Todd Lewis: Designing Systems, Building Trust

When Todd Lewis was a kid, he thought engineers drove trains. His mom beamed with pride at the ambition. And though that childhood version of “engineering” turned out to be a little off, the passion stuck. It led him through the oil fields of Malaysia, the stormy waters of the South China Sea, and eventually to founding Spatial DNA—a systems-focused geospatial consulting firm that’s reshaping how organizations think about location, data, and problem-solving.

Todd’s path was anything but linear. He first imagined himself as an aeronautical engineer, then pivoted after a chance conversation with a professor about remote sensing and GIS—geographic information systems.

“It was much more interesting than electrical engineering,” he recalled. That curiosity set him on a journey through diverse industries, from hydrographic surveys to aviation mapping, always chasing one question: how can systems work better—together?

But the systems Todd built didn’t stop at data and software. They extended to people and organizations too. After his first company folded due to over-reliance on a single client and a misaligned partnership, Todd took the hard-won lessons and created something different.

“What I learned,” he said, “was to focus on value alignment, know your numbers, and build everything around systems—business included.”

At Spatial DNA, Todd’s team doesn’t just move data—they orchestrate how complex systems speak to each other. Using tools like FME from Safe Software, they’ve helped municipalities and national agencies coordinate services and streamline workflows. The secret? A design-first mindset and frameworks that match technology not just to the task, but to the maturity and capacity of the organization using it.

Every part of his company, from project design to employee check-ins, follows a clear operational rhythm. Daily 15-minute standups, structured quarterly reviews, and a strong focus on core values like humility and curiosity.

“We have a management framework like an operating system,” Todd explained. “It keeps the meetings useful, the work flowing, and the people aligned.”

Still, even the best systems are stress-tested. At one point, Spatial DNA faced a severe cash flow crunch. Rather than keep it quiet, Todd told the team. The response floored him:

“They said, ‘Why don’t we all take a 20% pay cut and work four days a week?’” The firm survived. The team stayed. And Todd learned just how much transparency and trust can return when it’s been seeded early and often.

Now, with a clear vision and a team built on shared values, Todd spends his time replacing himself—mentoring others to lead, solve, and grow. His biggest lesson? That giving without expectation has its own power.

“You do that long enough,” he said, “and suddenly things start to happen in a flood.”