There are a lot of issues keeping construction industry leaders awake at night right now, but Adam Jelen, the newly appointed CEO of Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co., is ready to tackle them. 

Jelen has worked his way up through all levels of the company, starting 19 years ago in the trades in heavy and highway labor to become chief operating officer before being tapped this year as CEO of the firm, the No. 12 construction company in the country by revenue. (Thomas Gilbane Jr. retains his role as chairman and CEO of Gilbane, Inc., Gilbane Building Co.’s parent company.)

Jelen takes the reins as Gilbane Building Co. grapples with the challenges facing all contractors, top among them the labor shortage, fluctuating material prices and economic headwinds. 

Here, Jelen speaks to Construction Dive about his plans for the new year, what markets the firm will focus on and his commitment to employee development.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

CONSTRUCTION DIVE: Congratulations on being named Gilbane’s Building Co.’s new CEO. What has the transition been like?

ADAM JELEN: The transition has been seamless. I'm starting my 19th year, and I absolutely love the history. I'm fortunate and blessed to have started in the trades and worked my way all the way up through the ranks.

It's been a fun transition. My first eight days, I've been in seven cities. I’ve been on offices and projects and that's what this is all about, being with our people, being with our partners and being in the community, making an impact. It's a gritty business and it's something that requires hands-on connection and collaboration. 

Since 2022, Gilbane Building Co. has had three different CEOs. Mike McKelvey left to run McDermott, before Tom Laird, who’s now chairman, stepped in. And now you’re at the helm. Can we expect more stability in the future with you in this position?

Succession is very intentional. And this leadership team has been built in an intentional way, and I feel blessed to be part of it. I’m more energized than ever about our leadership team. We’ve been together for a long time, over a decade, working together and moving together.

My leadership style is all about an integrated team, aligned together and connected, winning and moving together.

One of my main roles as chief operating officer was to help connect the company together, to work on our baseline of operations so we can deliver that ultimate building experience and provide the highest value to our clients worldwide. 

I feel very fortunate, Gilbane’s and our focus is on building people, building talent. 

How are you thinking about 2024? What sectors will the company target?

We've been fortunate to have a very strong year in 2023, and we’re well-positioned for steady, consistent growth off of the foundation of the record backlog that will fuel 2024, 2025 and 2026. Our project life cycle is, on average, 24 to 36 months. We see a very strong trajectory forward across our market sectors and geographies worldwide.

As you know, in a commercialized market, those markets are traditionally down due to the lending and the current economic conditions. We must stay focused, as we are a local business, in supporting our communities, true to our values. 

We need to support our educational institutions, our commercial clients and continue to support them at the appropriate scale, all while deepening our work in the industrialized space. We’re very fortunate to be working in multiple locations in the U.S.

Just because the market is down doesn't mean we're going to abandon our core community clients. 

We’re going to stay focused, whether that's [something as small as] changing a door, whether that's supporting preconstruction for the future or building a facility. We are not going to pivot and solely focus on advanced manufacturing. It's very important as a builder that moves the community forward that we stay laser-focused on the communities that people work, live, thrive and ultimately play in every single day.

We’re still seeing the fallout of the pandemic and other myriad issues that give the industry grief. How is Gilbane planning to deal with those issues?

I see what you know as the “core issues” as opportunities.

In the workforce space, I see that as an opportunity to double down on the great people we have, and build further capacity. That's why we're focused on building our talent at all levels of the organization, and building diverse and dynamic teams.

We have extraordinary resources, and we've doubled down in the space of supply chain, of our training in the craft space or the skilled craft space. 

Let’s take technology. We are focused on providing the best technology, and being at the forefront of technology and innovation. Right now, we’re working on our target state data infrastructure. And we are working on test pilots in the AI space. 

Another example would be building diverse and dynamic teams. I can cite many things on that front, whether it's continuing to be an integral part of the ACE Mentor Program, our employee resource groups, our rising contractor program and then partnering with our local workforce partners to build that sustainable capacity in the workforce space.