Zoran Filinov

With over 34 years under his belt at RVA, it’s safe to say that Zoran has truly seen and done it all – in the firm and in industry. A structural engineer by training, Zoran began his journey at the firm as a site inspector for our municipal group. After completing a reservoir and pumping station assignment in Brantford, however, Zoran became increasingly interested in the environmental line of business, particularly in how water can act as a catalyst to improve lives and drive environmental change. Spurred by his newfound passion, Zoran transferred from our municipal team to our water and wastewater group, and he hasn’t looked back since.

As Chief Operating Officer, Zoran can be found out in front and ahead of the curve, showing our teams how to accomplish what others say can’t be done. Inspired by the great philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, Zoran lives by the motto of What does not kill me makes me stronger – with unwavering determination, he helps clients chart easier paths through complexity to arrive at unexpectedly elegant solutions. With his strong business acumen, organizational skills, and ability to forge new relationships, Zoran has launched RVA into new industries across the country and established our services within core markets, significantly broadening our business development efforts – most notably in our water and wastewater practice – by attracting new and repeat clients for our firm.

Zoran has also continued to nurture his lifelong passion for the environment and remains a champion of eco-friendly solutions for all our firm’s projects. As a supervisor of RVA’s Climate Change Working Group, Zoran oversees the development of business plans and tools to measure the impact of our firm’s operations on the environment and our commitment to meet global sustainability goals. Once a shy public speaker and newcomer to Canada, Zoran’s entrepreneurial rigour, diplomacy, and will to motivate his teams have long since established him as an undisputed pillar of our firm.

While Zoran’s career at RVA has been a long and storied one, he notes that his journey is not so dissimilar from other members at RVA. Working together with our executive team, Zoran is perpetually focused on building the next generation of leaders by establishing pathways for professionals at every level to grow, develop their communication skills, and build meaningful industry connections. One of the many joys of his work is being able to attend campus recruiting events and provide new advancement opportunities to promote up-and-coming talent in the industry.

Outside the office, Zoran is always in motion, whether it’s playing in competitive sports (soccer, basketball, and cycling being chief among them), entertaining friends and family, or sneaking in a vacation to Europe in the summertime. Although he’s been all over the world, Zoran’s go-to destination will always be Italy, where he loves nothing more than to sit down in a cozy restaurant to read the local paper over a beer or coffee.