Our Team

Patricia McHugh

Chairman of McHugh Concrete, Patty McHugh, is a prime example of the McHugh tradition that executive staff gain significant field experience. With over 30 years’ experience, Patty first began working at the firm’s construction sites as an assistant surveyor. As Chairman, she has guided the company through construction of some of Chicago’s most recent record-breaking buildings, including St. Regis, One Chicago and NEMA. Patty’s leadership and vision has been instrumental in making the company what it is today. She is the inspiration behind McHugh Concrete’s culture of integrity and client-first mentality.

Brett A. Szabo

Brett oversees all McHugh Concrete operations and is responsible for overall management of the company. With over 25 years in the business, he has been on the forefront of pioneering uses of concrete. Prior to becoming president at McHugh Concrete, Brett oversaw concrete construction of the 92-story Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, one of the tallest reinforced concrete buildings in the world. He supervised placement of more than 180,000 CY of concrete over a period of just three years. He also managed installation of a concrete core for the 50-story Hyatt Center, the first Chicago building to incorporate terrorism-resistant concrete blast walls. As project executive, some of the buildings Brett oversaw construction for included 215 W Washington, 353 N. Clark, and the University of Chicago Hospital Center for Care and Discovery; and he led the company as president during the construction of One Chicago, while simultaneously bringing McHugh Concrete into the Nashville market to serve on such projects as the luxury residential buildings Alcove and Prime.

Brett is dedicated to maintaining strong client relationships, always keeping our clients’ best interests at heart. His vision is to be a partner that, once hired, brings a peace of mind to the client that the project is in the best possible hands. He takes upholding our reputation as one of the top concrete companies in the nation very seriously and makes sure the team delivers the best possible service and quality on every project. Brett’s leadership also includes a keen focus on employees. He makes sure each employee is well versed in our history and core values so that they feel like they truly fit into the company and enjoy coming to work. He wants great success for each employee and for everyone to feel that they’ve been given ample opportunity to achieve their goals. The culture he strives for is one that is team focused. Through hard work, communication, honesty and integrity, there is nothing the McHugh Concrete team cannot achieve.

Brad Davis

As Chief Operating Officer, Brad is responsible for all field operations. He ensures superior quality control and safety on every project, while overseeing personnel, logistics, purchasing, sequencing, scheduling and form system selections. With close to 40 years of experience in the construction industry, Brad has been with McHugh for his entire career.  Starting as a carpenter, he worked his way up to concrete superintendent, and then to the executive level, performing on many of the company’s most notable projects.

Dan Jatis

As Chief Financial Officer, Dan is fiscally responsible for all aspects that contribute to McHugh Concrete’s overall success. He manages the revenue of the company, while providing leadership for the accounting team, and supervising the compilation and preparation of financial statements. A graduate of Northern Illinois University, Dan has over three decades of experience.

Alex Bonfil

Alex is responsible for leading the estimating team and overseeing all bids. He is a civil engineering professional with experience in all types of concrete projects including residential, commercial, and infrastructure. Joining McHugh in 2012, he had an immediate and lasting impact on operations. Alex spearheaded the implementation of 3-D modeling technology for the company expediting construction timelines and mitigating potential development issues before they arise. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and served as a squad leader in the 91st Engineer Battalion of the United States Army where he was charged with engineering solutions to remove obstacles from fields of combat so American tanks could navigate the terrain.

Mike Pagano

As Vice President Mike oversees the project management side, training and ensuring all project managers uphold the company’s quality and safety standards. He focuses on business development and maintaining client relationships, while driving strategic initiatives and creating growth for the company.  Mike started his career with McHugh in 2002 surveying as an instrument man in the field at 1111 South Wabash. He has worked on such prominent projects as the NU Biomedical Research Center, NEMA, and One Chicago. While each project has posed its own unique challenges, he considers laying out the slab edges at Aqua at Lakeshore East one of the most interesting.

Ray Searles

Ray is a senior industry leader with over 30 years of construction experience working across the Midwest and Florida. Leading McHugh Concrete’s Nashville team, Ray oversees the project management side, training and ensuring all project managers uphold the company’s quality and safety standards. He focuses on business development and maintaining client relationships, while driving strategic initiatives and creating growth for the company in the Nashville market.

Sara Fletcher

Sara leads all legal, risk and safety issues for McHugh Concrete.  Formerly an attorney for K&L Gates, Sara began her career at McHugh in 2015. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she received her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Sara handles McHugh Concrete's contract negotiations with general contractors and sub tier vendors while overseeing safety as it relates to risk management in both the Chicago and Nashville markets.

Brian O’Leary

Brian has been the leading force behind Concrete Special Operations, a division that focuses on non-high-rise cast-in-place structures. Brian’s leadership, knowledge and experience coupled with McHugh Concrete’s expansive resources and manpower make Special Ops a competitive, efficient, and highly responsive division that provides unparalleled service in this market sector. As Project Executive, Brian leads the Special Ops division while ensuring quality, safety, and continual improvement remain top priorities to maintain our best in business reputation.

Max Levin

As Concrete Project Executive Max is responsible for driving consistent improvement and innovation amongst the team while ensuring quality and safety remain top priority. Max works closely with Vice President Mike Pagano to ensure McHugh Concrete is constantly moving forward and striving to maintain our best in the business reputation. Starting as an intern in 2004, Max has spent his entire career at McHugh. He went on to hold the titles of Assistant PM, Project Manager and Senior PM working on a variety of jobs such as the design-build project Battle Stations 21, a 210-foot-long destroyer simulator for training Navy recruits, the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab located in the highly congested Streeterville neighborhood, St. Regis Chicago, and the Cirrus and Cascade buildings in Lakeshore East. Max earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago, where he later went on to complete his Master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus in Structural Engineering.

Jim McGeever

As Ironworker Superintendent, Jim oversees the preconstruction planning and field management of reinforcing steel. An industry veteran with 30 years of experience, he has spent 20 of those at McHugh Concrete. Jim is in charge of our elite crane crew who performs the erection and dismantlement of many of Chicago’s tower cranes, including planning the logistics, deciding the location and choosing the type of crane. He is a close advisor to the president and chief operating officer of McHugh Concrete, oversees all ironworkers, and works alongside the entire team from preconstruction to close-out on project coordination.