Joe Blanchette
Barton Malow Vice President, Energy
A Michigan native, Joe (John Jr.) is a Barton Malow man through and through: His mother worked for the company’s K12 group, and his father, John, was a key general superintendent. Joe remembers visiting construction sites as a youngster.
“It was all so exciting: The cranes, the large equipment, the huge holes, and the team spirit and friendship of the crews made it such an amazing place. I knew I wanted to be part of that world.”
After high school, Joe enlisted in the Marines, and while home on leave, he often visited Barton Malow construction sites to catch up with the team over lunch in the trailer. In 1996, after his time in the service, Joe started his career at Barton Malow as a general laborer. From there, he joined the Carpenter’s Union, where he became a foreman and progressed to site superintendent.
Joe’s abilities did not go unnoticed and he was called into the office to work in estimating and preconstruction. He moved on to manage small projects, then larger ones, and then multiple large projects while mentoring other project managers.
Getting Better Together
Joe successfully completed his first utility-scale wind farm project, which led to others in the growing renewables sector. He was soon managing multiple wind farm projects while sharing his expertise with his growing team. Joe helped run the renewables group as its own business unit by organizing new teams, working with preconstruction, and developing relationships with subcontractors, clients, and partners.
As director, Joe was given responsibility for Barton Malow’s entire energy portfolio where he oversaw the construction and installation of over 1 gigawatt of renewable energy generation as part of the clean energy initiative. His approachable nature and focus on continuous improvement marked Joe as a natural leader and his influence grew.
As Barton Malow’s Vice President of Energy, Joe is responsible for strategic planning and operations management, aided by a team of directors representing the various parts of Barton Malow and Alltrade’s energy portfolios. He sees the combined strengths and experience of both companies as the key to getting better together.
Leave It Better Than You Found It
Joe was recognized for his work at Barton Malow with the Ben C. Maibach Jr. Leader Award of Excellence in 2015. Joe recalls turning to his father (who was honored with the Carl O. Barton Builder Award of Excellence in 2011) for advice on what to do next.“I remember him telling me, ‘Your efforts should always be focused on leaving the industry better than you found it.’”, Joe says. “I’ve made that my mission and it’s amazing where it has led me.”
Joe’s understanding of the energy and renewables market results from hard work and industry relationships with specialized and niche experts on both sides of the border. He is excited to be a part of Alltrade’s Executive Leadership team, helping to shape the strategic vision for the combined energy portfolio of both companies.
Joe and his wife Jaimee live in West Michigan with their two sons. They enjoy football, lacrosse, and boating on Lake Michigan.