Talking Points: Bob McCleskey, CEO, Sellen Construction Company
Bob McCleskey, appointed CEO in 2008, miraculously survived a heart attack during a basketball game in March. Today he is taking advantage of a slow construction market to expand Sellen’s expertise, strengthen its collaborative culture and boost its productivity.
THE HEART ATTACK: I sat on the bench after an intense first half on court, and 20 seconds later I slumped back. I would have been done for, but a guy rushed across the court, put me on the floor, put defibrillator pads on me and got my heart started. I’m the luckiest guy. I’ve always lived life, so if I died today I would have no regrets.
LIFESTYLE: My wife and I spend a lot of time together. We like boating and we also like to visit our daughters, who are both grown and live in Los Angeles. I advise my girls to marry someone who is your best friend.
CAREER: My first job was for a contractor in Idaho building dams and powerhouses. It was exciting work, but I didn’t want to get uprooted every couple of years, so I made some calls. Sellen hired me over the phone. I’ve been here 30 years.
SELLEN CULTURE: We were always managed at the top by two or three people. I watched them closely. In 1988 we were doing work that required using toxic stuff. We vacuumed it up, but some of it got into a storm drain and into the Duwamish River. The EPA and the U.S. Attorney’s office took it up. Bill Scott [then the CEO] said: “Guys, we are about to be investigated and we are going to be asked a lot of questions. What we are going to do is tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may.” Boy, I remember that like it was yesterday. We always try to do the right thing. We haven’t been in court on a construction-related issue in 60 years. For a construction company that has done billions of dollars of work, that’s pretty incredible.
SECRET of SUCCESS: We’re within 40 minutes [driving time] of our farthest project. That allows our senior people to be involved in each project—to help identify potential problems and deal with them before they become big issues. Almost every morning, we meet at a job site or here with the job site team
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