As we kick off our 30th Anniversary, it felt only right to spotlight someone who’s been here for almost all of it: Jim Cahill. Jim’s been with JC&A for “a lot longer than I haven’t been… by a bunch of years”—nearly 29, by his count. And in that time, he’s pretty much done everything there is to do before becoming President.
A Tufts grad from Woburn, Jim joined JC&A right out of college. What drew him in? “Ha. Being broke?” Fresh out of school, needing a job, and meeting with Jay. Jim and Mike Garrity had graduated together, both civil engineers, both in the same fraternity. Jay had followed that same path years earlier, working at Modern Continental before starting JC&A. Jim followed Jay a few months after that—and the rest is history.
When Jim started, titles didn’t mean much because the team was small. “Floor sweeper? Laborer? Super? Assistant Estimator? APM?” he says. With four people, then six, then eight, you did whatever needed to be done in the moment. Somehow, along the way, Jim became President—about 17 years ago now, which still surprises him. “I have no idea why Jay trusted me at that age,” he admits.
Ask Jim about his proudest moment at JC&A, and he won’t point to a single project or milestone. For him, it’s always been about the people. Having the chance to work alongside friends—people he knew before they worked at JC&A, like Mike Garrity, Dave Connor, Mike Willson, Chet Braun, Garrett Zetocha, and many others—has meant everything. Jim believes there’s no better way to build a culture than working with people you respect, trust, and who share the same values. Today, he considers much of the JC&A team close friends and hopes that feeling goes both ways.
As for traditions, one stands out above the rest and that’s the turkeys. The fact that the company is still carrying on that tradition nearly 30 years later says a lot about who we are.
When it comes to favorite projects, Jim doesn’t hesitate—“Not projects, but maybe parties?!” JC&A has always known how to throw a good one. But behind the fun is something deeper. Jim believes the company cut its own road, often doing things differently than the traditional playbook and sometimes taking a little gruff for it along the way. That approach paid off, helping build a team that’s smarter, more strategic, and more competitive in how we operate. He sees JC&A as a construction management company that runs like a tech company, a manufacturing firm, a robotics company, or a real estate investment firm. We don’t do things “the way they’ve always been done”—and that’s exactly the point.
So what does “The JC&A Way” mean to Jim? It’s not a secret sauce. It’s the Golden Rule: treat people how you want to be treated—and expect the same in return. That philosophy extends to clients, too. If a client doesn’t respect our people or what they do, we don’t work for them. “Life is too short and too valuable for that,” Jim says. Jim is upfront with potential clients that mutual respect isn’t optional—it’s the cost of doing business with JC&A.
When asked if there’s anything else he’d like to add, Jim keeps it simple: “Just that this has been a wild ride.”
It sure has—and JC&A wouldn’t be what it is today without him.
