Jennifer Suerth

• Senior Vice President
• Pepper Construction Group
• Chicago, IL

Tell me about yourself and what you specialize in. I have a background in architecture and structural engineering, both through education and work experience. During that time, I worked on some of the tallest and most complicated buildings in the world, but a little over a dozen years ago, I made the decision to switch to the construction side of the industry to focus on bridging the gap between design and construction. This not only reconnected me with projects in Chicago, where I live, but also led me to my current position as a senior leader in a large, forward-thinking company. Here, alongside my talented and expansive team, I leverage innovation and technology to help transform our business operations.

Why do you love working in the construction industry? Buildings are a huge part of everyone’s lives, and I love being able to point to those same buildings and say, “I worked on that!” No two days are the same, and no two projects are ever the same. Also, how we work today will look very different tomorrow. This is an extremely exciting, rewarding, and evolving industry to be in.

What topics and trends are you most passionate about in the industry? Diversity, continuous improvement, data-driven decision making, and technology in the field. Diversity brings different perspectives, and embracing my uniqueness has been instrumental in my career and the projects I’ve worked on. I want to leverage different people’s perspectives in combination with usable and reliable data to continuously improve how we do work or make decisions.

What advice would you give to the next generation preparing for the future of the industry? Be a sponge and take advantage of every single experience or learning opportunity you can get. There are many different roles and career paths, so keep your eyes wide open. Finally, it’s true how interconnected the world can be. Every relationship you build, even early on, holds potential for your future endeavors.