Kevin Antonelli: Outside-of-the-Box Thinker Assembled Team to Deliver Sustainable Campus

Abstract

Growing up as an apprentice in a family of Italian stone masons in the Boston area, Antonelli decided at a young age that the backbreaking work wasn't for him. A chance conversation at a friend's wedding led to an interview with Turner Construction's Bay Area office, and Antonelli launched a nearly 25-year career with the contractor, beginning as assistant superintendent and working his way up to vice president and general manager of the contractor's San Francisco Bay Area operations. A few years later, Antonelli decided it was time for a career change. At first, Antonelli was hesitant to make the switch, but he soon realized he had the right skills to assemble the team to deliver the 1.2-million-sq-ft project spread across two office buildings, with elaborate canopy roofs, a 1,000-seat events center and 240 hotel-like employee accomodation units. "Everyone had a voice" because Antonelli engendered trust and communication on the jobsite, Curry says. In one key step to boost teamwork, Antonelli brought in a coaching consultant that included former professional sports players. Antonelli's openness to innovative ideas from the well-integrated project team also led to a record-breaking strand jack lift of more than 180,000 sq ft of roof structure that contractor Whiting Turner safely executed, Curry adds.