Episode 198: ‘Vision Behind Construction’ with Nancy Novak
In this episode:
Christi Powell and Angela Gardner welcome returning guest Nancy Novak, a 30+ year construction executive who has semi-retired into an ambassador role at Compass Data Centers while serving on adjacent boards and continuing mentorship to advance women in the industry. Nancy explains planning her transition nearly two years in advance, overlapping a year with successor Amy Marks, and valuing a “soft landing” while prioritizing health and family time. She identifies AI as the most disruptive recent jobsite technology, building on earlier database advances, and stresses keeping critical thinking and improving industry communication to become more relational than transactional. Nancy shares Google’s “potential vs. credential” promotion data to highlight systemic gender patterns and urges women to self-advocate earlier and lead differently. She discusses a “perfect storm” of demand, demographics, infrastructure, and technology creating opportunity, outlines ways to check and counter implicit bias through diverse decision-making rooms, and says her husband and continuous learning keep her grounded.
Show Notes and Links:
00:00 Welcome Back, Nancy
01:05 Pivoting Into Retirement
03:20 Family Health Priorities
04:10 AI Disrupting Construction
06:45 Communication Evolution
07:57 Potential Over Credentials
13:01 Perfect Storm For Equity
16:12 Checking Implicit Bias
19:10 Staying Grounded Legacy
21:13 Connect And Wrap Up
About Nancy:
With more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Novak brings extensive expertise in oversight and responsibility for Profit and Loss. In her current role as Chief Innovation Officer for Compass Datacenters, her focus is on cutting-edge technology, lean practices, and innovative culture through diversity of thought to add value, improve return on investment, and disrupt the construction industry.
Prior to joining Compass Datacenter, Novak was National Vice President of Operations for Balfour Beatty Construction. At Balfour Beatty, Novak was a key resource in assessing and strengthening the company’s ability to scale knowledge and bring national consistency to strong, existing operating standards. Previously, her 20-year career as an operations executive with Hensel Phelps Construction Company gave her the expertise needed to build complex projects efficiently.
She is heavily involved in organizations that lead the way in advancing technology in the construction industry, and she is an advocate for women’s leadership. Her passion for advancing women in business occurs through multiple worldwide organizations.
