Born in Chicago, Tony Iannessa is driven by the work ethic he inherited from his family, who immigrated from Italy in the early 1950s. Having built a foundation working in the trades, Tony’s roots in construction trace back to his youth, when he spent summers as a concrete laborer and interning with an electrical contractor.
After graduating from Indiana University, he gained over a decade of experience in Chicago’s construction industry, which he leveraged to form BIG in 2016. As founder and CEO of BIG, Tony leads the firm’s strategic direction and is responsible for the organization’s sustainable growth.
Tony is an active member of Vistage, YPO, and Chicago’s Economic Club. He serves as a board member of the American Cancer Society and is an Imerman Angels mentor for other caretakers of spouses fighting breast cancer.
Tony has been featured in Crain’s Chicago Business numerous times and in 2020, was included as one of Crain’s 40 under 40 at age 37. In 2020, he was named a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Tony has served in board positions of Susan G. Komen, the Francis Xavier Ward Catholic School Facilities committee, the Sports and Pastimes committee of Riverside Golf Club, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, Greater Chicago Food Depository, and City of Hope.
Thanks to Tony’s leadership and emphasis on culture, BIG Construction has been named to Crain’s Best Places to Work in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
In 2021, Tony co-founded Helix Construction to support the growing life science industry in Chicago.
When he isn’t working, Tony lives in Chicagoland with his wife, two daughters, and son. He enjoys golf, cooking/dining, working out, and relaxing in Harbor Country, Michigan with his family.
Chris, President and Chief Integrator at BIG, brings over 20years of experience and more than 5 million square feet of interior projectsacross Chicago to our clients. His passion for building began early and wasshaped by hands-on experience in residential construction. Since then, he’s ledstandout projects including BMO, Charles River, First Midwest Bank, Oracle’sInnovation Lab, and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange at the Old PostOffice. At BIG, Chris translates our vision into operational excellence,guiding the team toward bold growth and innovation. Outside of work, he enjoysgolf, paddle tennis, softball, and spending time outdoors with his wife, twodaughters, and son.
John’s first job in the construction industry was as a laborer at a contracting company, and he never looked back. Though he earned his degree in business management, even working for the Board of Trade, it was in construction where John found his true calling.
As Senior Superintendent at BIG, John’s gregarious and ambitious nature are assets to building relationships and advocating for the best interests of projects. As manager of field operations, he employs two decades of experience that ensuring resources meet project specifications on budget.
John is a native and current resident of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. Outside of work, he coaches his children’s basketball and soccer teams and participates on the City of Hope leadership council.
With a master’s degree in finance, her CPA ,and 15 years’ experience in construction and real estate accounting, Maggie has the technical knowledge and hands-on experience to make her a vital asset to the BIG team.
As VP of Finance and Administration, she plays an important role in guiding reporting, compliance, and other essential financial decisions at BIG. Maggie’s strong knowledge of accounting concepts and sharp business acumen further BIG’s sustainable growth. Maggie has been instrumental to BIG's success over the last several years, and her responsibilities have grown to include finance, accounting, HR, IT, corporate legal and risk.
When she isn’t busy leading BIG’s financial operations, Maggie enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends. She lives in Bartlett with her husband and two kids.
A civil engineering graduate, Dan found his calling in construction through internships, finding a passion for being the driving force behind the project coming to life.
Since then, Dan has accrued over 18 years of construction project management experience in Chicago’s commercial real estate industry. In recent years, he completed $35M-$45M of commercial work annually in diversified projects, ranging up to 375,000 square feet and $85 million in cost.
As a Project Executive, Dan is the point person for our client and project consultants. He is responsible for the planning and execution of successful projects. He supports clients throughout their project’s life cycle by providing conceptual budgeting, preconstruction estimating, cost control metrics, schedule maintenance, and closeout turnover.
As Vice President at BIG Construction, Haley plays a keyrole in aligning project strategy with team success. Since joining in 2021 witha background in structural engineering, she’s contributed technical expertiseto pricing, budgeting, and lump sum bids. Her ability to earn client truststems from strong communication backed by deep technical knowledge. As VP,Haley balances strategic leadership with a continued focus on technical growth,helping our teams deliver at every project stage. She’s known for encouragingindustry engagement and providing thoughtful feedback that strengthens ourprocesses. Outside of work, Haley is passionate about HEALTH AND wellness. She’sbeen a HIIT instructor at Equinox since 2019 and is a founding leader of theChicago chapter of WWIRE.
John’s first job in the construction industry was as a laborer at a contracting company, and he never looked back. Though he earned his degree in business management, even working for the Board of Trade, it was in construction where John found his true calling.
As Senior Superintendent at BIG, John’s gregarious and ambitious nature are assets to building relationships and advocating for the best interests of projects. As manager of field operations, he employs two decades of experience that ensuring resources meet project specifications on budget.
John is a native and current resident of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. Outside of work, he coaches his children’s basketball and soccer teams and participates on the City of Hope leadership council.
Born in Chicago, Tony Iannessa is driven by the work ethic he inherited from his family, who immigrated from Italy in the early 1950s. Having built a foundation working in the trades, Tony’s roots in construction trace back to his youth, when he spent summers as a concrete laborer and interning with an electrical contractor.
After graduating from Indiana University, he gained over a decade of experience in Chicago’s construction industry, which he leveraged to form BIG in 2016. As founder and CEO of BIG, Tony leads the firm’s strategic direction and is responsible for the organization’s sustainable growth.
Tony is an active member of Vistage, YPO, and Chicago’s Economic Club. He serves as a board member of the American Cancer Society and is an Imerman Angels mentor for other caretakers of spouses fighting breast cancer.
Tony has been featured in Crain’s Chicago Business numerous times and in 2020, was included as one of Crain’s 40 under 40 at age 37. In 2020, he was named a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Tony has served in board positions of Susan G. Komen, the Francis Xavier Ward Catholic School Facilities committee, the Sports and Pastimes committee of Riverside Golf Club, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, Greater Chicago Food Depository, and City of Hope.
Thanks to Tony’s leadership and emphasis on culture, BIG Construction has been named to Crain’s Best Places to Work in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
In 2021, Tony co-founded Helix Construction to support the growing life science industry in Chicago.
When he isn’t working, Tony lives in Chicagoland with his wife, two daughters, and son. He enjoys golf, cooking/dining, working out, and relaxing in Harbor Country, Michigan with his family.
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