Member Spotlight: Shook Construction

Name:

Chris Halapy 

Job Title:

President and CEO

Company Name:

Shook Construction Co.

What Company Does:

Founded in 1926, Shook provides construction expertise that spans the industry in size and scope, serving as a General Contractor, Construction Manager, Design-Builder, and/or Subcontractor. The company specializes in four key markets: education, healthcare, industrial and water resources. Shook is rated in Engineering News-Record as one of the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors.” With 330+ employees, Shook serves clients from its offices in Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus, Indianapolis, Richmond (IN), and Raleigh. 

Favorite part(s) of your job & Why? 

I’m the son of a union carpenter so I grew up building things, and I still love to do so. But, as I’ve begun to mature in the industry I’ve found that my greatest joy comes when we’re succeeding as a company and all of our employees are sharing in that success. Over the last several years I’ve witnessed our employees sending their kids to better schools, saving more for retirement, taking their families on quality vacations, etc… and that fulfills me and motivates me to keep pushing.

What has been the key to your company's success thus far? 

Embracing our Mission, dogged pursuit of our Vision, and recruiting and retaining those that live our Core Values. The value of truly identifying and embracing your M/V/V is that it creates alignment.  It took us a long time to really figure that out and buy-in to it, but once we did our productivity and results have increased significantly.

What important changes/initiatives are you working on now?  

We’re currently working through our 2025 Strategic Plan with a focus in three areas: Operational Excellence, Capacity Building, and Intentional Growth. We’re learning from our own history while also gleaning knowledge from our peers in an effort to create scalability.  In so doing we know our culture will need to change, but we intend to manage that change and ensure that Shook remains a place where we are all excited to come to work every day.

How has Shook benefitted from its CEA membership? 

The benefits are numerous – primarily access, advocacy, training and peer relationships.  We’re blessed by the strength of CEA, it’s leadership and it’s members. Like any association it is a “get what you give” proposition, and we’ve found the return on investment to be significant.

What is the importance of mentoring and inclusion? If you had/have a mentor who was it and what value did it provide you/your company?

I believe as humans we are all at least 95% alike, but unfortunately we tend to focus on the 5% that makes us different. Good mentors challenge you to step outside yourself and see others’ perspectives, and with perspective comes empathy and understanding. If you have the courage to “walk a mile in another person’s moccasins” the value of inclusion becomes obvious very quickly. I’ve been fortunate to have several mentors thus far in my career, and each has made me and Shook better because they cared enough about me to be authentic with me and tell me what I really needed to hear, as hard as it was for them to say and for me to hear at times.  That’s when real growth occurs.

How does Shook find and retain talent?  

First, we run a robust Co-Op program, which helps the students learn the business while allowing us to identify the young people who align with our M/V/V. I am the fifth consecutive CEO who began their career with Shook either as a Co-Op or as their first job out of college – my four predecessors each retiring with 40+ years of service to the company. Second, we offer competitive pay and benefits, as well as training and career development through BuildU, our Shook Learning Center. Third, we endeavor to treat our subs, suppliers, partners and clients with integrity and fairness, and often they are our best referral source. And, finally, we recently promoted a talented 8-year company employee to HR Generalist with a primary focus on recruiting to bolster our efforts.

What would you say to someone at the beginning of their career in construction? 

At first this feels like a big industry in a big city, but quickly you’ll learn that it’s a close-knit community. You’re typically only 1 or 2 degrees of separation from anyone in the business, so your integrity is paramount. In the end all that you have is your word and your reputation and you must act with discipline every day to protect them. Oh…and get in the mud and have fun!