In the GC community, Suffolk Construction was one of the first to not only recognize the potential of emerging technologies, like drones and reality capture, but to establish a formal process for vetting these tools.

The firm established R&D teams across the organization to pilot technologies on actual projects. If the desired results were achieved, the team would then evaluate the scalability across the organization.

It all sounds so simple, right? Well it’s not.

In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 11, 2017, Chicago), Chris Mayer, Suffolk’s Chief Innovation Officer, talks about the firm’s framework for vetting and implementing new technologies and processes.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Chris Mayer is the Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer at Suffolk Construction. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the company's innovation initiatives, managing their execution, and measuring their results to achieve safer and more affordable building. In addition, Chris heads up Suffolk's Innovation Committee, which is focused on identifying new innovations and testing them for feasibility. Prior to joining Suffolk, Chris was a consultant in the digital media and online education industries where his focus was on developing strategic technology plans that align with, and enable, successful business growth. Chris also worked as the Publisher of the Boston Globe newspaper and websites for four years and worked at the news organization for nearly 30 years. He oversaw the Globe's two-brand online strategy, developed new technologies that allowed subscribers to access Globe content on smartphones and tablets, and launched RadioBDC which introduced the Globe to a new digital radio audience. Chris currently serves on the board of Community Servings, a not-for-profit food and nutrition program that provides services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Yale University.