Capitalizing on Competition: ABC 2025 Top Performers Answer Compelling Questions
By Erika Walter
March 19, 2025
Competition is a constant in the ever-evolving world of construction. It’s fundamental to the bottom line, creates a quality product, invites the best talent and—to be frank—it’s exciting to compete. And it’s even more exciting to be the winner.
So, how are winners in the contra...
Long Shot: Chandra Wakeland's Leap of Faith Into Construction Ownership
By Jordan LeGras
March 18, 2025
When Chandra Wakeland was a young girl, most of her friends spent their summers soaking up the sun by the pool or at summer camp. Wakeland spent hers going to work with her father, a chief estimator for a steel contractor.
“I would go to work with my dad during summer school whil...
AI Army: Trunk Tools on How AI Agents Are Evolving
By Construction Executive
March 14, 2025
Over the last half-decade, artificial intelligence—particularly its applications within the construction industry—has evolved rapidly and continues to do so exponentially thanks to proponents of it within the industry. CEO of Trunk Tools, Sarah Buchner, is emerging as a leader in...
Power Balance: How Lorena Carrillo Balances Her Role as Project Engineer With Her Passion for Bodybuilding
By Grace Calengor
March 13, 2025
A Mexican American and the daughter of immigrants, Lorena Carrillo always looked up to her parents—admiring their work ethic and striving to make them proud in everything she did. But she didn’t know exactly what it was she wanted to do.
Today she is a senior project engineer at...
Family Business of the Future: Ohio Construction Business Goes Woman-Owned
By Grace Calengor
March 6, 2025
Katie Kafarakis has always been involved in her family’s construction business. A third-generation employee, she spent her childhood on jobsites with her father and her adulthood in marketing, sales and operations. In a family business, love and support abound, and Kafarakis was ...
Scaling Your Skills: The Path From Expert to Enterprise Builder
By Anne Lackey
February 18, 2025
Imagine a carpenter you know whose custom work has earned a stellar reputation. Attention to detail is extraordinary and clients marvel at the craftsmanship and constantly refer the carpenter to others.
Perhaps he likes the idea of expanding from an individual operation into a b...
A Man With a Plan: 2025 ABC National Chair David Pugh
By Grace Calengor
February 5, 2025
“I was absolutely fascinated from day one by all things construction,” says David Pugh, partner in the construction practice for national law firm Bradley Arant Boult and Cummings. With a grandfather successful in the foundry business, a father with a storied career at Chicago Br...
Boots on the Ground: Knobelsdorff Hosts Relief Drive in Wake of Hurricane Helene
By Jordan LeGras
January 31, 2025
When Hurricane Helene barreled through North Carolina last September, it left a trail of devastation that uprooted countless lives and destroyed entire communities. In the aftermath, volunteers from near and far sprang into action. Within five days of the storm’s landfall, Knobel...
A National Chair’s Work Is Never Done: A Farewell Interview With Buddy Henley
By Grace Calengor
January 27, 2025
A family person first, Henley Construction President and 2024 Associated Builders and Contractors National Chair Buddy Henley has always prioritized his relationships—with his father, daughters, employees, ABC national committee counterparts and chapter members—because he knows p...
Why Structured Knowledge Transfer Is Crucial for Succession Planning
By Stan Hannah
December 16, 2024
Construction companies depend on the skill and expertise of their organizational leaders to ensure the company’s projects meet quality standards and client expectations while staying on time and on budget. Company leaders, including project executives, head contractors, senior st...
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