Needham, MA Jake Simmons, owner of Delphi Construction announced at the company’s annual meeting that he will be stepping out of operations at the multimarket construction management firm, with Keith Shaw taking over as president. The long-planned transition will take effect beginning this year. Simmons will assume an advisory role in the company moving forward.
Simmons acquired Delphi in 2001 while the company was still the small construction division of an owner’s project management firm based out of Cambridge. Under Simmons’ leadership the company experienced exponential growth and expanded into multiple construction markets including healthcare, education, assisted living, multi-family residential, religious and corporate construction. Delphi most recently earned a spot on the list of the 25 Largest General Contractors in Massachusetts in the Boston Business Journal.
Shaw, a construction industry veteran has been with the company since the early days and has held many roles within the organization, most recently serving as Delphi’s chief operating officer in preparation for the move to president upon Simmons’ departure.
This structural shift is part of a strategic planning initiative undertaken by the company in 2016 and includes a number of other key promotions within the leadership organization chart at both the company’s offices.
To his new role as president, Shaw will bring 30 years of industry experience, much of it working alongside Simmons as part of the executive leadership team at Delphi. Shaw closed down his own construction business to come build at Delphi and has maintained a keen focus on high quality project delivery throughout his tenure. First as construction manager, then vice president and COO before taking on the president title.
As one of Simmons’ earliest recruits Shaw shares Simmons’ commitment to what the pair call “the Delphi Difference”.
“This is definitely a bittersweet moment for me. Building this business has been my main professional focus for more than 20 years but the time has come for me to step back and watch the company continue to flourish under new leadership. I hesitate to use the word ‘retirement’ since I am looking forward to maintaining a close working relationship with Keith and helping to shape the direction of the company as an advisor as he leads the organization forward. But I am very much looking forward to being able to spend more time with my family. I will continue to manage the real estate portfolio we have developed along the way and hope to expand my relationship with a number of industry boards with which I am involved as well as continue to expand in the not for profit sectors and charitable work, ” Simmons said.
“While Jake’s daily presence in the office will be sorely missed, in terms of continuity I don’t think much is going to change with regard to what people can expect from Delphi. One of Jake’s great strengths as a leader is that he is a natural team builder. He has worked hard to instill the values that have made Delphi a success into every member of the team, including myself over these many years. We have worked together as a team to build a reputation by delivering A+ projects. That commitment will not be compromised in any way by a change of names on the masthead. Under my leadership Delphi will continue to focus on delivering finished products that meet all of our clients’ needs through a process that exceeds all of their expectations,” Shaw said.
As part of the new organizational structure Shaw will elevate two longtime Delphi project executives, Larry McHugh and Corey Heaslip to vice president positions. McHugh will be responsible for overseeing project teams out of the Waltham office while Heaslip will head up Delphi’s Cape teams out of the Mashpee office.
