2021 Ones to Watch: Stefano Braganti, HAP Construction

Name: Stefano Braganti

Title: Executive Vice President

Company Name: HAP Construction

Real estate associations or organizations that you are currently a member of:
New York Building Congress, Professional Women in Construction

What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?
The Maverick at 215-225 West 28^th St. comprising two 20-story buildings totaling 310,000 s/f, which is our biggest project to date. I have been working on the Maverick for more than three years, first helping to coordinate the design phase, and later in charge of construction. I also hired and manage a great team of women and men, who have worked persistently throughout the different construction phases of the building. As executive vice president of HAP Construction, and previously director of construction, I have played a key role in continuing to grow and manage the company by putting in place detailed procedures, a bidding/estimating department, and marketing and business development strategies, as well as the technical team dedicated to construction.

How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles?
Keeping the entire team energized is always one of the biggest challenges in construction, where a project can take several years to complete. I believe the key to keeping people motivated is to provide them with specific goals and a clear path to personal growth. For example, we offer our employees membership to LinkedIn Learning to help promote their self-improvement.

Who was/is your mentor and how did s/he influence/help you in your career?
Hezi Mena, the senior vice president of WSP, who was my boss when I joined the company right after college. I worked for him for almost five years and learned a lot of technical engineering skills, but we became even closer after I left the company. While he was my supervisor, Hezi also taught me several business and life lessons that I continue to follow today, including always making sure to meet deadlines, looking for out-of-the-box ideas to help our clients accomplish what they want, and never using “no” as an answer until you try every possible way to make something work.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?
Our company is an active member of the New York Building Congress and Professional Women in Construction.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to become a commercial air pilot, but attending flight school in Italy is very expensive, and joining the army was not in my plans.

What led you to your current profession?
Probably just destiny. My grandfather along with my grandmother, later helped by my father, had a small construction company in my hometown of Imperia, Italy. When I was a kid, I spent my afternoons “helping” workers tie up rebars, but I always told myself I didn’t want to be in construction. After receiving a dual master’s degree in engineering from the University of Bologna and Columbia University, WSP offered me a job. A few years later, I was managing the structural design of several buildings including 56 Leonard St. One of my clients joined HAP and recommended me, and the rest is history.

Top three things on your bucket list:
Take a year off to sail around the world, ride my bicycle from San Diego to New York City, and get a private pilot license.

Favorite quote:
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein