Top contractors talk innovation, leadership at ICBA summit

The leaders of some of Canada’s top construction firms shared insights on overcoming challenges, promoting diversity, and embracing technology in a rapidly evolving industry at a recent high-profile panel discussion.

Andy Trewick, President and CEO of Graham; Kieran Hawe, President and CEO of EllisDon; and Jeff Watt, President of Ledcor, weighed in on pressing industry issues, offering their perspectives on what it takes to navigate today’s construction landscape.

The discussion was part of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association’s Construction Innovation Summit.

Diversity and culture are key to resilience

Jeff Watt emphasized that diversity is a key factor in creating resilient construction businesses.

“Ledcor works across North America and in a variety of different industry sectors and geographies, and that diversity really creates resilience against industry disruption,” Watt said. “When one cylinder isn’t firing as well as it should be, the other cylinder sort of picks up on that.”

He also highlighted the importance of culture in the success of construction firms.

“Culture’s a really important attribute for a constructor,” Watt said. “We need to make sure that our people are incentivized to do it in a way that we want, and they’re actually doing it in a way where they’re able to use their skills and experience to solve the problems they face.”

Watt described how Ledcor’s culture is the sum of many smaller cultures across field and district levels, noting the importance of giving grassroots teams the space to develop ideas and solutions that are meaningful to them.

“It’s about listening to the innovations that come forward, focusing on grassroots missions, and celebrating how we do it,” he said.

The role of strategic flexibility

Graham’s Andy Trewick echoed Watt’s points, stressing that diversification is crucial in today’s unpredictable market.

“As one market is progressing, something else might be declining. We have to have a business that’s able to get through that,” Trewick said. “We need to be nimble, able to react to conditions, and have a business model that can flex and shift.”

As a CEO, I’m just the herder of cats. You develop tools through your career, but in the end, you’re trying to corral people to the same place.

Andy Trewick, Graham President and CEO

Trewick pointed out that a consistent organizational culture is vital as employees move within different units of the company.

“We want to have a similar culture so people feel like it’s always the same organization they’re working for,” he said, underscoring the importance of a unified cultural approach across Graham’s business units.

He also touched on the significance of having a clear strategic direction, rather than reacting solely to market conditions.

“We aren’t just reacting to the market. We have a clear path,” Trewick said. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Embracing technology and innovation

Kieran Hawe of EllisDon steered the conversation toward technology, noting the slow pace of technological adoption in the construction industry but pointing to exciting developments.

“We have about 300 technology people back in head office in Toronto, scrum masters, programmers,” Hawe said. “We’ve been running a gamut of three or four pilot programs annually.”

EllisDon has also started an accelerator program inviting startups worldwide to present ideas that could benefit the industry.

“Last year, we had a hundred respondents, we picked three,” Hawe said. “This year we have 160 applicants.”

Hawe noted the growing sophistication of these startups and their increasing understanding of construction needs. “These people are coming from Belgium, Australia… and they want to work with construction because we have a platform. At scale, we can push it out for them and it helps our industry,” he said.

He emphasized that while technology is progressing, the challenge remains in how to manage and apply it across diverse projects.

“One software doesn’t apply to all sectors,” Hawe said. “It’s exciting, but there’s a lot of heavy lifting.”

Addressing Risk in Mega Projects

The conversation turned to the rising complexity and risk associated with billion-dollar projects, which are becoming more common. Hawe pointed out the strain on experienced personnel, many of whom retired during the pandemic, leaving less-experienced people to take on large, complex projects.

“The contract model for these billion-dollar jobs is completely different,” Hawe said. “We’ve had to send more people to projects to make sure we have all the gaps covered.”

Trewick added that Graham is highly selective about the mega-projects it takes on, focusing on risk profiles and partnerships.

“We often lobby to get a project broken into smaller components,” Trewick said. “But owners aren’t always sophisticated enough to manage multiple packages, so they push everything into one bucket.”

Work hard on the weaknesses and blind spots. Set goals and tell someone about them, so you put some pressure on yourself.

Kieran Hawe, EllisDon President and CEO

The leaders all agreed that collaboration is essential to the success of large projects.

“These jobs don’t get built when people take positions and aren’t collaborative,” said Trewick. “In order to get one of those jobs over the line, you’ve just got to be collaborative.”

Watt shared concerns about how large projects can pigeonhole personnel into specific roles, limiting their development.

“On big projects, personnel and staff get kind of pigeonholed into one activity… they don’t have the same jack-of-all-trades perspective they get on smaller projects,” he said. “We need to use small projects as springboards to develop people.”

What makes a good leader

The panelists also shared their views on leadership, emphasizing that success in construction hinges on qualities like humility and initiative. Jeff Watt, who grew up working on a farm, underscored the importance of leaders taking ownership of problems and fostering a sense of community.

“You’ve got to take the initiative to solve problems,” Watt said. “The farm taught me that there’s really nobody else around to solve your problem, so you’ve got to do it.”

Andy Trewick echoed this sentiment, stating that leaders must be “team builders” who support collaboration across diverse groups.

“As a CEO, I’m just the herder of cats,” Trewick said. “You develop tools through your career, but in the end, you’re trying to corral people to the same place.”

Kieran Hawe added that self-awareness and setting goals are key to effective leadership.

“Work hard on the weaknesses and blind spots,” Hawe said. “Set goals and tell someone about them, so you put some pressure on yourself.”