🔒Lindsey Fortunato breaks mold by becoming CEO in male-dominated construction industry

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Lindsey Fortunato grew up hearing about the family’s construction business around the dinner table every night.

More than three decades later, she is CEO of Berlin-based Fortunato Construction, succeeding her father and company founder Vincent Fortunato, who will stay on as an advisor.

As CEO, Lindsey Fortunato said she aims to maintain steady growth while navigating the challenges of today’s building industry as a young woman leader in a male-dominated sector.

She oversees 27 employees, including superintendents, project managers, an accounting team and a marketing and development director, which is a new position.

Fortunato Construction, which generates more than $40 million annually, works exclusively in the commercial private sector, building retail sites, restaurants, office buildings, medical offices, auto dealerships and private early childhood centers.

Its clients range in size, from multimillion-dollar new builds to smaller projects and renovations. It has built corporate spaces for CBS, Gerber Scientific, Dell and Legrand; the Rivers Edge Marina in Portland; Gengras Volvo in East Hartford; and KinderCare in Vernon.

“We will do it all. Ground-up work is great, it’s a clean slate where we have a lot more control, but renovation work tends to be where we shine,” she said. “Our team has great problem-solvers, and you’re always going to find unexpected things when renovating.”

One of Fortunato’s largest projects was the $15 million Eric Town Square development in Glastonbury, a 40,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial and retail center with restaurants and office space.

Industry challenges

Vincent Fortunato said his daughter has already shown capable leadership qualities by finding new clients, effectively managing the team, and bringing the company into the digital age through the adoption of new real-time workflow and other technology.

The company is currently working on 15 building projects, with several others in either the early planning and bidding stages, or nearing completion. It serves markets in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and neighboring states.

“We are growing, in a very managed and steady way,” she said, adding that “we’re turning down work right now,” because the company has more job offers than it can handle.

A key industry challenge is finding skilled workers, from labor and trades people to professional managers, superintendents and project managers.

It dates back to the 2008 economic crisis, when many laborers and professionals left the construction sector.

“There were not a lot of projects happening, so people had to find other work. Then, the same thing happened in 2020 with COVID, and the field hasn’t been replenished with talent,” she said.

Over the last three decades, construction industry employment in Connecticut peaked in January 2008 at 69,000. The industry employed 59,000 workers at the end of June 2023, according to state Department of Labor data.

Supply chain and rising materials costs also continue to challenge the industry.

Building up the new generation

To help address the labor shortage, Fortunato has joined efforts to get more young people into the industry, particularly young women.

The company this year offered its first $2,500 scholarship to a graduating female Berlin High School student entering college or trade school who plans to study in the fields of architecture, engineering or construction.

Lindsey Fortunato said she’s still surprised at how few women are in the construction industry. She often finds herself the only woman in a meeting, or on a job site.

“But I can establish that I belong there,” she said. “My approach has always been to show why I’m here, as opposed to asserting myself.”

Vincent Fortunato said he’s seen more women joining the construction industry over the years, but virtually none in top leadership positions.

In 2022, women only made up 10.9% of the U.S.’ 11.8 million construction industry workforce, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A small fraction of those women held leadership roles.

“There were very few women at the beginning of my career, and I’ve seen several project managers, but not a lot of CEOs,” he said. “It’s a battle she’ll have to continue to fight, but she’s very capable, she cares about people and is not a pushover.”

The family business

Vincent Fortunato said handing the company over to his daughter was always the plan. She has a twin brother, Gregory, who works in the economics and data science field, but “There’s no sibling rivalry; she wanted it, he didn’t,” their father said.

The father-daughter team has been working on the transition since pre-COVID, when thoughts of retirement and succession started brewing.

It’s a transition that involves more planning than originally thought, the duo said.

Shaun Sheriden, a CPA and partner at Hartford-based accounting and advisory firm Whittlesey, said there are pros and cons to family business succession.

He sees about an even split of businesses going to family members, or sold to new owners.

Keeping it in the family means holding a more vested interest in the company and its capital, and also serves as a sense of pride for many founders.

Family succession has benefits, but sometimes a relative might not be the most qualified manager.

“There could be a power struggle and that can get dicey,” Sheridan said. “Or sometimes, a family member might just be too much in the weeds, and they have to take a step back.”

Some family members might not want to take over a company and owners might not want to force it, so they may look for a key employee to take over.

Another trend in business succession is ESOPs, or employee stock option plans, where employees pool together to buy a company and elect a board of directors, Sheridan said.

It helps the founder or previous owner cash out on their work, and helps retain employees who are now their own bosses.

He’s already seen numerous Baby Boomer business owners starting to age out or seek early retirement, a trend triggered by the pandemic when people wanted to start enjoying their money.

Vincent Fortunato fears family succession is a fading tradition among colleagues who are looking to retire from their small businesses.

“I don’t see the generational transition working for a lot of them. The kids have different ideas on what they want to do, they want to live their own lives, they have other things on the horizon,” he said.

He also knows that running a small family business might not be the right fit for everyone.

“It’s hard work, you can’t just sit in the big chair and collect a paycheck,” he said. Company owners have to be good at their trades and good business managers and leaders.

For anyone looking to hand off a company or take one on, Sheridan and Fortunato agree that planning is key.

“It’s not just a flip of the switch,” Sheriden said. Even with qualified new leaders, a proper transition could take three years.

The main thing, Fortunato said, is “Make a plan and stick to it, but refine it when you need to; stay current, you need to grow. If you’re not looking to grow, the guy behind you is going to pass you out. It’s a very competitive industry.”