Mesa Associates Recognized as Woman-Owned Business Excellence Recipient at Pinnacle Business Awards

The Knoxville Chamber is pleased to announce Mesa Associates, Inc. (Mesa) as the recipient of the Pinnacle Business Award in the Woman-Owned Business Excellence category. Mesa is a full-service, multi-discipline engineering, procurement, and construction management firm specializing in engineering and design services, established in 1988. The Woman-Owned Business Excellence Award, sponsored by KaTom Restaurant Supply, is presented to an outstanding East Tennessee woman-owned business.

“We definitely need to do a better job as an industry to encourage women to pursue careers in the engineering sector,” said Ranjana Savant, Mesa’s President and CEO. “There are lots of qualities about an engineer that women are naturally good at. At Mesa, we have many women in leadership positions. We reward hard work and dedication, and we have worked hard to build a family-oriented culture where everyone is respected and appreciated.”

In 1990, Mesa began working in Chattanooga for TVA in the area of structural engineering. Over the years, Mesa has grown to be a full-service provider to TVA including power delivery and power generation engineering services. Mesa opened the Knoxville office in 1995 with seven people to support the industrial and aluminum market. The Knoxville office is now Mesa’s largest location with over 350 Associates.

Ranjana stepped into the President and CEO role after her husband, Shekhar Savant, was tragically killed the year that the Knoxville office opened. Ranjana, with the support of the Mesa employees, decided to keep Shekhar’s dream alive. She now oversees a multi-discipline engineering company that has grown to over 1000 employees in twenty locations.

“We know that there is currently, and will continue to be, a need for more engineers in the Knoxville area,” said Mike Odom, Knoxville Chamber president and CEO. “Ranjana and the Mesa team are paving the path for women in the engineering industry.”

The annual Pinnacle Business Awards, presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners, celebrate regional business excellence, honoring outstanding professionals in nine categories for their contributions to the greater Knoxville economy. Winners are selected by the Knoxville Chamber Board of Directors. Nearly 200 companies were nominated for 2024 recognition.

“Congratulations to all Pinnacle Business Award winners. Local businesses are essential to the communities they help grow,” said Mike DiStefano, Pinnacle’s Knoxville president. “Pinnacle Financial Partners is a founder led firm that was built as a small business bank, so we know how difficult it can be to run a successful business. More than two decades of growth have allowed us to serve clients of increasing size, but small businesses remain essential both to Pinnacle and the Knoxville communities they help grow. It’s an honor to be part of this program and help recognize the home-grown players in Knoxville’s economy.”

For in-depth video interviews and more information on the 2024 Pinnacle Business Award recipients, visit www.knoxvillechamber.com/pinnacle.