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Concentrate on the rewards: Kevin French Chairman and CEO of Landry/French (Scarborough, ME), a 100 percent employee- owned commercial construction company.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
A s chairman and CEO at Landry/French, French directs the company’s strategy and overall vision and is focused on business growth and talent acquisition. He’s driven the company to be one of the most successful construction management firms in Northern New England with revenues of more than $150 million, earning spots on the Inc. 5000 and Engineering News-Record ’s Top New England Contractors. In 2021, he and his partner, Denis Landry, were named the Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year. “I generally always start looking at a new project by concentrating on all the rewards before I will concentrate on the risks,” French says. “Placing the right team on the project and empowering them to make decisions greatly reduces the risks.” A CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN FRENCH. The Zweig Letter: I watched the video in your online bio. What made you initially take that leap of faith to start your first business? What is one of the most valuable
lessons you learned from that first business that you brought to the table in co-founding Landry French? Kevin French: I’ve always been a risk taker. I like to be a little nervous and uneasy. It keeps me on my toes. I get bored quickly and am always looking for that next challenge. I tend to look at risk through the eyes of optimism. My first business taught me what debt is all about. It scared me to death to be in the hole, but with a lot of hard work, it can be overcome. When we started Landry/French we had no debt. Also, when I started the first company, I was not as confident as I am now to surround myself with smart people. Now, I do. Hiring high-performing people has allowed us to be up by 350 percent in seven years. TZL: How do you anticipate COVID-19 permanently impacting your firm’s policy on telecommuting? KF: We are a construction company and we need people to come to work every day. We have not had any issues working in a “normal” setting. I’m not a fan of
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