KAREN MCHUGH
Title: Manager of Strategic Projects
Company: Parsons Electric, LLC
Location: Minneapolis
Age: 28
Years on the job: 7
Karen McHugh knew she wanted to work for Parsons before she even graduated from college. Before earning her degree in business management from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, she served as an intern in both the marketing and estimating departments.
“I was attracted to Parsons because of their highly regarded reputation in the industry, the types of projects they work on, their culture, and the opportunities they are able to provide,” she says. “Through my internships and industry connections, I had already built a base with the organization and knew this was where I wanted to land permanently after college.”
After she graduated from college, she returned home to Minnesota to realize her dream. When she first joined the company, she was hired on as a marketing/proposal coordinator to provide marketing support for the Parsons Technologies Division.
Over the last seven years, she has had a lot of exposure to many different business groups within the company, which she says has helped her immensely in her career. In 2014, she pursued an internal opportunity as an associate project manager.
“I wanted to start to learn the ins and outs of the jobs we were working on and all the complexities and challenges that go along with those,” she says. “I felt that in order to support our business as best I could, I needed exposure to what happens on the front lines in the field and how we are executing.”
In this position, she worked on several high-profile projects. For example, she spent two-and-a-half years on the U.S. Bank Stadium project, which is said to be the largest construction project to date in the state of Minnesota.
“The experience I gained on the U.S. Bank Stadium project was invaluable to understanding what it is like to be in the field,” she says. “It was such a great learning opportunity for someone who was pretty new to the industry at the time, and it really helped me in the role I am in now.”
While she no longer interfaces with external customers or contributes directly to construction projects, she works with project teams who manage the small and large construction jobs. In 2014, she attended a workshop to learn about LEAN, which Joel Moryn, president of Parsons, called a game changer for the industry.
LEAN transformed the way she approached her role at the company, she says. Today, she helps project teams to implement LEAN tools and processes to run their jobs more efficiently.
“I’m passionate about contributing to our construction projects in this capacity,” she says. “It has been a rewarding, challenging, and exciting role.”
On the U.S. Bank Stadium Project, the construction team not only used LEAN methods, but also iPads for the first time. Rather than relying on large rolls of paper plans, the superintendents, foremen, and project managers used the iPads in the field.
“When you think about the time it saved — especially on a construction site that is 1,000,000-plus square feet, it’s not only amazing, but it also is a more efficient and less wasteful way of doing things,” she says.
In the future, she plans to continue working at Parsons and grow both personally and professionally.
“Who knows?” she says. “I could wind up back on a job site someday. Whatever I do decide, Parsons allows the flexibility for people to reinvent themselves.”
