Jim Sarvinis

With 30 years of experience, Jim Sarvinis has led the delivery of some of Hatch’s landmark projects, culminating in his appointment to the board of directors as global managing director for energy.

Overseeing more than 1,500 professionals in the energy sector, his focus is on power (hydropower and dams, nuclear, thermal, renewable power, power transmission and integration, energy storage, distribution and smart grid) and oil & gas (upstream, midstream, LNG, and downstream).

Sarvinis has worked on numerous global projects, going to site for assignments in Canada, Colombia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, and Australia. Leveraging his deep expertise, he progressed through consecutive director roles in fluidization technology, energy technologies, thermal and nuclear energy, and power.

Early in his career he designed and delivered many Hatch marquee furnaces, including the revamp of the BHP Hartley (now Zimplats) furnace in Zimbabwe in 1998 and Cerro Matoso’s second furnace in Colombia in 2000—at that time, the world’s largest ferronickel smelting furnace. He also served as the project manager for the Kamoto Roaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hatch’s first fluidization technology supply project.

Sarvinis looks for opportunities to build new capabilities that better serve clients. He is known for creating solutions that greatly reduce environmental emissions, optimize existing infrastructure and facilities, and decrease capital costs. Some of his key accomplishments include:

• A 10-year contract with SASOL—currently, the largest user of gasification technology in the world—as their licensor’s engineering contractor for Sasol® Fixed Bed Dry Bottom (FBDB™) Gasification Technology.
• Development and accreditation of Hatch’s Nuclear Quality Management System, which allowed Hatch to operate in the nuclear industry without partners for the first time.
• Establishment of Hatch as an early player in the field of small modular reactors and in new fusion technology.
• Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power refurbishment programs at nuclear facilities in Ontario.
• A deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel in Ontario for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
• Merging of Hatch transmission, wind, and solar teams to form our eGRID service offering which includes world-class skills in complex power systems, high voltage DC and AC transmission, energy storage, distribution, and smart grid technologies.

A recipient of the Young Mining Leaders award from the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, Sarvinis also holds a US patent and has authored many papers on innovative technical solutions. He is an active member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Outside of his project work, Sarvinis is a prominent advocate for diversity and inclusion across Hatch’s global operations. He is widely known by his colleagues and industry peers as a dedicated and inclusive leader, sponsor, ally, and mentor with a genuine passion and interest in the success of others, particularly women, in what is traditionally a male-dominated industry. Sarvinis acknowledges the tremendous impact his own mentors and sponsors had on his career and is keen to “pay it forward”.

Sarvinis is fluent in English with some skills in French, Spanish and Macedonian. He holds a bachelor of applied science in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto.

Though he joined Hatch directly after university, he credits much of his career success to his formative years supporting his family’s restaurant business, which taught him the fundamentals of customer service, entrepreneurship, quality delivery, and business operations.