Their Vision is Our Reality: Q&A with an Experienced Contractor in Dallas
When you want expert insight, you can count on McCownGordon Construction to provide it. Business unit leaders like SVP Charlie DeVoe bring decades of experience to our DFW team. After 40 years in the DFW construction business, he started consulting before ultimately joining McCownGordon after being impressed by the leadership and culture.
We sat down with Charlie to chat about the future of contracting in Dallas-Fort Worth and what positions McCownGordon to lead the industry.
What drew you to McCownGordon?
When I sat down with McCownGordon Leadership to understand their vision for growth in Dallas-Ft Worth, it became quite apparent this vision was to create a long term sustainable business, leveraging their experience across multiple market sectors to bring value to their associates. McCownGordon is led by an exceptional leader, Ramin Cherafat, who lives each day by our core values of Integrity, Relationships and Performance. The culture, commitment to service excellence and long term vision for growth in Texas was very appealing and offered me an opportunity to leverage my 40 years in Texas to support this vision.
What does McCownGordon do differently from other contractors in Dallas?
McCownGordon is a 100% employee-owned General Contractor/Construction Manager, extremely successful in maintaining a diverse portfolio of market sectors. Our leaders are driven to grow the business and present unique opportunities for industry professionals, our stakeholders and trade partners. All associates and partners play an important role in our success.
We are drawn to each associate’s commitment and dedication to our core values of integrity, relationships and performance. I like our service offerings, our associates’ commitment to operational excellence, which will serve us well as we grow our market presence.
Lastly, our in-house services, including our Integrated Building Performance Solutions Group, extensive preconstruction processes, and monthly cost data analysis for each of our markets. Our partners appreciate the high level of detail and transparency we provide.
Is there a secret to a successful construction project?
The key to a successful construction project is establishing a strong relationship built on trust. Trust is the foundation of any great relationship and it creates a safe environment for project owners. We communicate with project owners and truly listen to their concerns and goals.
I have a copy of our core values sitting on my desk every day to encourage me to find new and better ways to serve our clients. Integrity, performance and relationships—these principles really do form the foundation for everything we do.
I’ve experienced how our approach to partnering improves working relationships with trade partners. Our trade partners are the experts in their fields and bring in-depth knowledge and insight. The collaboration ensures a project is more than just successful, but goes above and beyond owner expectations. Trade partners will always be a significant part of our success.
What are you most excited about for the next year?
There is so much I’m excited about for the next year! Our local leadership includes many seasoned professionals who have maintained strong local industry relationships over several generations. We have a unified vision, both in terms of building our project portfolio and building more internal support programs. Here in DFW, the team brings an average of 23 years in this industry/market. Few competitors can bring that level of expertise, knowledge and tenured relationships.
Travis Huffman, a long termed tenured McCownGordon associate, transferred from Wichita, KS and leads our Operation team. April Hudson, Director of Business Development, has been serving our industry here in North Texas since 2008. Heather Fizgerald, Marketing Manager, recently joined us after leading marketing services with a national competitor for over 20 years. Gale Roberge, Director of Public Sector Preconstruction Services, brings in-depth local knowledge and is well respected by her clients and design professionals. Together, our team represents leadership’s commitment to assembling the “best in class” to lead our expansion in Texas.
This team of professionals is committed to finding creative ways to bring service offerings in response to today’s challenges of cost escalation and supply chain issues while keeping a focus on delivering upon our promises. I am confident our clients will appreciate how we continue to leverage our past to make for a better future. DFW deserves a construction company that does things differently, and has fun doing it.
Discover our commitment to being a leading construction firm in DFW
When we build a building, we’re helping to build the future. McCownGordon is proud of the positive impact our work has on the communities we serve. We bring unmatched experience to construction projects across a variety of markets, from commercial, education, to healthcare and beyond.
At McCownGordon, our team maintains a customer-focused mentality, allowing us to meet and exceed even your highest expectations. Dedicated to promoting integrity, performance and relationships, it’s our people and values that truly make the difference.
Our customers aren’t simply another project; they’re an extension of our team and community. Together, we don’t just build—we bring creative visions to life. From first thought to final nail, we deliver quality work to ensure our builds stand above the rest.
We have four regional offices around the Central U.S.– Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Kansas City, MO; Wichita and Manhattan, KS.
