Gregory P. Craig

Gregory P. Craig

President, DGA Builders, LLC

Years in current role: 9

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I get to be involved in almost every aspect of the business, and at the same time I’m in charge of our big picture goals. Building a company is a rewarding process, and I love seeing our growth and plans for the future. I like that I get to map out the trajectory of the company, look ahead to see our staff achieve their goals and physically seeing how we helped shape Rochester and the surrounding communities.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve dealt with over the past year?

Like most of the world, COVID has affected all our lives the most in the past year. For our business, it has impacted safety, new project starts, material prices and material availability. These impacts have challenged our staff to be more creative, innovative and nimble as they approach the execution of their projects. Our Safety Director and Executive team worked tirelessly to implement new policies and keep current with the ever-changing guidelines.

What do you see as the biggest changes in the real estate and construction industries in the next 3-5 years?

1. Construction software and full integration — One of the elements that have made construction software so indispensable has to do with the fact that it allows for the real-time exchange of information between the various project agents.
2. Construction labor shortage — Our lack of labor forces will have a large impact on our ability to complete work, but the construction industry is changing and has a unique opportunity to attract skilful and educated young professionals as we move to higher tech methods of project execution. We all need to work hard to educate kids on the benefits of a career in construction.
3. Sustainability — Sustainability will go beyond compliance to regulations and will become a people’s movement as greater awareness of limited resources is realized.

What community organizations do you support as a volunteer and why?

I am beyond thankful to know there are so many great organizations that help so many in our area. We endeavour to support as many as we can. For my own heart, cancer research and treatment has been one of my focuses as well as those organizations helping our children and their families.

What are you most looking forward to doing as COVID restrictions ease?

Seeing the future success of our hard work through the past year as we evolved and worked to ensure everyone on our team was rowing in the same direction. As we come out of the restrictions we will be poised and ready for the pent-up demand for our services. On the personal side, I come from a large family and look forward to being able to have our get togethers without the worry.