Adrienne Caron – Gilbane Building Co.

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The construction industry is constantly evolving and changing, so it’s a perfect career for someone who gets bored easily.

That’s one reason Adrienne Caron got into the business. She is a project manager for Gilbane Building Co. and has worked in the industry for nine years.

“It’s so exciting to watch an industry as old as construction embrace new technologies to make building safer and more efficient,” she said. “This is what keeps me in the industry. I love learning something new every day.”

Caron ensures projects are managed efficiently and that all schedule, budget, safety, programming and quality goals are achieved. Shortly after joining Gilbane, she took on a new client in the Madison area that consisted of altering a 110,000-square-foot vacant industrial lease space. The renovation included office space, restrooms, conference rooms, a training room, a breakroom and electrical/utility closets.

“Living in Milwaukee, Adrienne drove over an hour each way every day to the project site and was able to make a smooth transition into leading the project, ultimately finishing on time and within budget,” said Fred Wenger, sales and marketing specialist at Gilbane. “The client was extremely happy with the project and with Adrienne’s professionalism, skill and effective communication skills.”

Some of the biggest challenges of being a project manager include working with different personality types and being patient with the sometimes slow progress on projects.

“During my career I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different people and I’m constantly trying to improve my communication skills,” Caron said. “Modifying the way that is comfortable for me to communicate so my message is better received is incredibly important, but takes tons of practice.

“I also tend to be impatient, so when a project is moving slowly I struggle. This is especially tough when things are outside my control, like waiting for plan approval or for a review from a legal team.”