Q: Can you share a little about your path and tenure at MacDonald-Miller?

My name is Brian Kite, and I currently serve as a Project Director at MacDonald-Miller. I began my journey here over 25 years ago as an intern and have been here ever since.

My start at MacMiller was somewhat of a “happy accident.” I was working as a fly-fishing guide in Alaska during the summers. MacDonald-Miller brought some clients up to where I was guiding, and by the end of the week, after discussing my engineering degree and future plans, I was offered an internship.

I started in the estimating department, spent two years interning, and then transitioned into project management, working my way through various roles, including periods in estimating, test and balance, managing fabrication, and eventually managing the project management department for about 10 years.

Q: What is it about the MacDonald-Miller culture that supports career movement and growth?

I’ve seen MacDonald-Miller consistently provide opportunities for me and others, and really work to align individuals with their passion. If you are a driven individual, the company will open doors for you and provide the necessary resources to ensure your success. I feel like I’m a real-life example of how this culture works, having grown with the company as it has evolved over the past 25 years. Especially during learning moments, the company has been great at recognizing value and helping individuals on the right path forward.

Q: Currently, you’ve been heavily involved in major healthcare projects like the Swedish North Tower. What do healthcare customers prioritize most, and how does this differ from standard commercial construction?

Similar to any client, healthcare customers are looking for quality installation, timely delivery, and adherence to scope and budget. However, a major differentiator in the healthcare space is the critical need to integrate design and construction early, thoughtfully managing cost and collaboration to align scope and budget while maintaining flexibility. This is something we refer to as progressive design-build.

Unlike commercial buildings with more standardized floor plates (like office buildings or hotels), hospitals feature diverse spaces such as operating rooms, imaging centers, retail spaces, and patient rooms, each with unique end-users. The needs for these spaces often evolve after the initial design due to staffing or programming changes. It is vital to be a flexible solution-based partner, understanding that these changes will occur, and having the foresight to allow for that potential change is a very important factor with our healthcare clients.

For example, when dealing with operating rooms, we know equipment selection often happens much later in the process. Instead of ignoring the space until decisions are made, we proactively allocate space and communicate milestones to the project team, defining when decisions truly need to be made to keep costs down and prevent expensive tear-outs later. This proactive insight and collaboration helps drive decisions and reduces the risk of quality control or efficiency issues down the line.

Q: What does clean execution and proactive project management look like in these complex environments?

For me, the core of successful project management is honest, transparent communication. Success requires foresight, especially when running large healthcare projects, as you know the pitfalls you will encounter. I approach every project aiming to get ahead of potential issues before contracts are finalized or estimates established. I consider myself a straight-over-tackle communicator who is not afraid to have a hard, honest conversation with a customer or a general contractor. Good partners embrace this approach as it is built on trust, viewing it as guidance rather than combat.

Q: What advantages do you think MacDonald-Miller’s integrated team, industry experience, and GC partnerships brings to the table?

When you create a high-performing team on a large project, similar to something like MacDonald-Miller and Mortenson teams on the Swedish North Tower, the value you create transitions forward to future projects. This continuity means we are starting a new project as a high-performing team, immediately leveraging lessons learned from the best practices and complex logistics of the previous job.

When you combine that with MacMiller’s strong design-build resume and track record of collaborative leadership from the start of a project, you get real-world design-build efficiency, delivery of a much better product and a seriously reduced risk. That’s the kind of progression and opportunity I get really excited about.