Q&A with DPR’s George Pfeffer

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George Pfeffer joined DPR Construction more than 30 years ago as a project engineer, shortly after the company’s founding in 1990. Today, DPR is a multi-billion-dollar global builder with 12,000 employees across its organization and Pfeffer, many projects and leadership posts later, is CEO.

Pfeffer shared a few thoughts on his role and the industry, in advance of his keynote address at BuiltWorlds’ Tokyo Summit, Oct 15-17.

DPR CEO George Pfeffer on a worksite

As CEO of DPR, what’s been the most important or impactful part of your role to date, and what’s your top priority for the near future?

There is nothing more important than the health, safety, and wellbeing of our people and teams. Our goal is nothing less than zero incidents on every project as we strive to create a better working environment within the construction industry.

We understand that safety is about people, not just numbers. This means adopting a whole-person approach that encompasses psychological safety, mental health, and a sense of belonging, in addition to physical safety.

DPR is widely recognized as a leader in technology and innovation in the construction industry. Why is that recognition important to DPR and what does it mean to you personally?

I am proud to be part of an organization known for its collaborative approach to innovation. Though construction presents challenges for innovation, we prioritize problem identification as the initial step in creating, developing, testing, and implementing solutions.

One of our methods focuses on identifying and nurturing innovative ideas internally. Key to this process is maintaining two-way communication between our innovation team and our skilled tradespeople in the field. Our in-house innovation team tests and validates ideas submitted by our employees. Over the past decade, we have supported more than 2,600 ideas.

You've spent your entire career in the construction industry with DPR. How do you see your job today? 

In my current role, my primary focus is to ensure the longevity of our organization and the culture we have cultivated over the past three decades. I also see my role as making sure that our efforts at DPR are deserving of the unwavering dedication and hard work our employees demonstrate every day.