Andy Block
PresidentAs President, Andy oversees all of Crane’s business operations. Prior to that, Andy was the head of Real Estate Development for Crane’s affiliate company, GC Housing Development LLC. Andy becomes the fourth generation at Crane to carry on the tradition of developing and building high quality construction projects throughout the United States.
Before joining Crane, Andy was the Executive Vice President of the Harry Walker Agency (HWA), a speakers’ agency based out of New York. There, Andy ran the Speaker Management and Contracts Department. HWA represents many of the world’s foremost speakers, including President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Vice President’s Gore and Cheney, Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Michael Eisner, David Stern, Steve Forbes, Shaquille O’Neal, and many others. In his role at HWA, he had the opportunity to work closely with these distinguished speakers. His time running the Speaker Management Department took him to 26 countries and 27 US States.
Kris Smith
Chief Operating OfficerAs Chief Operating Officer (COO), Kris is a part of Crane’s Management team, overseeing all day-to-day operations of the Company. Prior to being promoted to the role of COO, Kris was Crane’s Controller. Kris is a seasoned construction financial executive with over 30 years of progressive finance and accounting experience in the field of construction. Kris’ expertise includes leading the development and implementation of financial, accounting, and strategic IT designs and systems. Kris is results oriented with a demonstrated history of identifying needs and leading projects from inception through successful execution.
Ross Grande
PrincipalRoss is a Principal at Crane. In addition to Ross’s role as part of Crane’s Management team, Ross also works as a Project Manager in the Residential and Commercial Division. Prior to coming onboard the Crane team, Ross owned and operated Grande FIT. Ross graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where he was a Division I collegiate wrestler.
Warren Even
Project Manager | PrincipalWarren is a Principal at Crane. In addition to Warren's role as part of Crane's Management team, Warren also works as a Project Manager in the Retail Division. Prior to coming onboard the Crane team, he was employed by Kone Elevators/Escalators for 9 years, where he specialized in elevator installations, maintenance, service, and modernization. He has also received numerous accreditations in the area of safety. Warren received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Carthage College.
Rich Eischen
Senior Vice President Commercial | ResidentialRich has been employed with Crane Construction Company since 1984 in the capacities of Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager and currently Senior Vice President. Rich has built a varied portfolio of projects over the years with a strong expertise in senior housing. Rich received his Bachelors of Science degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Arizona State University in 1983. Rich has received a Presidential Award of Excellence for his work in resource management and is also LEED certified.
Justin Gilbert
Senior Vice President HospitalityJustin has been with Crane Construction Company LLC since 2005. Justin is a results orientated, hands on construction and development professional with expertise in all facets of the industry. Justin has successfully completed multi-million dollar projects through coordinating trades, developing partnerships, and building positive rapports with architects, engineers, local officials, vendors, and clients all while maintaining costs. Versed in project estimating, spotting impending design problems, document preparation, building code and regulations, material purchasing, and site management through certification of occupancy.
Jeffrey D. Crane
Senior AdviserJeffrey (Jeff) D. Crane has lived construction for his entire life and is now an Adviser to Crane’s Management team. Prior to that, Jeff was the President of Crane Construction Company LLC for 40 years, having been both a Project Manager and General Superintendent earlier in his career.
Jeff has served as the head of the Carpenter’s Labor Trade Committee and has been a part of the formal labor negotiations. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO), a joint Labor-Management Organization serving the construction industry.
Jeff exhibits strong community involvement, having served on the Board of the Young Men’s Jewish Council. As one of the founding directors, Jeff helped establish the Center for Enriched Living, a community service center for mentally challenged young adults.
With his highly respected reputation within the building community as a fair and honest leader, and through his relationships with subcontractors, architects, and organized labor, Crane’s building projects maintain the highest standards of quality.
Ralph Grande
Senior AdviserRalph is an Adviser to Crane’s Management team. Prior to that, Ralph was Executive Vice President and a Partner at Crane. Up until his transition to an Advisory role, Ralph successfully managed Crane’s retail division. Ralph also developed the Crane team’s approach to onsite management of retail projects through the new combined position of Project Manager/Superintendent.
Prior to joining Crane, Ralph was employed by Capitol Construction Group of Wheeling, Illinois for 13 years as an Estimator, Project Manager, National Account Manager and finally, Senior Vice President/General Manager of the Specialty Retail Group. Ralph has successfully built projects in 48 states in his 40+ years of retail construction, and by Crane’s count, over 3,000 stores constructed.
Dennis Anton
Project AccountantDennis joined Crane Construction Company LLC in October of 2019 and has over 19 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane team as a Project Accountant, Dennis held a position as Project Accountant at Poulos Construction Co. His array of experience in the general contractor arena serves Crane well.
Kathy Bartell
Project AccountantKathy joined Crane Construction Company LLC in October of 2001 as a Project Accountant. Prior to joining the Crane team, Kathy worked in financial accounting at various manufacturing, publishing, and interior design firms. Kathy graduated from Belhaven College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and with a minor in Business Administration.
Rich Carey
Project Manager | SuperintendentRich joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May 2013. Rich comes to the Crane team with an extensive carpentry background and with a proven track record of completing difficult projects on schedule and with great efficiency.
Traci Christensen
Project AdministratorBio coming soon!
Mike Cieniawski
SuperintendentMike joined Crane Construction Company LLC in February of 2021 and has 20 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane Team, Mike spent the last 8 years as a Union Carpenter and Foreman for a top tier construction firm. Mike’s experience includes Superintendent work as well.
Bill Crowther
Project Manager | SuperintendentBill joined Crane Construction Company LLC in December 2016. Bill brings a multitude of leadership qualities to the Crane team that include personnel management, quality assurance, business development and construction design. Bill has broad experience in the formation and motivation of cross-functional teams and has worked extensively with top-management leadership. Along with these traits, Bill is also fully familiar with the construction trades of carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, and more. Bill graduated from Aquinas College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Victoria Dalton
Administrative AssistantVicki joined Crane Construction Company LLC in August of 2016 as an Administrative Assistant. Vicki has an extensive background in administrative support and has worked in the Insurance Industry for over 20 years. Her responsibilities at Crane include verification of insurance certificates, vendor contract maintenance, and customer service. Vicki earned an Associate’s Degree in Secretarial Science from McHenry County College.
Joe Downey
Project Manager | SuperintendentJoe joined Crane Construction Company LLC in June 2014. Joe comes to the Crane team with 30+ years of experience in all aspects of the construction field. Joe’s qualifications and knowledge include general contracting, building spec homes, union carpentry, and running many commercial projects from the ground up. Joe trained at the National Association of Power Engineers.
Amy Fregoso
Project AccountantAmy joined Crane Construction Company LLC in July 2021. Prior to becoming a Project Accountant with the Crane team, she was employed as a project accountant by a leading Chicago area construction firm for 15 years. She has over 30 years of experience in the construction accounting field.
Adam Fifer
SuperintendentAdam joined Crane Construction Company LLC in August of 2018 and has over 13 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane Team, Adam spent the last 5 years as a Union Carpenter and Foreman for a top tier construction firm. Adam’s experience includes Superintendent work as well.
Brendan Goss
Senior Project Manager | Real Estate DevelopmentBrendan has been employed by Crane Construction Company LLC since 2008, Brendan started as a laborer, and moved his way up to Assistant Site Superintendent, Superintendent, Project Manager, and now Project Manager of Real Estate Development. Brendan’s family has been part of the Crane team for over fifty years. Brendan attended the University of Kansas.
Kevin Hathaway
SuperintendentKevin joined Crane Construction Company LLC in April 2017. Prior to joining the Crane team Kevin worked for MC Construction Management and has 30 years of experience in the construction trade. Kevin holds a certification for Estimating and Project Management from Turnkey Construction Management Institute.
Duane Heyne
Project Manager | SuperintendentDuane joined Crane Construction Company LLC in August 2008. Prior to becoming a Project/Superintendent with the Crane team, he was employed by Pooley Enterprises of Orlando, FL. He specializes in high end retail and restaurants as well as hotel suite renovations.
Katie Hild
Project CoordinatorKatie joined Crane Construction Company LLC in January 2016 as a Project Coordinator. Prior to working with the Crane team, Katie was a Senior Customer Service Representative for Regus. Katie attended Fullerton Junior College with a focus in Accounting.
Thom Lindwall
Project Manager | SuperintendentThom joined Crane Construction Company LLC in December of 2006 and has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane team as a Project Manager/Superintendent he was employed by D.R. Horton National Home Builder as a Project Manager in charge of all phases of construction in housing developments in Chicago area suburbs. Prior to D.R. Horton, Thom was employed by Ewing-Doherty Mechanical as a plumbing foreman. He has extensive experience with ground up buildings as well as tenant build-outs. Thom earned an Associate’s Degree from Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Cindy Lopatowski
ControllerCindy joined Crane Construction Company LLC in June 2000 as Assistant Controller, and is now Controller. She has 30+ years of hands on construction accounting experience. Cindy completed her college education in 4 years while also being a three sport athlete. Cindy graduated from Lewis University in Romeoville, IL with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Mathematics.
Rick Luna
Project Manager | SuperintendentRick joined Crane Construction Company LLC in January 2016 and has been working with various clients on retail projects since. He has 25 years of experience in Residential and Commercial Carpentry and Construction. Rick completed a 4-year UBC Journeyman apprenticeship and has been a member of the UBC Rockford Local 0792 for 20 years.
Richard Luna, Jr.
Assistant SuperintendentBio coming soon!
Bill Miller
Project Manager | SuperintendentBill joined Crane Construction Company LLC in May 2004. Prior to becoming a Project Manager/Superintendent with the Crane team, Bill was the head of research and design for a company that specialized in high end millwork and exclusive retail store fixtures. Previous to that Bill worked in a custom woodworking shop where he was the foreman and head designer for a custom kitchen manufacturer. Bill graduated from The Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Degree.
Michele Musso
Director | Administration & MarketingMichele has been part of Crane Construction Company LLC since 1995. Michele is extremely adept at project administration and coordination. Michele’s responsibilities include: drawing distribution, project submittals, contracts and change orders, maintaining control of all logs and documents (i.e. contract documents, drawing schedules, submittal schedules, equipment cuts, etc.). Michele is excellent at project control and is accustomed to dealing with Subcontractors, Vendors, and Clients at the highest level. Recently, Michele has become the Crane team’s in-house LEED coordinator.
Merari Najera
Project CoordinatorMerari joined Crane Construction Company LLC in September 2017. Merari comes to Crane from the insurance industry. Prior to joining the Crane team she worked for Farmers Insurance and has her Property and Casualty Insurance License.
Patrick Nicholson
Project Manager | SuperintendentPatrick joined Crane Construction Company LLC in October of 2000 and has been working with various clients on prototypical and standard retail projects since. Patrick was educated in Construction Management, Construction Estimating, and Business Management at Black Hawk Technical College. Patrick is also in the Carpenters Union and has received Superintendent Training.
Tim Pelham
SuperintendentTim joined Crane Construction Company LLC in August of 2021. Prior to joining Crane, Tim spent the past 18 years with MAPP Construction as both a Traveling Superintendent and a General Field Superintendent. Tim holds a LEED Green Associate certification as well.
Mike Podgorny Jr
Senior Project Manager | SuperintendentMike joined Crane Construction Company LLC in September of 2008. He has over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining the Crane team as a Project Manager/Superintendent Mike was employed by Sadie’s Photography as Construction/New Store Setup Manager in charge of all phases of construction for opening retail Digital photography studios across the country in high profile locations. Mike has experience with tenant build outs, high end retail projects, restaurants, as well as renovations for various clients. Mike graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Photo Journalism and Communication Graphics.
Chris Williams
Accounting AssociateChris joined Crane Construction Company LLC in June of 2017 as a Staff Accountant. Chris has over 35 years of experience in the accounting field and brings a multitude of accounting experiences to the Crane team, including: financial report reconciliation, state and federal tax completion, and general administrative support. Prior to joining the Crane team, Chris worked at 7-Eleven, Inc. for over 30 years.
Chris Wolfe
General Field SuperintendentChris joined Crane Construction Company LLC in 1996 and has over 22 years of experience in the construction industry. In addition to work that Chris has performed at Navy Pier, Chris has also worked as Project Superintendent on a variety of highly visible projects such as Harry Caray’s, CB2, and White House | Black Market. In 2020, Chris made the jump from Project Manager | Superintendent to General Field Superintendent. His new role will be to oversee all projects and lend support where necessary.