A POWERFUL HISTORY BREADCRUMB ABOUT › HISTORY Back to top WHERE WE'VE BEEN Jerome Goldstein Our history starts nearly a century ago when Jerome Goldstein founded the company in 1926. Goldstein had the ambitious goal of bringing electricity to rural areas that hadn’t yet caught up with the new technology. Thus, the name Power Engineering. Not long after the founding of the company, the federal government established a new agency to distribute electric power to small towns and farmers. Instead of throwing in the towel, Goldstein looked at the changing marketing demands and Power Engineering evolved, something it would continue to do over the coming decades. In the late 20s, we became Power Construction Company and began building single-family residences and small commercial buildings. Later, during the 50's and 60's, Power expanded its focus to include construction of K-12 schools and university facilities. In 1962, Goldstein’s son-in-law, Al Gorman, joined the company and it was his intrepid leadership over the next three decades that helped shape our beliefs around the importance of building great relationships, delivering exceptional customer service, and keeping our promises. By the late 80s, Power had established itself as one of the city's most respected builders of education, healthcare and hotel projects. Al Gorman The 90s saw changes in leadership with Al Gorman moving into the role of chairman. And, for the first time in Power’s history, someone outside of the family was named company president. In 1991, Tom Settles took on his new leadership role, and the success of this decision led to a new operating model, sharing ownership between the Gorman family and key management. It’s interesting to note that Settles began his career at Power as a carpenter in 1971. So, we mean it when we say we like to promote from within and nurture talented team members. By 2001, Settles moved into the role of vice chairman and Jeff Karp was promoted to president. Under Karp's leadership the company persevered through one of the nation's toughest recessions, without having to resort to any large-scale layoffs. The company also completed two of its largest contracts in the firm's history: the $650 million Lurie Children's Hospital and the $800 million transformation program at Rush University Medical Center. WHERE WE ARE Though Power is an established company with a long and rich history, we also consider ourselves to be a young and dynamic company. For proof, just consider the following facts: WHERE WE’RE GOING Headquarters: 8750 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60631-3546 Downtown Office: 225 W. Washington Street, Suite 1420, Chicago, IL 60606-2418 312.596.6960 MAIN NAVIGATION ABOUT CAREERS PROJECTS SUBCONTRACTOR PARTNERS CONTACT SEARCH Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram © 2021. All Rights Reserved.