Shawmut was honored as one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Workplaces for the third year in a row at Great Place to Work’s annual gala in San Francisco on February 26. In addition to this prestigious honor, Shawmut was also named a Top Innovative Leader as part of the Leadership Awards. Selected for consistently playing a critical role in transforming the workplace, Shawmut’s CEO, Les Hiscoe, was recognized for his commitment to delivering on strategic growth and business goals, developing programs that aim to maximize human potential within their workforce, cultivating a people-centric culture, and prioritizing diversity & inclusion, innovation, and client service excellence.

Excerpt from Great Place to Work Leadership Awards

Les Hiscoe is CEO of Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $1.4 billion national construction management firm. As CEO, Les drives the continued growth and success of the company by creating the most differentiated customer experience in the industry, working with executive leadership to ensure delivery of exceptional levels of client service, developing teams of remarkably talented people, and implementing the latest technologies across every aspect of the business. With more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Les oversees Shawmut’s nine offices nationwide—including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, and Chicago.

As a construction management firm with a reputation for completing complex projects for the world’s most recognizable and elite brands and institutions, Shawmut’s mission is to build an enduring leading-edge company that provides a challenging and rewarding environment for its people. As an industry leader, Les is acutely aware that the construction industry is notorious for being a predominantly all-white, male industry—with imbalances facing women and those from non-majority groups. As CEO, Les believes that it’s the firm’s duty and responsibility to not only create a diverse and inclusive environment that makes Shawmut the employer of choice for everyone, but to dedicate resources to make changes in the industry at large and in the communities where the company does work.

Les, along with Shawmut’s executive leadership team, has driven a company-wide strategic priority to immediately combat such statistics by investing in its people. To thrive in this space, Les created, and sustained, a culture that allows everyone—employees, subcontractors, clients, and partners—to be their best each day. Shawmut’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is a central tenet to this, and it’s why Les created the firm’s first diversity leadership council—a 14-member council that is accountable for driving Shawmut’s D&I strategy.

Les understands that Shawmut had to shift the way it approached culture, diversity & inclusion practices, and work-life integration to keep employees engaged, fulfilled, and able to provide unparalleled client service. It’s also why Les put in place strategic employee benefits and offerings that advance the firm’s commitment to its people—like an industry-first flex work program, paid-family leave, and a leadership development initiative, to name a few.

Shawmut’s people define the firm’s world-class identity. They are the very essence of Shawmut’s culture. By investing in them, Les ensures the ongoing continuation of Shawmut’s success and growth—but more importantly, he drives change within the industry and professional workspace globally.