A bio box on Anthony Consigli
Updated: March 4, 2024
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The WBJ Hall of Fame
WBJ Hall of Fame: Unafraid of curveballs, Consigli builds solutions
Photo | Matt Wright
Anthony Consigli, CEO of Consigli Construction
By Susan Shalhoub
Anthony Consigli of Consigli Construction will never say his industry is easy. But he’s been at it a while now and has learned its nuances, its rhythms.
“In construction, there’s just so much gray,” Consigli said. “It’s a field full of unforeseen events. You have to have accountability – always do what you say you are going to do – while working hard to understand the other person’s needs and wants.”
Construction is a business that makes certainty out of uncertainty, said Consigli.
“Whoever solves the most problems, wins,” he said.
On any given day, for example, he and his team can encounter a renovation with a building that isn’t as it appears in the plans; a co-worker having a personal problem and needing assistance; or issues revolving around multigenerational skill levels for construction professionals.
That last issue, where laborers coming into the field don’t have necessary skills to meet overall demand, is more acute in New England, said Consigli. The region has the oldest-average-age laborers in the country, a disconnect between those retiring and those incoming in.
“The construction industry is very fragmented in this way,” said Consigli. “With over 650 tradespeople here, they are treated professionally, and we make clear they are valued and have an important craft.”
From multitasking, to negotiating, to staying humble, Consigli has mastered all three.
“Running a business is hard,” said Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, who has known Consigli for decades. “This multigenerational company has thrived under him, with a strong reputation for quality. But the thing I really respect is that he takes pride in the fact that it is a business employing people in Central Massachusetts.”
Founded in 1905, the family organization is now owned by its 1,600 employees – with Anthony and his brother, company President Matthew Consigli, at the helm since the late 1990s. Their father Henry Consigli, who previously led the company, is there to guide and support where needed. With more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue, the company has expanded way beyond Worcester: throughout the Northeast, to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Manchester, New Hampshire.
Consigli is working on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. The company is removing the landmark’s visitors’ center and retail shop underneath, transforming it into an interpretive center. Other restoration is included in the scope of the project.
Closer to home, high-profile projects have been successfully completed at UMass Memorial Medical Center, One Mercantile, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clark University, Worcester State University, Framingham State University, and the YWCA Central Massachusetts, which was led by a completely female construction management team at Consigli.
Though the company has spread its wings geographically and across economic sectors, it has doubled-down on its community support and commitment, delving even deeper into improving the fabric of Central Massachusetts, the place the company and Consigli himself calls home.
“He is community-oriented and wants to be a resource,” Murray said.
This engagement takes the form of involvement with local nonprofits, workforce development groups, and community boards such as Working for Worcester, which takes on projects such as building playgrounds.
Consigli Construction has a paid volunteer hours program so its team members can feel the rewards of giving back, he said, and it gets stronger every year. Employees get 24 hours of paid volunteer time to whatever organizations they choose.
The Consigli Foundation – formed about 20 years ago – targets charitable efforts for the well-being of children’s health and education. Consigli has been involved with Worcester nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation for more than a decade, said Consigli, and has worked with Habitat for Humanity and Juniper Outreach Foundation as well, converting a supply closet at City View Discovery Elementary School in Worcester into a student food pantry.
“Everybody wants to know that the company they work for is an organization that gives back,” he said.
Giving back can take different forms, too. Consigli takes pride in the fact his employees now have children working for the company. The company’s subcontractors do, as well. It’s symbolic of the legacy of Consigli Construction that Anthony has been entrusted to – and has successfully – maintained.
The WBJ Hall of Fame Class of 2024:
- Anthony Consigli, CEO of Consigli Construction
- Warner Fletcher, director of Fletcher Tilton
- Carla McCall, managing partner of AAFCPAs
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