named programs under his leadership include the Toll Operations On-Call Program for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, the Strategic Services On-Call Program for NCDOT and the I-40 CMGC Bridge Replacement Project. - His broader experience spans transportation planning, intelligent transportation systems, tolling and managed lanes, bridge and roadway infrastructure, pavement management, construction management and multidisciplinary project delivery. - Stratus said he has helped modernize transportation operations, improve infrastructure delivery and support long-term investment in public assets. - Stratus is an integrated engineering, architecture and consulting firm that ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms. - The firm serves public- and private-sector clients across the country and says it focuses on high-growth economies and community development. - The company website is more information.

Between the lines: - Creating a chief growth officer role suggests Stratus is trying to make expansion a formal executive function, not just a sales or business development task. - Putting infrastructure under the same leader may help the firm connect strategy, operations and market expansion more tightly. - Nandagiri’s background in M&A and integration points to a role that likely extends beyond organic growth. - His mix of public-sector infrastructure work and enterprise leadership fits a firm trying to deepen its national footprint.

What's next: - Nandagiri will begin shaping Stratus growth priorities with the executive team. - He will oversee infrastructure operations while the company continues expanding its markets and capabilities. - Stratus said it expects the leadership change to support future growth and stronger market positioning.

The bottom line: - Stratus is elevating growth to a top executive priority and betting that Nandagiri can help turn infrastructure scale into broader enterprise growth.