Chuck Pagnotta Leads by Example

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Chuck Pagnotta was five years old when his father took him to a construction site. By the time he was seven, he was nailing down hardwood flooring. A decade later, he was a carpenter foreman with 30-year-olds reporting to him. He credits those formative experiences, when he was often the youngest person on-site, with shaping him into the leader he is today.

“I was fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of people who took an interest in helping me, whether it was a town official, an architect, or an engineer. I also had the privilege of working alongside my father, my uncle, and my cousins, who would have me work with different subcontractors to allow me to learn from others and how they did business,” Pagnotta recalls. “I was taught to respect everyone, to have a strong work ethic, that nothing comes easy, and to never change toward a client—no matter if we break even, lose, or make money for a project.”

After receiving a business degree in 1991, Pagnotta started his career working at his father’s company before joining a third-party general contractor. There, he helped build two hotels for the Briad Group (TBG), a hospitality company with hotel, dining, and quick-service restaurant (QSR) divisions under household brands like TGI Fridays, Wendy’s, Marriott, and Hilton. TBG has nearly 7,000 employees, over 121 franchise locations, and a construction division that has completed more than $1 billion worth of projects. Pagnotta’s positive experience as a contractor inspired him to join TBG in January 2003.

As TBG stood up Briad Construction Services LLC, Pagnotta had a clean slate and a young department. He hit the ground running.

“As soon as I joined in January, I had five hotels and two restaurants coming out of the ground in March. I had no employees, I didn’t have an office, we didn’t have the usage of computers,” he explains. “You just put it together and planned the best you could.”

One might wonder how Pagnotta and his colleagues managed, especially considering how much project management and construction rely on technology today. For Pagnotta, the company’s success stemmed from a growth mindset.

“Through the years, we continued to look at our properties and our staffing differently, and it was always focused on how we could get better. We build absolutely beautiful properties, but we’re never complacent with what we have,” Pagnotta says. “We focus on spending a lot of time with our guests, our operations teams, understanding what they see and hear, and how their experience is affected by what we do.”

He continues: “Over the course of two decades, we’ve taken our basic properties and set goals for people to remember how each one looks and functions.”

Fast-forward to today, and Pagnotta, who currently serves as senior vice president of construction and design, is proud to have reached these high standards on several properties, including the AC Hotel by Marriott Bridgewater in New Jersey and another in San Diego. He’s excited to see that legacy continue through the Marriott Residence Inn, a 114 guest-room hotel slated to open in Ocean, New Jersey, in July. Navigating the construction and planning for the project has been a source of pride, considering the economic challenges TBG construction has been wrestling with, the leader shares.

“We face extremely large increases in pricing, both in labor and materials, as a result of COVID. Combine that with huge interest rates, and it’s a challenge just to develop in the Northeast,” he says. “That’s why you have to look at every aspect of a building to make sure it’s fruitful to even go through with it. Fortunately, we were able to make the financial side work for the Ocean, New Jersey, property.”

The caveat was that the property had to be built in 12 months or less. Two decades ago, that kind of timeline was the norm. But it’s a challenging task in the current environment, as skilled labor shortages have forced project timelines to lengthen. However, Pagnotta’s team has successfully balanced speed with quality. He credits that success to an ability to think outside the box and a focus on communication.

“It came down to letting everyone know in advance what expectations were, communicating daily, and following up, following up, following up,” he stresses. “My team has done an outstanding job, and to see that we’re nearing completion already is so rewarding. It’s a proud moment to see all that preplanning we put in have an impact.”

“Working with Chuck Pagnotta on several construction projects has been extremely rewarding and brought many challenges to our company. He is an outstanding person who focuses on delivering the best, inspiring the team to always achieve excellence,” says Diniz Teixeira, managing director of Premium Contractors.

Despite the amazing projects he’s had a chance to work on, Pagnotta says nothing has been as fulfilling as being a leader who inspires by example.

“I like to be the first one here and the last one to leave,” he says. “I’m passionate about my team like they’re my family. I’d do anything to protect them, and they’d do the same for me. I don’t believe in complacency. I want us to be better, and I expect the people I work with to want to be better too.”

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