Over the years, Gilbane has raised more than $1 million for local charities in Texas.

Two 13- and 15-story towers anchor the Phillips 66 Headquarters, built by Gilbane.

As one of the state’s largest general building contractors, Gilbane Building Company’s Texas 
division has completed more than 331 projects worth more than $13.3 billion—and more than 100 million square feet of space—during its 35 years of operation.

These numbers, while certainly impressive, don’t speak to the heart of the company. When you talk to a member of Gilbane’s executive team you discover right away they don’t want to talk about projects or the bottom line; they want to talk about the people that make the company a success.

The Texas operation is currently managed by Dan Gilbane, who firmly believes, and impresses on every employee, the principles that drive the team—stick to your ethics, every employee matters, and invest in the community.

Believe in Your Mission

As a member of the fifth generation of the Gilbane family, Dan has construction in his DNA. His family began the construction company in 1873 and is now one of America’s largest and most storied builders.

He oversees a staff of 250 and is the Division Leader for Gilbane Southwest with responsibility for Gilbane Building Company’s operations across the southwestern United States and Mexico. In Texas, the company has $2.5 billion currently in construction across a variety of market sectors. Since Dan started working in Texas, his division has been named #1 or #2 top general contractors by the Houston Business Journal for 10 consecutive years, and ranked as the second-largest general building contractor in Texas and Louisiana for the past two years by Engineering News-Record.

But Dan didn’t start his career in the family business. He freely admits that he “wanted to see the world.” After graduating from college with a degree in International Relations from Brown University, he spent 5+ years in the finance, investment banking and real estate sectors—only to realize that something was missing.

He recalls, “I learned quickly that what you work on is less important than who you work with. I had the opportunity to work on some really interesting, high-profile assignments that weren’t very enjoyable.”

Dan returned to school to get his MBA from Harvard Business School, a time that allowed him to reevaluate his career choices. He says, “The program added a focus on ethics in the business world. One important lesson I learned was to find a place where I believe in the mission of the company. Turns out, the answer was right in front of me.”

In 2005, after completing his MBA, he joined Gilbane as part of an 18-month assignment in Texas. “My wife is from Texas, so the project was a great fit personally and professionally. Better yet, I had the opportunity to work with some of our company’s top leaders, individuals that I had known since I was young,” says Dan.

Over the next seven years, he worked in a variety of roles learning the business, what matters to customers and the market challenges while working alongside project managers and the rest of the team. In 2012, he took over as the Southwest Division Leader.
Dan says what he likes best is the informal nature of the Texas team, adding, “We’re not tied up in titles or org charts. People just roll up their sleeves and get the job done. 
I believe a big reason for that is the family-feel of our company that transcends generations. So many of our employees, not just the Gilbane family, are also multi-generational employees—so we’re all invested in the success of every project. We all believe in our mission.”

Take Care of Your People

Over the years, the Gilbane Texas team has undergone a number of strategic market shifts, often in response to economic conditions. Today, the company is highly diversified with considerable work in varying public and private markets.

For Dan, the growth is much more than a focus on strategic markets­—it’s really about finding, hiring and retaining talent.
“One of the nice things about being a private family business is we can control our growth. We’re not driven by market demands,” he says. “What drives our expansion in the current market is giving people opportunities.”

It’s worth noting that Gilbane is a three-time member of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®. An important element of the company’s people focus is making sure it is grooming the next generation of talent as well as 
attracting new talent.

“I love to hear our young leaders say ‘I think I could be the CEO’—and they’re right, even if their last 
name isn’t Gilbane.” Dan Gilbane

Dan emphasizes, “Our people are our greatest asset and it’s imperative that we find ways to attract and retain 
the best by offering industry-leading benefits that include a robust family-leave program to balance life-work conditions, medical, dental, 401K, wellness programs and more. We’re also very proud of the Gilbane University that helps continuously train our employees.” 

Dan continues, “I love to hear our young leaders say ‘I think I could be the CEO’—and they’re right, even if their last name isn’t Gilbane.”

Gilbane University is a training and development program that has been ranked in Training magazine’s Top 125 for more than a decade. Part and parcel with employee opportunities is a strong emphasis on safety. Dan is particularly proud of Texas’ safety numbers, adding, “We had more than 35,000 people work on our job sites and go home safely every day.”

He attributes that success to a strategic change in Gilbane’s corporate safety philosophy. “Safety used to be a numbers game, more of a study in statistics. You can only get so good at statistics. About 10 years ago, we shifted to a culture focused on safety as part of our ‘Gilbane Cares’ program. We gave everyone—from the security guards to the field staff—the authority to report a safety concern. That shared responsibility has helped us continually improve our safety numbers. Today, we have multiple projects and millions of hours with no incidents.”

Immerse Yourself in Community

Through the corporate “Gilbane Cares” philosophy, the Texas division works to create an inclusive work culture, environment, and business model that leverage the capabilities of its diverse employee population and vendor/trade contractor community to deliver greater value to employees, clients, and communities.

One of the company’s mantras is “Building More Than Buildings.” Dan’s father, Tom Gilbane, Jr., Chairman of the company, strongly believes that what matters most is giving back to the communities where Gilbane teams live and work. The company does this through contributions to a number of organizations, including Rebuilding Together, United Way and many more.

The company participates in communities through financial support, employee volunteers leading career fairs and project tours, scholarship awards and mentoring programs, and is a national and local partner with the ACE Mentor Program of America Inc. (ACE Mentor Program).

Gilbane’s Senior Project Manager, Angela Cotie, who is also Chairman of the Board for the ACE Mentor Program Houston affiliate, is particularly proud of ACE Houston’s third annual “Build It Forward” event in 2015. She says 20 teams of students, mentors and program alumni (over 100 people) built 21 benches that were donated to other Houston nonprofits and raised a total of $100,500 for the Houston program scholarship fund.

Since 2007, Gilbane Building Company has hosted the Gilbane Golf Classic. This annual tournament helps various charitable partners. Its most recent tournament benefited the CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare, YES Prep Public Schools, Wounded Warriors and the ACE Mentor Program. The company also works with numerous charities throughout the Houston area, including The Beacon homeless shelter, Houston Food Bank, Rebuilding Together Houston and Habitat for Humanity.

Dan summarizes, “We’re very proud that in the past 10 years, Gilbane has raised more than $1 million for local charities in Texas. We truly care about the communities in which we work, play and live—and we fully expect to continue our 
investment in our mission, our people and our communities for the next 35 years and beyond.”