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 brings over 20 years of experience to our clients, during which time he has built more than 5 million square feet of interiors in Chicago and the Greater Chicago-land area.
Chris’ passion for construction began with his first set of “construx” and a fascination for building. Throughout high school and college, he earned his construction stripes building everything from basements to porches, gaining critical experience that informed his hands-on approach.
Since then, he has overseen many landmark projects in the City, including BMO, Charles River and First Midwest Bank, the Innovation Lab at Oracle, and the renovation and restoration of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange in the Old Post Office.
As President and chief integrator at BIG, Chris strives to channel BIG’s vision into tangible and operational excellence, ensuring that every move is a calculated step towards our monumental growth targets, ushering in an era of innovation.
When not working on projects, Chris enjoys playing golf, paddle tennis, and softball, while enjoying family time outdoors with his wife, two daughters, 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.
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.
