Page 71 - BusinessWest October 31, 2022

East Gables in Amherst is a passive-house project, a voluntary standard for energy efficiency.
tion. But when I graduated, I realized I have people skills as well that would go underutilized if I stayed in the engineering field. So construc- tion management was a perfect fit in terms of combining the technical and personal aspects of
the the construction field. And I really fell in love with it when I started with DOC.”
During his time at O’Connell, Hughes attend- ed a hybrid program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute to earn his MBA. “That further honed my interest in the business side of things and ultimately got me interested and inspired to lead a company.”
When the opportunity came up to lead the 26-employee team at Western Builders, both Hughes and O’Connell leadership felt it was a good fit. “What led me to Western was my experi- ence, just having a passion for construction and getting into the details of a project, both techical- ly and in terms of relationships with clients and the community.”
James Sullivan, president of the O’Connell Companies, agreed. “We are very fortunate to have someone of Mr. Hughes’ caliber and expe- rience, and I am very confident that Bryan will successfully lead Western and will do so with a clear understanding of our culture and reputa- tion,” he said at the time of the hiring.
“He has exceptional operational and com- munication skills and is client- and employee- focused with deep leadership capabilities, proven to me in his nine-year tenure in another sub- sidiary company, Daniel O’Connell’s Sons,” Sul- livan added. “With this renewed leadership, I am confident our best years lie ahead of us, and that Western will continue to be the builder of choice in the communities we serve.”
Learning by Doing
Hughes’s final job for DOC was managing a project in Rhode Island with the Narragansett Bay Commission, which followed a design-build
project-delivery method.
“We were in control of the design process for
two new buildings — the administration and maintenance buildings,” he explained. “I think design-build is a method that could be more ubiquitous in the future, combining our talents as construction managers to include the design team in that process.”
“Part of what we provide as a service is to understand the issues with the supply chain and try
to react to them as best we can, or at least propose solutions to owners to work around those challenges.”
While his role will certainly change as the president of Western, his experience as a project manager on multiple large projects helped him hone his organizational and leadership skills. “As a PM, it’s a lot of correspondence with the design team, building a relationship with the owner so there’s a trust factor there, and just bringing the team together — working with the superintendent to nail down a schedule and keeping subcontractors accountable.
“Inevitably in the construction industry, things
Connecting people, commerce, and communities.
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SERVING MASSACHUSETTS AND NORTHERN CONNECTICUT
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