MILPITAS, Calif., October 11, 2021 – Craig Ellis, a 28-year construction industry veteran, has been promoted to senior vice president and head of XL Construction’s civic and education business groups.
His new responsibilities include expanding the company’s presence in both markets as well as providing overall project leadership and guidance to assure all project deliverables are met. He assumes leadership of the education group from Steve Winslow, senior vice president, who has transitioning to a newly created leadership role with the company’s preconstruction group.
“Craig’s stellar track record in starting our civic business unit from scratch and turning it into a pillar of our overall business speaks volumes about his leadership qualities, working style and vision,” said Richard Walker, president, XL Construction. “We look forward to his continued leadership and success at keeping XL Construction at the forefront of the Northern California construction industry.”
“I take great pride in our civic team’s past accomplishments and am energized at working with the education group to achieve even greater success for our clients, employees and the communities we work in.”
XL Construction’s Long-Term Strategic Management Succession Plan
The Ellis and Winslow executive changes come as part of a long-term strategic management succession plan, where senior leaders who are approaching retirement, will begin to take on new leadership roles to focus on a couple of critical issues that will have a significant impact on the organization – as well as mentor those taking on their prior roles.
Previously, Ellis was the vice president of the civic business unit which he launched for XL Construction in 2017. The team he assembled went on to develop new and significant relationships within the market that led to the unit achieving profitability shortly after its formation and which continued its growth including during the last year – despite the pandemic.
In addition to supporting Ellis through the transition, Winslow is charged with evaluating how the company can enhance its preconstruction services through innovative solutions such as prefabrication. He was instrumental in the launch of one such solution this past year, a prefabricated mass timber classroom product called TimberQuest™.
Ellis Brings Deep Expertise and Passion to New Role
Over the course of his career, Ellis has proven his versatility at working in and adapting to the needs of disparate markets. In the education sector, past projects include CSU Stanislaus Naraghi Hall of Science, Turlock, Calif.; East Side USD, Mt. Pleasant High School Performing Arts Theatre, San Jose; Los Gatos USD, Blossom Hill Elementary Schools, Log Gatos; San Jose State University Clark Hall Renovation & Seismic retrofit, San Jose; and UC Santa Cruz Interdisciplinary Science Building, Santa Cruz.
Other projects he has overseen at XL Construction include the County of Santa Clara Administration Campus, Santa Clara, Calif.; upgrade of a National Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERC) facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif; and two multi-award winning projects, the LifeMoves Mountain View navigation center, Mountain View, Calif; and the County of Santa Clara South County Animal Services Center, San Martin, Calif.
Prior to joining XL Construction in 2015, Ellis was a project executive at Bay Area Clark Construction Group, where he worked on a variety of projects including the construction of Salesforce Tower, a 61-story $475M structure located in downtown San Francisco.
Ellis graduated from California State University, Chico, with a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in construction management. He lives in Danville, Calif., with his wife Marcey and two sons Max (16) and Henry (14).
About XL Construction
XL Construction is a leading general contractor whose mission is to “build to improve lives.” XL partners with today’s leaders in life sciences, advanced technology, corporate office, civic, healthcare and education to create places that make its communities better. The company’s focus and passion for team success has earned it a network of great partners and a reputation for putting people first. XL Construction is consistently ranked among the top general contractors in Northern California. In 2020, the company was named ENR California’s Top General Contractor of 2020 and the #1 Best Place to Work in the Bay Area.
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TimberQuest is a trademark of XL Construction.