Photo courtesy of Skanska USA
Anna Moll, business development manager of Skanska USA Civil, hard at work in the field.
International Women's Day, Women in Construction Week and Women's History Month all take place in March and Construction Equipment Guide (CEG) proudly celebrates this by showcasing two talented women actively working in the construction field.
Anna Moll and Danielle O'Connell, business development manager and senior director, respectively, work at a top construction firm Skanska USA. Skanska, founded in 1887 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is the parent company of Skanska USA with 30 offices located in major cities across the nation including Boston, New York City, Atlanta and Phoenix.
The project development and construction firm works to establish building plans and designs for hospitals, tunnels, power plants and bridges. Together, these efforts help to further infrastructure and local communities across the country.
Moll and O'Connell, both based out of the Boston, Mass., offices, have helped shape the Skanska USA team with their years of unique experience, hard work and talent and share some of their gained insight throughout the years.
Photo courtesy of Skanska USA
O'Connell, born and raised in a small town in Massachusetts and from a hardworking, blue-collared family had always some interest in the construction field, but didn't find her true passion for the field until she started as an assistant project coordinator at a medium-sized contractor more than 15 years ago.
With a bachelor's degree in architecture and design from the University of Massachusetts, O'Connell didn't know if she'd quite fit in, but quickly discovered her place and rapidly advanced her career as she progressed from a project coordinator to a manager, director and then senior director.
From working directly in the field and leading construction coordination meetings to gaining experience with building information modeling (BIM) and virtual design and construction (VDC), O'Connell has a unique skillset that encompasses technology, design and construction. Together, these skills have helped her thrive in her position today.
While her day-to-day activities can vastly change, O'Connell co-leads a national team within the building group to support all 30 U.S.-based offices and focuses on improving project outcomes by integrating emerging technologies into design and construction processes. She works daily with customers and Skanska project teams to solve problems in unique and innovative ways, while improving processes and overall efficiency. Additionally, O'Connell serves as the co-chair on the local Skanska Women's Network chapter in New England, where she helps to plan and execute events for employees across their local business units.
"I'm most proud of my Emerging Technology team and what we have accomplished over the last two years," she said. "We have come a long way since I started at Skanska almost seven years ago thanks to hard work and clear direction. We are making great progress in our organization to build a culture and community around innovation, while impacting the great work we do as builders."
Although O'Connell has had many accomplishments, she shared it hasn't always been easy to navigate a career that so heavily involves VDC and construction technology.
"In many ways, you have to pave your own way and find advocates who will go to bat for you when opportunities arise," she said.
Despite any challenges she's faced in her career, though, O'Connell loves what she does and has a true passion for Skanska, construction technology and design. She encourages anyone interested in the field, particularly young women, to accept the challenge and explore different options by finding a valuable mentor and a rotation program or internship in the field to gain experience.
"Construction is a challenging, exciting and dynamic industry with endless opportunities," she said. "The sense of pride you feel when you walk by a building you were personally a part of or that your company built is incredible — it is even cooler when you can point these out to your friends and family so they can truly understand the work you do. More importantly, you have an opportunity to impact society, building schools for future generations or building hospitals for the sick. These buildings are essential to the users who occupy them and, as a mother, I often reflect on how these spaces could impact my children."
Photo courtesy of Skanska USA
Anna Moll, originally from Wayland, Mass., grew up with a love for mathematics and engineering. With a degree from Tufts University in civil engineering, she was quickly linked with a fellow alum Paul Pedini for an internship during her time at Tufts, who helped kickstart her career as an engineer.
After approximately two years of gaining experience at an environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, she joined Pedini as one of the first members of the Skanska Boston Civil team. From there, the two have worked together for more than 10 years at Skanska and their once small team of 10 has grown to more than 80 professionals today. A lot of that success, according to Moll, is credited to Pedini and his passion for construction and optimistic outlook, as well as the overall culture of Skanska.
As a business development manager, Moll stays busy while she develops major infrastructure projects, partners with designers and contractors to determine strategic project teams, and develops project estimates for upcoming jobs.
Some of her greatest accomplishments include introducing the Skanska team to an innovative 3D handheld scanner, which is a safer and more efficient way to gather accurate measurements, as well as obtain more than a billion dollars' worth of work. She also actively serves as a member of Skanska's women network, a resource group dedicated to support a gender inclusive culture and help women thrive in the company. While she acknowledged "the industry has a lot of room for improvement, the company is leaps and bounds ahead" and is something she's grown very passionate about.
Moll loves the challenges constantly presented by her job, as well as the fast-paced environment and the level of innovation required to deliver results.
"No day looks the same and I am constantly challenged with new tasks, projects and responsibilities," she said. "I am constantly learning and growing because there are always new things to be done. No day truly looks the same, which is why I like my job so much."
With two young daughters, aged two and four, Moll is challenged with balancing her hectic schedule, but she said having a very supportive and understanding team and company makes all the difference.
To the women and younger generation inspiring to work in the construction industry, Moll encourages them to "keep saying ‘yes' to new opportunities and responsibilities and find someone that will support your professional development and advocate for you."
"Having a mentor that really knows me and supports me has been invaluable to my career and made it a great experience for me to work at Skanska and in the industry," she added.
While working in the construction field can look many different ways — from operating heavy equipment to building estimates and sketching blueprints for upcoming jobs — the field has endless growth opportunities for women and the upcoming generation.
As women continue to press forward in "atypical" and male-dominated industries such as construction, engineering, mathematics and science, new opportunities of growth, innovation and creativity can arise and further the success of these challenging, yet rewarding industries. CEG
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