Category Archives: Featured Articles

Careers in Construction Month: Matt Kirch went from banker to builder

Kitchell Project Manager Matt Kirch graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in business management and set out on a nine-year career in the banking industry. He excelled in the role, managing branches for a national financial institution throughout metro Phoenix’s East Valley. But he began to lose motivation when he felt he wasn’t building anything tangible.

“The tough thing about banking is that you don’t see your work come to fruition in a physical way,” he said. “Your results are on a dashboard – sales numbers, investments, mortgages – the final accomplishment never changes throughout your whole career.”

His cousin, Kitchell Project Director Aron Kirch, knew Matt would be a good fit at Kitchell. Matt admits that he never worked in construction and has a laughable random box of tools at home, but figured he was still young, eager to learn and could transition to something else with many years of work ahead of him. So, in 2015, he left his lucrative career in financial services and made the switch to construction. And there was no looking back.

“I took a pretty big pay cut and was older than the other project engineers who were starting out, but I also had more maturity so it might have been an easier transition,” he said. “After being in the business world, I had good communication skills. Although I didn’t have the education or background in construction management, because of my work experience I was probably less hesitant to call an architect, engineer or talk to an owner.”

Matt says the biggest benefit of his prior career is interacting with people. He was driving teams in banking – financial officer, mortgage brokers, tellers – who had different roles, but all worked toward a common goal of making a customer happy. He uses the same skills in what he does today.

“We’re solving problems. It may be complex, we may not have the answer, but we can find a solution that makes the client happy.”

Matt has worked on several healthcare projects while at Kitchell. Today he’s working on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Medical Office Building.

“Construction has a flow – scrubbing bids at the beginning, signing trades up, getting things released, building, dealing with issues – even with a project timeline it feels different. It’s never the same thing every day – it’s always changing, and I like that.”

Matt admits that making a switch might be scary at first because you’re starting over, but time flies quickly, and before you know it, you’re an expert. You’ll be happier that you took on the challenge.

“If you’re a hard worker and have a good work ethic, Kitchell is a place you can really grow.”

Matt went from banking to building and is succeeding. Who do you know who would be a good fit at Kitchell?

Careers in Construction Month: Rick Hook still works on a campus – just in a different role

Rick with wife Deb, and children Harper (8) and Lincoln (4)

Kitchell Senior Project Manager Rick Hook grew up in Chicago and was exposed to the construction industry by working for a few trades throughout high school and college. Since he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his career, he majored in education. After getting his degree from Calvin College in Michigan, he worked for about eight years teaching subjects such as social studies, geography and history. When Rick’s wife, Deb, decided she was ready to start a family, she told Rick he needed a career with more moneymaking potential than teaching.

“We were both teachers, first in the UK and then in California, then in Seattle. And when you want to start a family – of which I was told in no uncertain terms we were going to do – I knew I had to do something else to pay the bills,” Rick said.

Rick attended night classes at the University of Washington, obtaining a certificate in Construction Management. In 2011, Rick’s brother, Kitchell Project Director Ryan, called to say there was an opportunity to work on a Banner Desert project in Arizona. Since coming on board that year as a Project Engineer, Rick has worked on a succession of award-winning Kitchell landmarks, including Chandler Regional Medical Center, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and eventually the University of Arizona Health Sciences Innovation Building in Tucson. Put in a leadership role to manage that project, Rick realized how the skills he used in teaching transferred to a career in construction.

“When you’re a teacher, there are many different personalities,” he said. “How I talk to one student may not work for another, so I need to adjust. Working and talking in front of a group is second nature when you’re in the classroom. A lot of the soft skills – managing, mentoring, communicating – they all transition nicely.”

Now Rick is back on campus managing the University of Arizona’s Grand Challenges Research Building, with a Kitchell team of 12 and project workforce of about 175 people.

“I do love this job,” Rick said. “I love that it’s new, interesting and unique every single day. I love the challenging projects and feel completely blessed to have worked on them. They’re great and interesting, and it’s ever a dull moment. We have a great collection of people, super teams and coworkers who aren’t only that, but become part of your lives.”

Suffice to say, Rick was “hooked” on a career in construction. Who do you know who would be a good fit at Kitchell?