The Building BITE

The Building BITE hosts Valerie Bono and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Jake Concannon, Vice President of Gallagher’s Construction Practice. Jake opens the show sharing his journey growing up in the Bay Area in California and attended the University of Arizona – where he studied Political Science and played Rugby. He joined Gallagher in 2005 as an intern and was offered a full-time position and has remained with them ever since. He purposely rotated through all departments early on in his tenure, working various construction risk and insurance programs like Wrap-Ups, Sub Default Insurance, Surety Bonds, Builders Risk, Captives, Professional, Pollution, etc. This exposure laid the foundation for advising Builders on risk management strategies, where he now works directly with Owners, GCs, and trade contractors. Diving into the topic at hand, Jake proceeds to share his 3 Bold Predictions for the future of the Construction Industry. They are: Talent & Culture: With the changing landscape of the talent pool, finding, retaining, developing talent, and creating a culture where everyone on the ship is rowing in the same direction will separate the best from the others. According to Jake, people are the company’s number 1 asset and most significant risk. Information and Tech to become a key voice within the C-Suite: There are strategic opportunities to capture data and use it advantageously. Some tech is worth a more significant investment than others. Experts with this mindset can bring this knowledge to the C-Suite. This ties back to prediction 1: Companies that invest in the right people will be the most competitive in technology. Likewise, good Tech is needed to attract and retain talent. Opportunities within Mass Timber: According to a recent study, there are 400 Mass Timber buildings in design or construction in the United States today. In 2026, it’s expected to be 4,000, and in 2030, 10,000. Mass Timber is faster to construct with, renewable, and fire-resistant, making it attractive to utilize. However, a considerable gap remains between supplying, building, and insuring mass timber. That must change in order to see these projections become reality. To learn more about these predictions through the lens of our expert, listen to our full podcast episode with Jake Concannon, 3 Bold Predictions for the future of the Construction Industry.