Inside The Journey Of America’s Oldest Black-Owned Construction Firm
Cheryl McKissack Daniel was in serious trouble. Daniel, 65, a fifth-generation owner of her family business, was moments away from participating in a public discussion about company succession. Over the years, Daniel thought about the topic sparingly, and quickly realized she had no successor in place. Her two daughters were too young to become CEO of McKissack, the nation’s oldest Black-owned construction company. And executives in her C-suite weren’t yet prepared. With no successor, McKissack was in danger of dying. “There comes a period in time where you go through your entrepreneurial stage,” Daniel says, “That you now have to think about the sustainable stage.” Daniel spent several years looking for the right successor. After 25 years as CEO, she handed leadership to longtime McKissack executive Albert Odjidja in January. He is now in charge of building on McKissack’s legacy and increasing revenue. The company expects to reach $118 million in revenue by 2026, up from $87 million last year. Daniel, now Chair of the Board at McKissack, was featured on the ForbesBLK 25: Top Businesses To Watch list and joined The Enterprise Zone to talk about her company, which is over 100 years old. Daniel shared how McKissack transitioned to a new CEO and talked about building the trading floors at JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters in New York. “I would tell everyone who is starting a business today,” Daniel says, “that they need to think about the succession now. It’s never early enough. – There’s going to be a transition at some point. So, you may as well plan it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
