Now in their fourth generation of family leadership, Pepper Construction serves clients across the country with comprehensive teams in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Ranked by ENR (Engineering News Report) magazine as one of the top builders of sustainable projects in the nation, Pepper serves clients in a variety of markets, including aerospace, healthcare, science and technology, education, manufacturing and industrial, data centers, entertainment, and hospitality and interiors. Pepper’s High Performance and Sustainable Construction group is part of their Integrated Construction Services (ICS) team, which represents some of the most advanced thought leadership in our industry — investigating new technologies, evaluating new methodologies, and integrating innovative solutions in the field. For more information, please visit www.pepperconstruction.com.
Josh: Well, first of all, I gotta ask how did you end up in Middlebury? And are you a skier?
Jake: Yes to being a skier. And the story on Middlebury. I grew up skiing, and thought I’d be at a big university. I was accepted to University of Colorado – Boulder and planned to go. Before fully committing to that, when I was a junior, my mom and I decided to drive out of Boston and look at schools along the way. Middlebury had come into my high school for a lunch and learn a year prior, and my buddy actually dragged me to that. As we’re driving, I see Middlebury on the map, so we detoured to take a visit and we walked the campus. I was kind of blown away.
My involvement in the construction industry is deeply rooted in my family. Pepper Construction was founded by my great-grandfather. It developed and grew under the leadership of my grandfather, father, and uncles. When my father left the business, it allowed me to explore other opportunities without immediate pressure to join Pepper after college.
Before graduating from Middlebury with a degree in environmental studies and economics and a minor in physics, I interned at Pepper. My grandfather was impressed with my performance and offered me a leadership path, but I chose to gain experience elsewhere. I worked at Environmental Systems Design (ESD) in Chicago, focusing on energy modeling and LEED certification, and later spent three years as a natural gas options trader at Ronin Capital.
I had a lot of fun trading, but at some point, I went out with a buddy who worked for his family construction firm and I asked him how he liked it. He said he absolutely loved it. I woke up and I told my wife, “I think I want to go work at Pepper.”
I started as a PM in our interiors group and ran work for a couple of years. I’ve been here for 11 years now.
My Pepper career has involved rotating through various departments, from IT to virtual construction and ultimately to working in renewable energy and environmental technologies. This diverse experience has greatly influenced my career trajectory and fueled my passion for learning and adapting to new challenges.
Josh: What is something that your company is doing that you consider innovative?
Jake: One of the innovative aspects of our approach is our entry into the renewable energy sector, particularly solar and battery energy. When the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act passed in Illinois and required prevailing wage labor for renewables, we seized the opportunity to establish Pepper Energy as a separate entity focused on solar and battery projects. This strategic move allowed us to navigate a rapidly changing industry and tap into new markets. Solar energy, while related to construction, is an entirely different industry with distinct capital requirements and market dynamics. Unlike traditional real estate and construction, the overlap of developers and financial institutions focused on renewables and real estate is minimal, with different groups focused on each separate industry within large institutions.
Josh: What is something you view as an emerging trend in the industry, and what are your perspectives on it?
Jake: The construction industry is increasingly focusing on sustainability and green building practices. There is a growing demand for buildings that are environmentally friendly and energy efficient. I believe this trend will continue to evolve as clients and regulatory bodies push for more sustainable solutions. At Pepper Construction, we are committed to leading in this area by adopting green building standards, pursuing LEED certifications, and exploring innovative materials and techniques.
This area is also driven by legislative changes and incentives such as the Inflation Reduction Act. This signifies a major shift towards greener construction practices and energy solutions. We view this as a significant opportunity and have proactively established Pepper Energy to capitalize on the growing demand for renewable energy projects. I was appointed president of Pepper Energy, and my primary goal is to expand our presence in the renewable energy space.
Josh: How did you stake your own space at Pepper?
Jake: My grandfather had a very certain way of wanting to grow the business, and it was all about top line revenue as a general contractor. The way to become successful was to gain more market share in our current locations or to expand to new locations. He was the one that said I needed to go to business school. I went to Kellogg and studied real estate and finance, and I got the development itch and a general desire to do more than general contracting. General contractors take an incredible amount of risk for minimal return. I thought we needed to diversify away from this risk, and it became my mission and career goal to diversify our profit centers over time.
Josh: What does the future look like for you and Pepper?
Jake: I think one of my skill sets is to bring structure and organization to a group or department, so that’s really what I’ve been focused on within Pepper. We have a ton of talented project managers, so I don’t add value being in that role. I have tried to focus on where I can bring value to the company by structuring and leading certain departments to get them set up for continued growth and continued collaboration across departments.
Josh: We were introduced through discussions in the P3 space.
Jake: It has been great to work with Husch on a P3 opportunity. I was pulled in when we were asked, can you be the builder and developer? That took some convincing internally because we’re not traditionally developers. That being said, if we get to serve two legs out of the three that exist in a P3 that leads to additional profit potential. The complexity of the legal structure of this particular project has been mind bending regarding the capital stack and especially new market tax credits and how they all interplay, but I love to learn, and so it’s been really fascinating.
Josh: Let me ask you a couple questions before we wrap it up. What’s your number one mountain to ski?
Jake: There are probably two that are tied for the lead, Deer Valley and Telluride.
Josh: If you could have season tickets to the Bears, the Bulls, the Blackhawks, the Cubs, or the Sox…
Jake: That is a hard question because we have season tickets to the Cubs and the Blackhawks. We did all the work at Wrigley Field. We have always loved Wrigley Field and the Cubs, and now they are a big part of our company history.
Josh: I don’t know if you’ve seen The Bear, but if I asked you for one good restaurant…
Jake: I have and it’s great. Right now, a leading contender is at Adalina.
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