Although successful, he's embarrassed to admit at times that he's a corporate executive, because they have a reputation for being "out of touch," he said Wednesday.

So, covered with grime and gook, Rooney and his executive team toiled in the sewers of Mobile on Wednesday to show that they "get it."

To reward Insituform Technologies Inc.'s best performing work crew with a paid week off, the executives traded their suits and ties for hard hats and denim to do the nastiest job in the company -- relining sewage pipe.

"Yesterday, I got showered with hundreds of gallons of raw sewage in my face," Rooney said Wednesday, his face covered with dirt and bits of Crisco in his ear. A squashed lovebug was stuck to his hard hat.

The company has 101 crews repairing sewer systems in 30 countries. At a recent town hall-style meeting, one employee challenged the top brass to do the blue-collar labor that makes the money, according to communications director Laura Reeb.

Rooney took the idea and turned it into a contest: Whichever crew could increase its productivity the most would get a week off while the corporate suits did the job.

"Are they up to the challenge? Hardly," said the brochure sent to employees. "But wouldn't you like to be part of the winning team that gets to watch them try?"

Productivity shot up 11 percent.

A team of seven working on a contract for the Mobile Area Water & Sewer System won the competition. Not one of those employees could be found Wednesday morning near the job site in a residential neighborhood on the corner of Sherwood and Exter drives; they were all enjoying their week off.

Meanwhile, a highly decorated executive team of seven -- including three West Point graduates, advanced-degree holders and the company lawyer -- dripped sweat, spit on the street and grit their teeth to fix crumbling sewer pipe.

"That's our general counsel on the back of the truck," Reeb pointed out. "I wonder if he knew in law school that this was in his future. He looked really tired last night."

They gawked at the 2-inch-long roaches scurrying just beneath the manhole cover.

"I've seen pets that size," said Andrew Stroud, vice president of human resources. "If you keep one of these things in your apartment, you can claim it on your taxes."

Insituform relines sewer systems without ripping up the street by feeding a special type of tubing into the pipes that expands and hardens. Crisco is used to ease the slide.

"This beats being in the office shuffling papers," Stroud said. "This really gives us a true appreciation for how we make our money. We got 2,000 men and women who do this every day."

The lowest member of a crew is usually paid $12 to $15 per hour, plus overtime, according to the company. More experienced crew members can make up to $20 per hour.

"Realistically, we work hard, but we don't know what we're doing like a regular crew does," said Tim Minahan, chief information officer. The executive team hoped to finish almost 2,500 feet of repiping by week's end, he said.

James Kountz, 64, was watering his front lawn near the manhole cover Wednesday.

"That's great, put'em to work," said the retired maintenance worker after learning that the team of dirty men were corporate executives.

The execs were doing everything correctly, but slower and not as smoothly as a normal crew, according to MAWSS construction inspector Brad Allen.

Despite the sweat and grime, they left telltale signs of their white-collar interiors -- like the wallet that fell about one foot from the manhole opening.

"Someone's wallet's down," Rooney called to the group, his body half below ground. Another executive picked up the leather bi-fold and thumbed through the credit cards to figure out the owner.

"Most people that work out here in the field like this don't even tote a wallet with them," Allen said.

Two safety people had to oversee the work, instead of one, to make sure no one got hurt.

Rooney, 46, holds a civil engineering degree from Cornell University and a master's in business administration from the University of Chicago. He said the experience will help him better describe his company to investors and customers.

"I've watched people do this in eight different countries and five different languages, but I've never done it before," Rooney said. "The joke became that I was falling from the penthouse to the outhouse."

Rooney said he learned how important it is for the equipment to work and how crew members must use ingenuity to overcome obstacles, like the iron pipe that got in the way Wednesday.

It was also a team-building experience for upper management. Someone has to monitor the level of toxic gases and signal to pull out the worker who's inside the sewer if it gets dangerous.

"There's a surprise every day," Rooney said. "I regret not having done this a long time ago."

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