Podcast guest

Bob Whalen: the CEO who grew a 100-year-old contractor into a half-billion-dollar, employee-owned company.

CEO of HB Global, the parent of HB McClure. Bob took a century-old mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor from about $29M to $500M+, made it 100% employee-owned, and grew it from roughly 195 people to more than 900. If you run a construction business and want to know how it is really done, this is the guest to hear.

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The story

From a regional contractor to a half-billion-dollar platform.

Bob Whalen is the CEO of HB Global, the parent company of HB McClure, a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor with more than a century of history. This is real construction, the kind of trade work a homeowner or a builder counts on.

When Bob stepped in around 2008, the company was doing about $29M a year with roughly 195 employees. Today HB Global does $500M+ and has grown past 900 people. That is not a startup story. It is a contracting business that figured out how to scale.

The move that set it apart came in 2010, when Bob led the company through a conversion to 100% employee ownership (an ESOP). The people doing the work became the owners. From there the growth came partly through smart, steady expansion and 11 or more acquisitions, folding other contractors into one strong platform.

The track record

The numbers behind the story.

A few verified milestones from Bob Whalen and HB Global.

HB Global

~$29M → $500M+

Grew annual revenue from about $29M in 2008 to more than half a billion dollars.

Revenue growth

HB Global

100% employee-owned

Led the conversion to a 100% employee-owned company (ESOP) in 2010.

Ownership

HB Global

~195 → 900+

Grew the team from roughly 195 people to more than 900 employees.

Headcount

HB Global

11+ acquisitions

Built one strong platform by acquiring and folding in 11 or more companies.

Growth by acquisition

Why it matters for builders

This is the playbook for the construction owner who wants to grow.

Most guests built something impressive in another world. Bob built it in yours. HB Global is a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor, so the lessons map straight onto a $1M to $5M construction business that wants to get bigger.

Scaling is a skill, not luck

Going from about $29M to $500M+ in the same trade proves a contractor can scale on purpose. The systems, hiring, and leadership that get you there are exactly the things most construction owners are behind on.

Employee ownership keeps your people

Making the company 100% employee-owned turned workers into owners. For an owner fighting to keep good crews, it is a real model for building a team that stays and cares like it is theirs, because it is.

Growth by acquisition is real

11 or more acquisitions built one strong platform out of many smaller contractors. If you have ever thought about buying out a competitor or a retiring owner, Bob has actually done it, again and again.

A 100-year name still grew

A century-old company is not stuck. Bob took an established contractor and multiplied it many times over. The same focus on leadership and systems can take your business to the next level too.

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