Sevan Solutions Earns Top U.S. Award for Veteran Employment

By Christine Carter

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – January 22, 2026 – Sevan Multi-Site Solutions, Inc. (Sevan), a prominent veteran-owned business, has been honored with the 2025 HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion Award by the U.S. Department of Labor. This distinction places the design and construction management firm in an elite group of companies recognized at the highest federal level for their commitment to recruiting, hiring, and retaining military veterans.

The HIRE Vets Medallion Program, established under the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act, is the only federal award that acknowledges such employer efforts. Sevan is one of just 324 employers nationwide to achieve the prestigious Platinum-level distinction for the 2025 award cycle, setting it apart from the 887 total recipients across the country.

This recognition underscores a deep-seated philosophy within the company, which is led by Army Special Forces Veteran and CEO, Jim Evans. “Sevan values the experience and leadership veterans bring to our teams,” Evans stated in the announcement. “Earning the Platinum HIRE Vets Medallion highlights the impact veterans have across our projects, from site development to program management, and the role they play in delivering successful outcomes for clients. Veterans truly understand veterans, and that shared experience strengthens how we support, develop, and lead our teams.”

Beyond the Badge: The Rigorous Path to Platinum

Achieving the Platinum Medallion is no small feat. The U.S. Department of Labor has established stringent criteria that go far beyond simple hiring metrics. To qualify for the top tier, companies must demonstrate excellence across a wide spectrum of veteran integration and support initiatives. This includes meeting high thresholds for both the percentage of new hires who are veterans and the overall veteran retention rate over a 12-month period.

However, the requirements extend deep into a company’s human resources infrastructure. Platinum recipients must provide robust, veteran-specific resources and support systems. This includes offering dedicated leadership development programs tailored to help veterans translate their military experience into corporate leadership roles. Furthermore, companies are required to have dedicated human resources professionals who specialize in supporting veteran employees, ensuring they have a knowledgeable point of contact for their unique needs and career progression.

Other critical components for the Platinum award involve offering competitive compensation and comprehensive tuition assistance programs, which empower veterans to pursue further education and professional certifications. For larger employers, the criteria are even more demanding, often requiring the establishment of internal veteran resource groups or affinity networks that foster a sense of community and provide peer-to-peer support. Sevan's achievement of this award indicates a comprehensive, holistic strategy that embeds veteran support into the very fabric of its corporate culture, moving well beyond performative gestures to create an environment where former service members can build long-term, successful careers.

A Veteran-Led Strategy for Corporate Success

Sevan’s commitment to veteran employment is not merely a corporate social responsibility initiative; it is a core component of its business identity and strategy. As a company certified by both the National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC) and the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA), its leadership structure is intrinsically linked to the military community. This veteran-led perspective provides a unique advantage in understanding and leveraging the distinct skill sets that former service members bring to the civilian workforce.

Experts in veteran transition from organizations like the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) consistently highlight the value of these skills. Veterans are often lauded for their proven leadership, mission-oriented focus, adaptability in dynamic environments, and unwavering integrity—all attributes honed through years of service. They possess a unique ability to perform under pressure and excel in diverse, team-based settings. Sevan appears to have built a recruitment and development model that actively seeks out and cultivates these qualities.

The company’s partnership with programs like Hiring Our Heroes, which connects the military community with businesses, demonstrates a proactive approach to talent acquisition. By employing veterans across its service lines—from architecture and design to engineering and construction management—Sevan integrates this talent at every level of its operations. This creates a virtuous cycle: experienced veterans in leadership positions, like CEO Jim Evans, are better equipped to mentor and develop incoming veteran talent, fostering higher retention rates and a stronger, more resilient workforce that is uniquely prepared to handle the complex, multi-site projects the company is known for.

The Dual Engine of Growth: Values and Performance

While the HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion is a significant social honor, Sevan’s recent accomplishments suggest a powerful synergy between its values-driven culture and its robust business performance. Concurrent with its recognition for veteran employment, the company was also named to Architectural Record’s Top 300 Architecture Firms list for 2025, ranking #289. This prestigious industry benchmark, which is based on architectural revenue, highlights the firm's continued growth and influence in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector.

This is not an isolated instance of success. Sevan has demonstrated a consistent pattern of growth and industry recognition over the years. In 2022, it was ranked on Engineering News-Record's (ENR) lists for Top Program Management and Construction Management-for-Fee Firms for the fifth consecutive year. The company also appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for four straight years and previously earned a Gold HIRE Vets Medallion in 2021, showing a clear trajectory of improvement and commitment.

This dual success story challenges the outdated notion that ethical commitments and financial growth are mutually exclusive. Instead, Sevan provides a compelling case study for how a deep-seated commitment to a core value—in this case, supporting the veteran community—can serve as a powerful engine for business success. By building a reputation as a premier employer for veterans, the company not only attracts top-tier talent but also strengthens its brand identity, enhances its client relationships, and solidifies its position as a leader in a competitive marketplace. This approach showcases how a strong corporate culture, rooted in tangible action, can yield dividends that are measured both in social impact and on the bottom line.